Not having enough time to go buy the normal ticket, the guard gave me an unpaid ticket to use at the turnstile and I had to pay the fare adjustment when I arrived in Hakone. As I had already returned my Pasmo card, I had to use their paper ticket.
After arriving at Hakone-Yumoto 90 minutes later, I bought my ticket to Odawara for later and bought breakfast - a bacon and cheese wrapped in bread toasted and an excellent matcha latte. The café overlooked the railroad tracks while I killed time before the onsen opened.
I had desperately wanted to try an Onsen or hot springs while I was here. There are many resorts around the country and many of them were booked or outrageously expensive due to being the end of year holidays. As such, I decided to book a day onsen in Hakone which is famous for these resorts and of views of Mt. Fuji. People from Tokyo take day trips to Hakone, but I thought I would stop through on my way to Kyoto and maximize my time.
I decided on an onsen called Hakone Yuryo as they have 5 minute shuttles up the steep hill from the station and I booked a private room for an hour. Many of the onsens don't allow tattoos (which I don't have), so people book the private ones to avoid getting in trouble or in general, for some more privacy.
The onsen was delightful, clean, and traditional. I enjoyed my privacy in the 104 degree water. As Japan has a lot of volcanic activity, there are many natural hot springs and there are inns, resorts, and day spas throughout the country.
There are a lot of rules to an onsen - besides the no tattoos, no dunking your head, no dunking towels, and showering before you enter. Right next to the tub were all the amenities needed for a shower and I got ready for my tub. My Korean sauna going friends would have loved this!
You could see the steam!
After sufficiently being pruned and enjoying the steamy water and fresh mountain air, I headed down to the shuttle and back to the train. I had to take a 15 minute train ride on the Hakone Tozan Railway to Odawara to pick up the famous Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train that travels up to 200 miles an hour. I had reserved tickets, so I just needed to pick them up from the kiosk.
There are 3 types - the local (Kodama), medium (Hikari), and express (Nozomi). I reserved for the medium and then transferred to the express at Nagoya - which saves me 13 minutes. I had fun trying to take video of the trains whizzing by - I missed the fastest one as I couldn't get my camera ready in time! You really weren't sure if it was just a breeze or a train that was on its way!
I got to my reserved window seat and there was a Vietnamese girl traveling solo with luggage bigger than the one I forwarded in my seat. She was reading a Ted Talks book, so I knew she spoke English. She was surprised I didn't have anything, but a duffel and I explained the luggage forwarding services. When I asked her if she thought the mountain we were passing by was Fuji, she said no, as she said it was way up north (I knew this was wrong as you're supposed to be able to see Mt. Fuji from Hakone). When several Japanese people around us starting taking photos, I confirmed it was indeed Mt. Fuji. Um, okay - here's not Mt. Fuji:
When the food and beverage staff walked through, I made sure to order a bento box lunch. The Shinkansen bento lunch boxes are supposed to be amazing and a Mama Kim dream. Not sure why it's all about Australia and makes me think of the Burke family, but it was tasty delicious for this Asian's palate:
Since it was only 2 pm when I arrived in Kyoto, I stashed my duffel in a coin locker and decided to hop on the JR Sagano line to Saga Arashiyama for 15 minutes from Kyoto station. My primary goal was to see the famous bamboo forest in Arashiyama.
On the 15 minute walk to Tenryū-ji Temple, it started to drizzle and then rain. So I took breaks underneath awnings until I got to the Heavenly Dragon Temple. Here I paid an entrance fee for both the temple and beautiful zen garden. You actually had to take off your shoes to walk around the temple and down long walkways. They gave us these really bright blue slippers. Here are some pictures:
The garden was beautiful and relaxing against the mountain backdrop.
Through the garden, I reached the entrance to the famous bamboo forest. By this time, the sun started peeking out. Despite the many people, I found the walk to be magical and relaxing.
After the forest, I walked down to the busy touristy shopping street and passed an owl and cat café with live owls in the window. I had heard of both, but not combined in one place. The Japanese are so funny - they can make anything a "thing" and people pay to hang with these animals.
At the end of the street was a famous old bridge called Togetsu-kyō and nearby was a hydropower plant:
There was street food everywhere, so I sprung for a Yuba (tofu skin) and Cheese on a stick with a place that had a decent line and was apparently on television. Then I sprung for a matcha green tea frozen yogurt. It definitely wasn't warm enough for yogurt, but kids everywhere were eating them, so I got envious.
Walking back to the station was a lot more pleasant without the rain and a train was just about to depart. In Kyoto, I picked up my bag and walked the few blocks to my Japanese inn or ryokan, called Matsubaya. I struggled to find one that was affordable and convenient and this was recommended by my Lonely Planet guide.
The front desk clerk, Budi, was chatty and kind. My suitcase that I had forwarded was also waiting for me in my room. He explained the layout and the ways of the Japanese inn. Unfortunately, the Japanese-style breakfast is not available during my stay as the cook was going on holiday - they are only offering a western breakfast while I'm here. I was super bummed, but I guess the cook deserves a vacation too.
The room is a traditional Japanese room where I sleep on the floor. The sleeping on the floor was not new to me as we sleep on the floor in Korea. But I was looking forward to the elaborate Japanese breakfast. Budi said he knew a place nearby if I was still interested. The room also comes with a "Teachings of Buddha" book which just reminds me of the Gideons...
I knew if I stayed too long, I would never eat dinner. So I asked Budi for a recommendation and he suggested a ramen restaurant nearby - I had the spicy ramen before returning back to the hotel.
All in all, I took 4 different train lines today: Tokyo to Hakone (Odakyu), Hakone to Odawara (Hakone Tozan), Odawara to Kyoto (Shinkansen / JR Tokaido), and Kyoto to Arashiyama and back (JR Sagano). The rail system here is extensive, efficient, and on-time. If you're going to be here for a long time or traveling far, it's worth getting the JR pass that is only available to foreigners and heavily discounted compared to in-country prices. I wasn't here long enough to make the pass worthwhile, but I definitely got my fill of trains today. Also, the website Hyperdia is a must in planning train travel in Japan.
After all the trains today, and my vagabonding in Tokyo, I'm glad to be staying put for three nights!
There are 3 types - the local (Kodama), medium (Hikari), and express (Nozomi). I reserved for the medium and then transferred to the express at Nagoya - which saves me 13 minutes. I had fun trying to take video of the trains whizzing by - I missed the fastest one as I couldn't get my camera ready in time! You really weren't sure if it was just a breeze or a train that was on its way!
I got to my reserved window seat and there was a Vietnamese girl traveling solo with luggage bigger than the one I forwarded in my seat. She was reading a Ted Talks book, so I knew she spoke English. She was surprised I didn't have anything, but a duffel and I explained the luggage forwarding services. When I asked her if she thought the mountain we were passing by was Fuji, she said no, as she said it was way up north (I knew this was wrong as you're supposed to be able to see Mt. Fuji from Hakone). When several Japanese people around us starting taking photos, I confirmed it was indeed Mt. Fuji. Um, okay - here's not Mt. Fuji:
When the food and beverage staff walked through, I made sure to order a bento box lunch. The Shinkansen bento lunch boxes are supposed to be amazing and a Mama Kim dream. Not sure why it's all about Australia and makes me think of the Burke family, but it was tasty delicious for this Asian's palate:
Since it was only 2 pm when I arrived in Kyoto, I stashed my duffel in a coin locker and decided to hop on the JR Sagano line to Saga Arashiyama for 15 minutes from Kyoto station. My primary goal was to see the famous bamboo forest in Arashiyama.
On the 15 minute walk to Tenryū-ji Temple, it started to drizzle and then rain. So I took breaks underneath awnings until I got to the Heavenly Dragon Temple. Here I paid an entrance fee for both the temple and beautiful zen garden. You actually had to take off your shoes to walk around the temple and down long walkways. They gave us these really bright blue slippers. Here are some pictures:
The garden was beautiful and relaxing against the mountain backdrop.
Through the garden, I reached the entrance to the famous bamboo forest. By this time, the sun started peeking out. Despite the many people, I found the walk to be magical and relaxing.
After the forest, I walked down to the busy touristy shopping street and passed an owl and cat café with live owls in the window. I had heard of both, but not combined in one place. The Japanese are so funny - they can make anything a "thing" and people pay to hang with these animals.
At the end of the street was a famous old bridge called Togetsu-kyō and nearby was a hydropower plant:
There was street food everywhere, so I sprung for a Yuba (tofu skin) and Cheese on a stick with a place that had a decent line and was apparently on television. Then I sprung for a matcha green tea frozen yogurt. It definitely wasn't warm enough for yogurt, but kids everywhere were eating them, so I got envious.
Walking back to the station was a lot more pleasant without the rain and a train was just about to depart. In Kyoto, I picked up my bag and walked the few blocks to my Japanese inn or ryokan, called Matsubaya. I struggled to find one that was affordable and convenient and this was recommended by my Lonely Planet guide.
The front desk clerk, Budi, was chatty and kind. My suitcase that I had forwarded was also waiting for me in my room. He explained the layout and the ways of the Japanese inn. Unfortunately, the Japanese-style breakfast is not available during my stay as the cook was going on holiday - they are only offering a western breakfast while I'm here. I was super bummed, but I guess the cook deserves a vacation too.
The room is a traditional Japanese room where I sleep on the floor. The sleeping on the floor was not new to me as we sleep on the floor in Korea. But I was looking forward to the elaborate Japanese breakfast. Budi said he knew a place nearby if I was still interested. The room also comes with a "Teachings of Buddha" book which just reminds me of the Gideons...
I knew if I stayed too long, I would never eat dinner. So I asked Budi for a recommendation and he suggested a ramen restaurant nearby - I had the spicy ramen before returning back to the hotel.
All in all, I took 4 different train lines today: Tokyo to Hakone (Odakyu), Hakone to Odawara (Hakone Tozan), Odawara to Kyoto (Shinkansen / JR Tokaido), and Kyoto to Arashiyama and back (JR Sagano). The rail system here is extensive, efficient, and on-time. If you're going to be here for a long time or traveling far, it's worth getting the JR pass that is only available to foreigners and heavily discounted compared to in-country prices. I wasn't here long enough to make the pass worthwhile, but I definitely got my fill of trains today. Also, the website Hyperdia is a must in planning train travel in Japan.
After all the trains today, and my vagabonding in Tokyo, I'm glad to be staying put for three nights!
No comments:
Post a Comment