Hakone in the Fall

I won't lie. I've been feeling pretty down with Thanksgiving coming up and my husband being out at sea. So instead of letting me sulk around the house, one of my friends insisted that the girls and I join her family in a trip to Hakone. 

"Hakone (箱根) is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than 100 kilometers from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, natural beauty and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji, Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo." - Japan-Guide.com

Her family has been several times, but we had yet to go. And one of the best times to visit Hakone is when the leaves are changing color. It was about a 1.5 hour drive in the car and once we got into town (Lake Ashinoko), there was an area for free parking near the shrine (a miracle in Japan!). The shrine is hidden in the dense forest, but it is well-known because of it's huge torii gates - one of which stands in the water on Lake Ashi. It had been cold back at home, but up near Fuji san, it was a bit colder! It wasn't long before we were all covering up with hats and mittens. 

A woman practicing the ancient art of Japanese Kyudo ("The Way of the Bow"). 

And yes, you can see our reflection as we take pictures.

After we climbed the many stairs leading up the shrine, we were greeted at the top by a wedding party taking pictures. My girls had never seen a Japanese wedding at a shrine and were in awe - particularly my youngest daughter. We watched as the family took pictures for a few minutes, and just before we started to go behind them to see the main shrine area, I noticed the mother of the bride waving at us.... I didn't think much of it and just smiled and walked on.

After we had seen the main shrine area, we walked back down to the front where the wedding party were still gathered. Thing 1 had seen enough and ran off to another area with her friend, but Thing 2 couldn't get enough. She asked me if I would stay a few more minutes so she could see the bride. Then, I noticed the mother of the bride waving at us again. Only this time, I realized that she was motioning for Thing 2 to come towards the couple. The next thing that happened was awesome....

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They wanted Thing 2 to be in the pictures! And SHE WAS SO EXCITED!

Their wedding photographer kept snapping pictures right alongside me! It was so funny! And one of the family members - around my age - tried to ask me if I was American. I said (in broken Japanese) that yes, I was American, but that I was living in Yokosuka. The girl seemed shocked as she said that she too lived there! Ha! Then, pictures were finished up and as Thing 2 walked back up to me, I whispered to her that she should bow and say thank you. She turned back around, walked up solemnly to the wedding couple, then said "Arigato gozaimasu" and bowed a humble and respectful bow. I was such a proud mama! And ALL the Japanese around us burst into "Ohhhh!" and "Kawaii!!" (cute!!). I freaking love Japan. Thing 2 was SO excited to tell her sister and friend that she went running off to find them.

We then headed down towards the water to get a picture in front of the infamous torii gate at this shrine. Thing 2 also loves torii gates, so she was having an all-around great day!

We walked down the path alongside the water to exit the shrine area and we stopped to have some lunch. The sun finally started peeking out and we were glad! It was cold!

After eating lunch, we walked down towards some of the piers and bus stop to purchase a "Hakone Free Pass." It's a 2-day pass (even though we only needed it for one) that gives you access to the buses, train, cable-car, rope-way, and pirate ship in Hakone. You can do a whole loop! Kids under 6 are free, so it cost 3900 yen for me. Not too bad. And it was so much more convenient to just show our pass instead of stopping to get another ticket at each location.

We took the train first, and it was a 40-minute ride zig-zagging up the side of the mountain. The kids weren't entertained much, but the Japanese were....

Cutie on the train.

And they were entertained on the cable-cars up to the top of the mountain as well....

Yes, Jessica, we are the free entertainment for the Japanese wherever we go with our children....

Once we reached the top, we hopped on the rope-way. This was my favorite part and it was a hit with my girls as well. We were so high! And had such great views of the fall colors.  Reminded me a lot of the hills of TN....

Coming back down towards Lake Ashi.

The final leg of the loop was taking a pirate ship back across Lake Ashi to where we had begun the day. My girls were VERY excited about riding on a pirate ship, though they were disappointed when they couldn't locate any pirate statues on the ship. It was about a 25 minute trip across the lake.

We managed to get on the LAST ship across the lake and I'm so glad we made it. Our kids were hungry and tired by the time we got back to the car, and strangely enough, NOTHING was open. It was about 5:00pm! So we loaded up in the car and headed down the road to the Denny's. Yep. Denny's in Japan. But it's really just Japanese food under the "Denny's" name. The kids had pancakes with ice-cream on top (they are having an awesome day!), and I had some fried oyster with rice and miso soup. Mmmmm.  

Thanks again to my friend, Jessica, who insisted that I leave the house. I probably would have spent the day in pajamas, not leaving the bed. But instead, we saw a beautiful area of Japan and had our spirits lifted. I can't wait to take my husband to Hakone sometime.