Hakone was included on our itinerary because it gave us the opportunity to stay in a ryokan and to possibly see Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, Fuji-san remained hidden due to cloudy/rainy weather, but the ryokan was a good experience.
We arrived too early to get into our room, so we dropped our overnight bags and headed into Hakone near Gora Station. Here we caught the cable car going up the mountain to Owakudani. Owakudani is an active volcanic valley with sulfurous gases, steam vents, and bubbling hot springs. The big draw here are the black eggs. The eggs are placed in a cage and submerged in the hot springs. When boiled, the shells turn black. It is said that eating just one of these eggs extends your live for seven years, so we each had one. The eggs we purchased were extremely hot and a bit difficult to peel. Once we managed a bite, the egg tasted much like a regular boiled egg from home.
We know our students will love to hear the legend about the black eggs!
By this point, it was raining, and we were hungry, so we went in search of a restaurant called Itoh. Its sign advertised Kobe beef and seafood. It was more formal than we expected and we looked like total tourists who had been walking in the rain, but the kind hostess got us a table. We all ordered Kobe beef and rice with a salad. The entire meal was delicious! Surprising, even with a full day in Tokyo, this was the first meal where we all had to use chopsticks. For some, that may not seem like a big deal, but we were all relieved we managed without incident!
It was time to check in to our room. Upon arriving at the ryokan, we removed our shoes as is tradition. We walked without shoes on the tatami floors of the entrance until we reached the hallway leading to our room. Here, we all put on our "indoor slippers". We wore these until we reached our entry, where we were instructed to leave them outside the door. Our room had a main living room and a smaller side room plus a screened balcony/sitting area. The low table was in the center of the main room. We were invited to sit for green tea and a Japanese sweet.
Next, we were led on a tour of the property. Upon leaving the room, we had to put on our "inside slippers" until we reached a door leading outside. Here we changed into "outside slippers" and went to see the onsen, or public bath area made from a natural hot spring. Going back to the room, we did the slipper changing in reverse. There was one more set of slippers - slippers to use only in the restroom.
We changed into our yukata, similar to a kimono but made of cotton and meant for use at home. They were comfy and dry - important since we had walked in the rain earlier and an umbrella can only do so much!
Next we awaited our dinner. This would be served kaiseki style - in our room with MANY courses. Johnnie has food allergies, so her menu was modified. Diana and Tammy had many new-to-them items, all mostly consisting of fish. We did our best, and tried some things we wouldn't otherwise, but we won't be changing our regular diets anytime soon. Simply put, we weren't always sure what we were eating. This definitely taught us what it feels like to be thrown into a new, unique environment, much like our students arriving from other countries must feel.
After the two-hour meal, our room was made ready for bed with traditional futons. We soaked in the onsen, and called it a night. This was definitely a good, immersive way to experience traditional Japanese customs.
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