The night before, we saw a program on TV about Mount Fuji. Brynne had decided she wanted to at least try to see Mount Fuji while we are here. Although it is rare to see Mount Fuji during the spring and summer because of clouds, we agreed.
So on Father’s Day, we were up early, were fed breakfast, and headed out to the subway, train, etc.
At Tokyo Eki, as we waited for our Komoda Shinkansen to Odawara, we saw our first sumo wrestlers.
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| Sumo wrestler at Tokyo Station |
A couple of very large men in yukatas and geta. They were buying newspapers and coffee as they waited for their train!.
The trip to Odawara was only one hour. At the Odawara station we bought a Hakone Free Pass for each of us. It wasn’t free, but it allowed us to move freely on a scenic round-trip through the Hakone area.
Hakone
The first leg of the trip was a short train ride on the Odakyu private railroad to Hakone-Yumoto. Everyone had seats. We thought we were already on the mountain railroad, and were surprised when we had to get off. The crowd beat us to the next platform, as we figured out what was going on.
When a Hakone-Tozan-Tetsudo Line train arrived, it was immediately full. But people still kept getting on!
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| Hakone-Tozan-Tetsudo train |
We decided to patiently wait for the next train, where we did get seats for the hour ride up the mountain. This was truly the mountain railroad, with red cars from Switzerland named St. Moritz. It is billed as the slowest train ride in the world, since you only travel 10 miles. There were three switchbacks as we inched up the steep wooded mountainside.
Our train was also sardine-packed. Many views were almost straight down, or across to misty mountaintops.
The mountain railroad ended in Gora, where we followed the crowd to the other end of the platform to catch the incline cable car. This took 10 minutes to climb the mountainside, including several stops. We felt like we were going up into the clouds.
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| Incline cable car |
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| Incline cable car |
At the top, at Soun-zan, we hurried to get on the gondola cable car (the Hakone Ropeway), but despite showing our Free Passes, we were told to get tickets. The man at the ticket window said we already had tickets! So we were put further back in the line for the gondolas. This line was like at Disney World. It went down stairs, doubled back on itself, and then went up stairs. Passed a gallery of photos of views of the area in different seasons, including views of Mt. Fuji. There were also cardstock models of the gondolas, decorated by students.
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| Hakone Ropeway gondola |
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| Hakone Ropeway |
You could see the construction of supports for a new and bigger aerial cable car. Up and over the first ridge, we passed over the Owaku-dani, Great Boiling Gorge, a valley that was a desolate landscape, bare and scarred with sulfurous billows of steam escaping from the earth.
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| Great Boiling Gorge |
Small buildings, pipelines, and derricks littered the ground. Fortunately, we didn’t get a good sniff! The ridge on the other side was the highest point of the ride. We started down, again over forested hills. As we descended into Togendai, we could see golf courses on the mountainsides; steep patches of green!
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| View toward golf course |
We had ramen or buckwheat noodles for lunch at the station restaurant.
Hakone Return Trip
We had a few minutes in Togendai, before the boat left to continue our round trip. The sightseeing boats were built like Mississippi ferryboats, or Norwegian 17th century warships with pirates.
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| Sightseeing boat and swan boats on Lake Ashi |
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| Norwegian warship sightseeing boat |
You could also rent swan pedal-boats. Fishermen stood in boats to fish near the shore.
On land, a pottery shop was set up to let you paint your wares yourself, like so many places at home. There was a statue of Kintaro and a bear. Kintaro is the mythical peach boy who was especially strong, and made friends with bears.
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| Statue of Kintaro and a bear |
As we left on our Norwegian warship to cross Ashi-noko, Lake Ashi, we kept our eyes peeled for any glimpse of Mount Fuji through the haze and clouds. No luck today, although we seemed to see a slight rise of gray; the left bottom slope of the sacred mountain?
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| View toward Mount Fuji... |
The boat trip took 30 minutes and we were given brief explanations of sights to see along the way in Japanese and English over a loudspeaker. On the right you will see a point of land with a pine tree… It was difficult to understand.
We disembarked in Moto-Hakone. The only feasible passage through the mountains between Edo and Kyoto was on a road called the Tokaido Highway. This area was a checkpoint town on the highway. You could see the ancient cedars lining the road.
Anxious to head “home”, Kent and Brynne opted to get on a crowded bus, rather than be first in line for the next bus. This meant we had to stand. The bus ride is normally 40 minutes, but with bumper-to-bumper tourist traffic, it took almost twice as long. The worst was, we were headed downhill on a twisting winding road, which caused us to lurch from side to side. Already tired, our arms and legs became fatigued.
We were so glad to get to Odawara, and take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo!
Fuji-san
Fuji-san is a dormant volcano rising to a height of 12,388 feet. It last erupted in 1707. Being a perfectly shaped volcanic cone, its symmetry and majesty has been praised by poets, and portrayed in art. Its reflection in Lake Ashi is one of the most beautiful sights in the world to the Japanese. On a clear day it can be seen for 100 miles, but in the spring and summer it is usually hidden behind a blanket of clouds.
Mount Fuji is captivating because of the ways it changes in different light and from different perspectives. It has been immortalized in all its moods in two series of wood-block prints: Thirty-Six Views of Fuji-san, and One Hundred Views of Fuji-san.
The mountain is open to the public only from July 1st to August 31st. There are ten stations, but most people begin at the fifth station on either the north or the south side. (There are six routes to the summit.) You can hike down, or slide down the sunibashiri, a volcanic sand slide where you sit on your pack and go!
Fuji-san is sacred, and has a Shinto shrine at the summit. The shrine is dedicated to Konohona Sakuya Hime, a divine priestess who is the spirit of the cherry blossom. Fujiko is a religious sect that reveres Mount Fuji. The followers are seen dressed in white tunics and gaiters as they climb the mountain.
Women were not allowed on the mountain until 1868 during the Meiji period.
Pokemon Center
As we waited in Odawara for the Shinkansen, we sampled Toppo sticks, which we had seen many fellow passengers eating. They were thin waffle cookie straws filled with chocolate. Yum!
We were waiting for the Kodoma, the local of the Shinkansens. The other Shinkansen trains did not stop in Odawara, and they went zooming through the station on the middle tracks. We were sure they slowed down to go through the station, but they were still going by in a blink of an eye with a swoosh.
In Tokyo Eki, we followed sketchy directions to find the Pokemon Center. We had the idea that the Center was in the shopping arcade attached to the station. We explored the whole area, checking out every toy store. Found some Ty beanie babies, all the same ones we usually see in the States. We never did find the Japan-only Sakura or Nipponia.
Finally asked in one toy store for the Pokemon Center, and were given directions in halting English.
We had to go outside and beyond the station. At least we were on the right side of the station! We didn’t see a bank landmark, but kept heading in the general direction. Finally caught sight of the Pokemon Center, a huge Disney-store type place dedicated to just Pokemon merchandise!
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| Pokemon Center |
We also checked out the Daruzen and Takashimaya department stores.
For dinner, we had KFC in the station arcade, and then headed back to Aunt Kyoko’s house.
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