Japan - Hakone Onsen

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We checked out from our hotel on the 3rd day but asked that our luggages be kept by the hotel as we left for a 2 days 1 night stay at HAKONE. Sach took 2 days leave to join us on the ONSEN(hotspring) trip where she also became the tour guide.

You can skip reading the below introduction of the place if u r not about to visit the place.... :)

from wikipedia

Hakone (箱根; [1]) is a mountainous area west of Tokyo in Japan. The Hakone checkpoint on the historical Tokaido road marks the beginning of the Kanto region.

The affordable method of reaching Hakone from Tokyo is to take the Odakyu Odawara Line from Shinjuku station. The fastest train on the Odakyu Line is the Hakone (はこね) Limited Express train (特急 tokkyū), which runs twice an hour for most of the day. The 85-minute journey makes only two stops enroute and costs ¥2020. Note that some trains, called Super Hakone (スーパーはこね), use newer train equipment, while evening rush hour runs from Shinjuku are called Home Way (ホームウェイ). The slower Odakyu express train (急行 kyūkō) runs twice an hour at a cost of only ¥1150, reaching Hakone in two hours.

Modes of transport in the Hakone region are many and varied:

The Hakone Ropeway from Sounzan down to Togendai on Lake Ashinoko via the boiling sulphur pits of Owakudani

Most people opt for the Odakyu Hakone Free Pass [2], which includes a return trip from Shinjuku and allows unlimited use of all of the above forms of transport for several days. In addition, pass holders can receive discounts at many hot springs, museums, restaurants, and other locations by showing their pass.

The 2-day Free Pass costs ¥5000 from Shinjuku and ¥3900 from Odawara. A 3-day pass can be purchased for an extra ¥500. Additionally, if you have a Free Pass from Shinjuku you can use the Hakone Limited Express train by paying a surcharge of ¥870 each way.

The volcanically active Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, centered around Lake Ashinoko, is a popular tourist attraction well known for its onsen (hot springs) and its views of Mount Fuji.

The journey took slightly more than 2 hours as there were quite a number of transits made in order to reach the resort we stayed!! So Sach has brought along some snacks for us to munch during our long hours ride in the train. We all love the jap. snacks but for me not to the extend of making dozen of orders as souvenirs....yes, that's what Jen did, nearly all the snacks she tried, she wanted to buy home & each of them in dozen or more, oooOOH....haha !!!

During the long journey, we not only enjoyed our food & the beautiful scenics of the red leaves, we also shared a lot of laughters & funs as well as exchanged our different cultures & backgrounds!! I gotta admit that i GAINED a lot from this trip..... of course in relation to the vast culturals differences between us !! An example that worth a note is the power & status of MALE gender in the japanese society! In my opinion, though the Chinese too emphasise a lot priorities on male but i reckon that it wasn't as strong as the japanese.

I was told by Sach that once a jap. woman is married, she is no longer valid to carry her family name in any of her official identification document including I/C, passport & etc. This could have easily includes addressing your name in any official environment!! I was then only discovered that her family named as i had always known was actually her husband's family name. And should a woman failed to change all the identification after marriage, she has actually committed an offence, LOL!! At least we Malaysian don't have to do these right?? And according to Sach, it was due to these complication that the divorcing rate in japan was not as high as other part of the world....oooOOHHH !!??

We all also know that the jap has been renowned for their well-mannered attitude & strong disciplines/principles!! Again Sach proved to me just how truth this claim is .... !! If you are as blur a sotong as i used to be, let me tell you....i was once very curious why the address of the jap name always end with the word ' san ' ??? Like Suzuki san..... Takeshi san.... Well d answer is simple... it actually means Mr. Suzuki..... Mr. Takeshi..... which absolutely answered my stupidity!! Then Sach further shared with us that apparently the jap. is very very veryyyyy....... particular about having the title 'san' being addressed together with their family name, without which they would feel offended. Some even consider the addresser 'rude' if the title 'san' was not being used alongside the family name.....another big oooOOHHH from me!!!

Then she related a story of an ex-boss of her that attended the company's finance conference where many counterparts from around the world gathered!! As usual .... many greeted her jap ex-boss by HIS OWN NAME without following by the title 'san', instead of his family name .....so much to his discomfort until finally he couldn't tolerated anymore and this ex-boss actually have to resort to telling his fellow colleagues that he prefers to be addressed by his family name i.e. Negesi san ......ooohhh ....LOL that's how extreme it can be !!!

There were also many other interesting stories we shared during our journey but i can't be telling all lar....already side track so long !!!

Anyway, with such chattings, time passes by like a blink of an eye. Sach has arranged with the resort to pick us up by a van from the train station.

Here we are finally arriving at the Hakone resort hotel.

some photos inside the resort hotel

(with absolute authentic zen taste....)

It was indeed blissful that we were spared from doing the check-in.....u know what i mean with the language barrier?? Then very soon we were brought on a brief tour of the resort with some basic rules to comply while staying in the resort. With a local around, the hotel staffs were also spared from having to do the briefing in foreign language, LOL !!

Outside of the resort hotel, one of the waiting lounge, the signage outside the onsen bath, our room no. plate & the welcome snack in our room

Next obviously was our bedroom.

That Traditional type of Japanese flooring is called " TATAMI " ooh.....i didn't know that!! As there are only 2 single beds, i offered to sleep on the 'tatami' as it was my wish to experience sleeping the typical jap. style, *wink-wink* Anyway, as we chatted until very late that night, i dozed off like a pig and could hardly differentiate the bed, LOL !!!

Once we had enough of ransacking the room & settled down our belongings, off we stormed out to begin our further exploration of the entire resort area particularly their ONSEN offerings!! I learnt that there were many onsens around (public or private) & most of the hotel in Hakone (modern or japanese style) has onsen facility!! I believe most people would just use the onsen facility at the hotel one stays in and it is not like you have to travel to a public one though i was told there is also a public onsen which is mostly visited by locals only.

Below here was one of the OPEN Private Onsen (outdoor limited headcount) which only limits to a certain headcount at one go! There was a washing & make-up area. I think this is one of the smallest onsen in our resort meant for a max of 3 persons. As you can see, though it is a private onsen within the resort compound plus one that is separated by gender, it was only covered up to about 6 feet in height by the sides and the top part is entirely open.....imagine this is suppose to be a 'naked' type onsen ??? So i gave this a big PASS...no no no madness i call this !!! Btw, don't you think it's too BRIGHT to be naked too.........LOL LOL!!

Next we moved on to the ENCLOSED Public Onsen (indoor but unlimited headcount) which is also separated by gender....ooh, common i can't imagine one with open gender, oOHH !!! Photo at the bottom right. As this is a public place with many visitors walking around in naked..... photography is obviously prohibited but i still managed to steal a shot or two!!

After touring all the available onsen services....we actually had to discuss about the options, haha....like what we prefer (indoor=warmer/outdoor=very cold), which one offers more privacy, thus more comfort & less embarassment bla bla bla .... obviously at the amusement of the local, my colleague Sach!! Actually Sach has told me months earlier that no one would bother to look at our body...which was so true! From old, young to fat & skinny, all giving you free show, so .....

Option chose & we went back to our room to get ourselves ready as you can see below there were attires provided for usage at the onsen. Literally said, all necessities (toiletries-Shiseido brand, sandal, pyjamas & etc) were well provided at all the places we stayed. Even winter jacket was provided...look at the black ones we wore in the lift below !!! Thoughtful .....

Among us, I was the most shy/embarass/awkward one.....i mean, you don't blame me i'm sure.... who wouldn't want to show if it was 36-24-38 that one possesses, right... rite??? Arggghh....but i was determined to try the onsen no matter what & the whole objective of visiting the place is vanish & meaningless if onsen is not tried!!

Now that it was over, i don't mind sharing.....while we were at the changing room, i was full of anxiety & anticipation! I don't know how to react/response upon seeing my co-workers' ....emm, ahem ...... "body".....i mean & worst still i can't imagine what people thought of mine at d sametime !!! And so i delayed the stripping process....like don't know which piece to strip first, then the eyes peeking at others at 45 degrees, wahahaha !!! Then in no time, others had already fully stripped so meaning i've no more room to delay....okay, die means die, strip naked lar!! Thank god there was still a face towel being allowed to be taken to the onsen & that was the life saving tool at that moment.....i'm sure u can imagine which part i would've chose to cover, LOL!!

There gone my first time....and i will 100% absolutely be doing it again & again with no regret as i love every minute of soaking in there. Btw, once you are down the water level, it was pretty gloomy so everythg is not so clear....geee :) But i must admit that after the onsen bath , i felt a tad tired actually!

Ooh ya, prior to & after onsen, we also need to take a shower at an open cubicle with a little stool to sit on....blek!! I never had such a lightening speed shower, LOL!! Once we have washed ourselves, there was a huge make-up area to use which offers a comprehensive range of facial care products, ranging from cleansing foam, toner, face moisturiser to body lotion, then hair gel & dryer, cotton bud & facial cotton.....absolutely complete!! All one has to bring is probably make-up set....if only that you need to!!

By the time we were done, it was time for dinner & our package was inclusive of a seafood dinner set!! That was like a long awaited wish finally came true, an all girls night out without having to bother about time to go home, hubby & kids!! Wonderful time with sake, beer, grilled seafood & beef, specially baked rice & dessert. Not forgetting laughters !!

After dinner, there wasn't really much to do apart from chatting & relaxing on the 'tatami' with cups of green tea along side the fragrant of dried petals above the burning candle!! Chatting from a sitting position to lying down & finally till dozing off ..... that was me spending my night on the 'tatami' !!

The next morning before breakfast, we rushed out for another onsen session as it was a facility too precious & luxurious to be slipped by !! Guess what....this time around, i striped naked super fast already, LOL !!! I was quick to be done over with the embarassment, haha

After another great breakfast & check out, we embarked on our journey to another remarkable location. There are many other places of interest in Hakone but a short 2 days are not sufficient to cover even 1/2 of them!! So we were contended with only 1 hotspot, i.e.

• The Great Boiling Valley (大涌谷 Ōwakudani) is a volcanic hot spot full of sulphurous springs. Owakudani can be reached by cablecar from Sounzan and the lake.

We boarded a cable car to reach the place which has a clear view of the Mount Fuji. Absolute awesome views except the sulphur ground.....scarry!!

Once the cable car reached the level where the sight of Mt.Fuji was all obvious & clear, everyone in the cable car gave a big big round of applause!! According to Sach, it was not all the time possible to have such a good view....lucky we!!

Arrival at the station of the Owakudani.

Another clear view at the station.

As this place was at an extremely high level i suppose, the wind became terribly strong that i started to worry for the kids & those skinny girls if they would be flown away!! We had to tightly grabbed on to our hat & shawl or else they would have d same fate of flying away!! And it has the coldest temperature during my entire stay in Japan!! It was nevertheless the most exciting & thrilling moments.

We tried the black eggs (黒玉子) at Owakudani. Boiled on site, their shells are a mottled black due to a chemical reaction with the sulphurous water, but the inside is quite tasty.

According to Japanese legend, every one you eat will add seven years to your life. 5 eggs (and hence 35 years) will set you back just ¥500.

** I think i ate 2, so i have 14 more years to my life ** LOL

We spent quite bit of time up there. Apart from enjoying the weather, the strong wind & beautiful sceneries, we also did some souvenir shopping, haha !! Once we were done, it was nearly 3pm+!! The journey back to Tokyo took easily 2 hours plus.

It was nearing dinner time again when we reached back our hotel in Tokyo. But the trip really made us very exhausted so we had a brief rest at the hotel before gushing out to fill our tummy!!

Foods are really GLORIOUS!! Even a random pick at a bigger train station could offer the unexpected !!! I'm just gonna show all the food that i managed to capture as my memory really failed me in trying to remember which one was for which meals, when, where & etc.....

Doing online ordering of Jap version pizza, udon soup & beef rice.

I had many rounds of the below sake that mixed with squeeze orange juices.....

This was one of the TOFU meal where most of the dishes had tofu as the main ingredients!!
We all love these so much...esp the cold soba, the best i had thus far !!

Some appetizer & desserts

4 hectic days in Tokyo & Hakone, we were left with 1 day on Friday supposingly a free & easy day for Jenn & myself. Both of us feeling extremely exhausted only did some final catch ups on shopping & eating.....and i reckoned that we can do without the Friday actually, what a waste!!

Saying adious to Japan was really heartbreaking!!

After this trip, i knew i will become a japan fanatic....haha

I'm trully blessed that my dream to visit Japan finally came true & i'm sure it will remained at the top in my vacation memories for a longest time!!! With god's blessing, i will be back to Japan for sure!