Day 4 — The art of exploring Hakone
Our next day in Hakone was blessed with near-perfect weather. It had been raining and gloomy just yesterday but we were greeted by the beaming sun on Tuesday.
This was the first time we got to see the sun since we got to Japan!
Good weather meant that we could finally take outdoor photos of our Ryokan, Yamanochaya.
Bridge towards a steep slope that ascends towards our Ryokan.
A pretty large river just outside the Ryokan.
Breakfast, like our kaiseki dinner was included in our stay and we were presented with a dizzying array of traditional Japanese breakfast staples like rice, miso soup, steamed vegetables, yam and some fried fish, in addition to some small bits of seafood, chicken and beef.
It was a big meal and did well to sustain us for lunch! I really liked having our breakfast in the convenience of our room.
The fantastic weather was perfect as our day’s plan involved the Hakone Round Course, a scenic circuit of the Hakone region which involved taking various modes of transportation that included: bus, ferry, ropeway, cable car and a mountain railway.
If you’re in Hakone, you can purchase the (highly recommended) Hakone Free Pass for 4000 Yen which gives you unlimited travel through the region, including all the rides you take through the Round Course.
We took an hour-long windy bus ride through the hills to our first stop, Lake Ashinoko (or Lake Ashi), a massive lake formed in the caldera of the volcano that is Mount Hakone, about 3000 years ago.
There is a quaint town, Moto-Hakone on the lake’s banks.
The sunny weather made it incredibly picturesque and the lake together with views of Mount Fuji is the quintessential Hakone postcard. Unfortunately for us, there were a lot of clouds that were hiding Mount Fuji for us.
We decided to check out the Hakone Shrine, a famous Shinto Shrine located beside Lake Ashinoko. These were the huge Torii gates at the tree-lined pathway that led to the temple.
This was the first Shinto Shrine that we visited and the zen-like atmosphere and ancient structures were both intimidating and calming at the same time.
The architecture was just magnificent. The temple is nestled between tall and ancient cedar trees — I could see why Shinto priests selected this spot.
Devotees and visitors drinking holy water (?) before entering the temple.
At the main temple complex, devotees bow in reverence, clap, utter a prayer or wish and ring one of the many bells in what I take as Shinto tradition.
Visitors also wrote their wishes on paper and wooden charms.
After our brief sojourn at Hakone Shrine, we boarded a really tacky (but cool at the same time) Pirate Ferry which took us across Lake Ashinoko in style.
Off the pirate ship and onto the Hakone Ropeway which led to Owakudani, a volcanic area atop Mount Hakone.
The ropeway trip offered amazing aerial views of Lake Ashi and supposedly Mount Fuji, if the weather is nice.
We only managed a peek at Mount Fuji’s peak through a very brief window which we were quite grateful for.
Owakudani is a station surrounded by volcanic activity, sulphurous fumes and a curious delicacy — the Kuro Tamago (black eggs).
Yes, those are gasses emanating from the hillside.
Everyone lines up for the Kuro Tamago at Owakudani.
What’s so special about the black eggs at Owakudani? There are sulphuric pools littering the mountainside and the eggs are boiled in them, which turns their shells black for some strange reason.
The guy above is collecting a batch of boiled eggs.
Here are the famous black eggs! They’re sold in bags of 5 for 500¥
I really didn’t know what to expect and was fearful that they were going to be like Chinese century eggs. Turns out they were just regular hard boiled eggs!
Despite being boiled in pools of post-volcanic sulphur, they didn’t alter the taste one bit. Downside is that we paid 500¥ for 5 eggs! I love eggs so it wasn’t an issue gobbling them all!
From Owakudani, we took a cable car to Gora, a tiny traditional Japanese town which was quite picturesque.
From Gora, we took a short train ride along the Hakone Tozan Railway to Chokokunomori station to visit the Hakone Open Air Museum, a bizarre and interesting collection of art installations and sculptures.
It reminded me a lot of Tasmania’s Mona, just less weird.
The Hakone Open Air Museum is very kid friendly and there was this massive yarn playground for kids that I desperately wanted to play in. Too bad only kids 12 and under are allowed in.
The Hakone Open Air Museum also houses a substantial collection of Picasso pieces, housed in an indoor exhibit. Photography wasn’t allowed inside.
It was really cool and this was our first time seeing Picasso’s work in the flesh. I could finally understand why his name is synonymous with artistic talent.
This tower had a stunning stained glass interior and was one of the most impressive installations.
Despite being an art museum, it’s not all stuffy and pretentious — there are larger than life sunny side up eggs for example.
The Hakone Open Air Museum was Anne’s idea and she made a terrific call — I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
The last leg of the Hakone Round Course involved a train ride on he Hakone Tozan Railway which takes you through the mountains to Hakone Yumoto Station, and back to our Ryokan!
It was our last night at Yamanochaya, and we capped it off with another kaiseki meal.
Sakizuke
- Tofu made with carrot topped broad beans and wasabi
- Rape blossoms (yep.), dried mullet roe powder in bonito-flavoured soy sauce
- Bacon and cheese in mini-tomato fried with bread crumb
- Halfbeak Sushi with egg yolk
Wanmori
- Dumpling made with fish paste, egg white, yam and green tea paste, broiled conger eel, fiddlehead and plum pulp
- Soup made with bonito, tuna and kelp
Tsukuri
- Tuna, Japanese scallop with caviar and fish of the day (grunt)
Nimono
- Stewed mangalica pork powdered with flour served with mashed potatoes, soy milk skin, paprika, broccoli and whole grain mustard
Kumizakana
- Roasted special chicken and splendid alfonsino steamed with Japanese sake served with boiled shrimp, wheat gluten, bamboo shoot, taro, asparagus and carrot
- Broiled Ashigara beef
Sunomono
- Japanese ice fish, lily bulb and bracken seasoned with grated radish and leaf bud sauce
Shokuji
- Small shrimps (Sakura shrimp) in grilled rice ball with soup served with pickle
Mizukashi
- Black sesame mousse topped with strawberry and mint
Our final kaiseki meal at Yamanochaya heralded the end of our stay. We had to check out early the next day (and sadly had to miss breakfast!) but we had to catch a Shinkansen to Kyoto for our very first Michelin star restaurant at Hyotei!
Stay tuned for tomorrow when we kick off our food holiday for realsies!
