HakoNEH? Part II

After the museum, we took the cute little red train up the mountain even further to the town of Gora. There we transfered to a little shuttle train that ran to the top of the mountain where we boarded a cable car. Although out in the mountains and off of the peak tourist season, there was by no means a dearth of people. We were packed into our little swinging car with as many people as possible so that not everyone was completely sitting on a bench. No matter, the view was spectacular. Travelling through hakone was one of the few times in Japan that I haven't been completely surrounded by concrete. Our train rides and now the cable car offered a glimpse of Japan that hadn't been turned into the neverending sea of concrete that stretches continuously from Tokyo to Himeji. Real trees, not overly pruned replicas of trees, and actual forests stretched out before us. Pretty soon however, the cabin started to reak like rotten eggs. Below us, the formerly dense forest of cedars and bamboo groves disappeared and was replaced with a landscape of tan and yellow rock, hissing sulfurous gases into the air.
Our gondola swung into the docking bay at the top of what could only be one of Japan's first tourist traps. We soon ran into masses of people, not just deboarding from the gondolas, but streaming out from the parking lot filled with big tourist buses. Everyone was going to the same place. We were swept up in the stream of people and made it to the source. A short walk up the mountain a little path ran around some of the more impressive steaming pools of geothermally heated stinkpots. And this is where people were congregating.
People were engaged in two activities, buying black eggs hardcooked in the sulfur springs, and having their picture taken. Often, the latter involved the display of having successfully completed the former. We took part in both. Our purchase of half a dozen black eggs turned out to be brilliant. Although we didn't eat any of them at the time, they travelled excellently and turned out to be the perfect thing for a healthy snack while travelling.

Black eggs in hand, we reboarded the gondola and swung out past the sulfur springs and on to yet more sights!

SHODAN DESU YO!!!!

Solid proof. It even has a watermark.

HakoNEH? Part I

Ehhhh? Henry Moore? In Japan?
Indeed. Tuesday started out with a visit to the Hakone Open Air Museum (and indoor Picasso painted ceramics museum). This turned out to be one of my favorite parts of our trip. The museum started out with this amazing statue on a big column, looking out over a valley with mountains on either side. Modern sculptures with parts that rotate and spin in the wind, sculptured tunnels that dip underground, and traditional sculptures of girls sitting on benches fill the grounds at every turn and wind in the path. The museum is also beautifully landscaped, with small koi filled ponds surrounded by ferns pushing their fiddlehead starts out of the ground underneath cherry trees just waiting for the next warm day to burst forth. The museum contains work from artists from all over the world, Russia, Brazil, England, America, and of course Japan. What the museum is really known for though, is its rotating collection of Henry Moore pieces. For all the other non-artists out there who might be thinking, "where did I hear this name?" One of his pieces recently made headlines for being purloined in England (I think). Notably, for being stolen using at least a small crane to lift it. It was enormous. Anyway, the museum was awesome, one of my favorite pieces was this big spiral staircase encased entirely in stained glass. I also really liked a piece called "the hand of god". Which I assure you is amazing in real life, even if pictures can't capture it. OK, I gotta run off to Aikido . Later I'll recount our journey across steaming sulfurous landscapes in a cable car followed by pirate ship ride. I'll leave you with those thoughts.

Ooooooosaka and the start of Hakone

PARENTS PARENTS PARENTS TRAVEL TRAVEL PARENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!
Sunday, March 26th, my mother and my aunt arrived at the Kansai International Airport in Ooooosaka JAPAN! Since their arrival, we've adventured and traveled all around the Kansai and Kanto regions of Japan. We've traveled through the inaka (country) and through the bustling district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, seen the See no Evil Hear no Evil Monkeys at the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, traveled in a pirate ship at the foot of Mt. Fuji (obscured in clouds), eaten the black eggs of Oowakudani sulfur springs, and lastly, we've spent more time communally naked than is imaginable. All this in one week! Lastly, we trekked out to Kyoto but by this time I think everyone was on serious shrine overload.

Days 1 and 2.
Sunday and Monday in Osaka, later Hakone.

The adventures began in Osaka. After an afternoon of hanging out with Lexi, cruising the covered shopping arcade, sipping beer at the Kirin brewery and tasting restaurant, and general people watching, I picked my parents up at the Kansai international airport. They were pretty wiped out from the 14 hour flight, so we checked into the hotel and turned in early.
In the morning, we made a short trip to the UMEDA SKY GARDEN, which is a marvel in space-techy architecture. The building attracts lots of tourists to take a glass elevator up to the almost top floor, then ride an escalator encased in glass to the top. The roof is open to walk around and gives a pretty amazing view of Osaka (which I'm not showing here!)

That afternoon, we packed up our bags and caught the Shinkansen up to Hakone, which is a region up in the mountains famous as a day trip out of Tokyo for Onsen-ing (hot spring public baths) and hiking. My Momsy made all our travel plans last December, which was before the accident. About four years ago, my mom had her knee replaced and she was doing pretty well until January. While out throwing toys for the dog she slipped and tore up all the connections she had worked so hard to strengthen. At first, she was unsure whether or not she would even be able to make it to Japan, but thankfully she did! However, my Mom's not one for big cities so we spent a lot of time in the countryside, which unfortunately, we couldn't hike very well. After getting off the Shinkansen, we transferred to a small, two-car, cute little train that ran us through a series of switchbacks and tunnels through forests and up the mountains. It was beautifully scenic. I felt like I was in a cross between "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Donkey Kong" (where you ride around in those little carts).

We got off the train at Miyanoshita, which is a small tourist resort town, and made our way down the steeeeep road to our hotel, the historic (famous?) Fujiya. Hauling our luggage up to the hotel later became my mother's favorite memory of Japan. After struggling all day with bags, the last hill to our hotel seemed pretty overwhelming to my tired relatives. That is, until the two porters spotted us, sprinted down the hill and whisked our luggage away. It was in the lobby and on a cart before my mother could take another step. (Note to anyone visiting Japan- don't over pack! There is no where on trains to stow bags. In fact, you would travel best with only a small daypack. I would recommend packing nothing, but your traveling partners might complain after a few days). The hotel was very large, and old. On the way to the room our baggage handler proudly informed me that John Lennon had stayed there for three months. The royalty of Sweden, Korea, Japan, and a handful of other countries had also put in some time at the Fujiya.

We got in around dinner time, so we put on our shoes and hit the streets to find somewhere to eat. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We passed dozens of little street restaurants that had all closed up by 6:00 and an Italian restaurant. Since we didn't feel quite like spaghetti, we headed back to the hotel's grill and were woefully underdressed for their fancy French grill and restaurant. French? Yes. French and Expensive. So we had the cheapest thing on the menu, a salad, squash soup, and curry. I would say the soup was excellent, the curry so-so. (Japanese curry in a French restaurant in Japan should not exist).

The next day we visited the Hakone Open Air Museum, which was my favorite part of the trip (maybe), but that will have to wait. I'm off to Hanami, or Cherry Blossom Viewing, in the park with my school and cannot stay and write more.