Hakone, October 2014

We had the opportunity to visit Hakone, Japan last weekend. It had been on a list for a long time to visit but just never made it up there. A friend of ours works for the Four Seasons hotel, so he and his family went with us and he planned everything. The husband really enjoyed that because usually I have to have him plan everything since I cannot speak Japanese very well. He felt like he actually got to relax as our friend had our trip planned perfectly. We just went for one night but that was enough. It is a beautiful area, with lots of green, space, and a nice large lake. On Saturday we did the transportation loop. We rode a small train, a cable car, a gondola, a pirate ship, and a bus back to the hotel. We also tried the blackened hard-boiled eggs, which the area is known for. They were quite tasty and had a bit of a charcoal salty taste to them. We stopped in the Open Air Sculpture museum on the route. It was really random - a beautiful outdoor area with random sculptures scattered throughout and some great play areas for kids. After a full day we were all ready for a nice dinner and bed once we got back to the hotel. Sunday we visited an onsen theme park...an onsen where you can wear bathing suits and all swim together. They had baths with red wine, yogurt drinks, and a large outdoor water park area. Unfortunately it was raining as a typhoon was on its way so we did not get to go outside to the water park area. We also did not try the yogurt flavored drink onsen or the red wine onsen. However, the kids did enjoy having a swim in the morning. If you are in the area, I highly recommend a visit to Hakone. You can access it easily from Tokyo and can even do it in a day if you like.