noplasticshowers

Hakone has gone through some changes in the last decade.  Lots more people.  But still some amazing things to see.  Our second destination after Tokyo was the nearby mountains (easily reached by Shinkansen and local trains (including the Gora one with the switchbacks).

We procured some lunch at the Tokyo Station food basement…super fun and ridiculous. Everything was super easy with our Suica cards at hand.

Gora train.

We reserved a room in the East Building top floor with an open-air bath (Japanese style). Room 102 is superb—with a view second to none in Gora. This is a Ryokan that is counting on the beauty of its buildings and their surroundings to excel. Sadly, the food situation is not up to our very high standards. We had a Kaiseke dinner that looked better than it tasted (a common complaint in Japan), as well as a workaday grill meal. On the other hand, the bakery was great, and we found a bottle of wine produced in France by a family friend at the grill.

But look at this view. We had a soak before dinner.

And we got dressed in our Yukata (for the first but by no means the last time in Japan) to head down for dinner. I had to look up how to properly tie my sash. (Left over right unless you are dead, BTW.)

Our first kaiseki of the trip.

Romey fell asleep early with both her glasses and the light on. I took a last onsen soak. We were up early for a trip one stop down to the Open Air Museum. Wow!

The morning light was beautiful.

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More astounding art. Our main reason for coming to Japan. Romey and I love to do this together.

The Gora mountain train is convenient, even when you take it the wrong direction.

We found soba (a local delecacy).

And we had a private onsen soak at the Rock Bath before dinner.

Dinner flash.

More light than heat. And early to bed.

Up for sunrise on the terrace.

We had breakfast in the common room before taking a taxi down the mountain. Our big travel day to Naoshima was here!

Time for a shinkansen.

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Four showerheads and best wishes for a better set of chefs befitting the property for Hakone Gora Karaku.