As it turns out, once we got off the bullet train, we needed to transfer 3 more times to get to the inn. It definitely wasn't going to be fun lugging our bags through all those transfers. Thankfully, we'd read about this service that will forward your bags onwards to your next stop for about $15-$20 per bag. That's less than what most US airlines charge to check one bag and promptly divert it to Wichita (if you're lucky) when you were headed to Honolulu. You may see your luggage 4 days in to your trip, looking like it's been thoroughly tortured by the airline for information on the whereabouts of your other bag that they still can't find. Things work a bit more efficiently in Japan.
We packed small overnight bags and handed over our larger suitcases to the concierge along with the address of our hotel in Hiroshima where we'd arrive the following evening. She filled out forms and we paid her about 3,000 yen in cash. This made us a little nervous because in a lot of places (most definitely my hometown of Brooklyn), you'd never see your bags again. But we waved to our bags, reasonably confident we'd see them again.
We gave our helpful concierge - who had also organized the tea ceremony, kabuki and a few other things - some of the dried apricots, then took a taxi to the nearby Shinagawa JR station. It was actually surprisingly difficult to get there by subway. After a quick buffet breakfast at the station, we picked up our JR rail passes and booked tickets for both Hakone and then onwards to Hiroshima. Then we were off to Hakone (more on trains in a later post).
We got off at Odawara station to transfer for Hakone and bought 2-day "free passes" (they're definitely not free) that provided unlimited rides on all transportation in the district. The local passes seem to be common and are ultimately convenient, but still quite expensive at about $30 per person. The JR rail pass doesn't actually cover these local (non-JR) train and bus lines. You also typically have to pay cash for these. The local train took us to Hakone station, where with a little inquiry we were able to find the bus to our Ryokan.
This was the first day of the trip that it was actually raining quite a lot - we'd been blessed with mild, clear weather during our stay in Tokyo. It's too bad, because Hakone is very beautiful, but we made the best of it anyway. We dropped off our bags at the Ryokan - an unassuming wooden building on the main road - and walked up a long staircase to reach a nearby railway station. It was raining, but it was also a major holiday weekend, so the train was packed to the point that the windows had completely fogged up. This local train just runs from Hakone, climbing up about 1,500 feet into the mountains, and literally switchbacks up the steep hills - pulling off at a switchback to pass a train going the other way a few times.
We took the train to the Hakone Open Air Museum, an interesting and good rainy day activity, even though parts of it are (as the name implies) outside. Other than the large Picasso exhibit, there's a maze, activities for kids, and unusual modern art sculptures, like this one of a fried egg:
Strange. Despite - or maybe because of - the rain, the fall foliage also really stood out. We climbed a tower that was lined with stained glass and were able to look down on the brilliant trees around us:
Those are probably my favorite fall foliage photos from the whole trip - mostly because it's a completely different perspective, and the colors just pop.
We wrapped up our visit to the museum by visiting the "foot" onsen (the term for a hot springs bath), where you can dip your feet in the warm water from a nearby hot spring - which feels great after walking around for 2 or 3 hours on a damp fall day. Back to the ryokan for a traditional Japanese experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment