Day 7 and 8: Hakone

Ryokan Yuugiriso
Charlene and I have been here before (blog). But we found this ryokan very relaxing and enjoyable, that we came back again. This time with an even bigger crowd! Yuugiriso is located just at the south shore of Lake Ashi. It is a modern ryokan, which means that it has the standard onsen (hot spring bath), tatami floors, yukata, dinner and breakfast service, as well as more western amenities, like bathrooms in each room rather than a public shared one, and other modern conveniences (e.g. TV). No internet though! The point is to relax and be whisked away into a different world.

We checked in and first went for a lake cruise on Lake Ashi, then a walk in the Onshi park nearby. We came back and dipped in the hot spring. That was absolutely relaxing. Then, the dinner was fanstastic, just as we remembered. There is the Yuugiriso plum wine as a starter drink, and this is followed by a wonderful large dinner spread, dessert and coffee/tea. We ate till we could eat no more, and were completely relaxed.

So we drifted off to sleep.

Hakone - Owakudani
The next day, I get up early, and went for another dip in the hot spring again. After this, we had breakfast, which was another fantastic spread! We quickly check-out of the ryokan, and then headed for sight-seeing around the Hakone area. This area is a hot spring area because of the exposed lava, and geothermal structures. The main place to see this is Owakudani National Park. You kind of have to plan ahead for this, because Hakone is a mountain area, so the way to travel is not so obvious. Word of advice, buy the Hakone 2-day visitor pass at the Hakone-Yumoto eki, or the Odawara-eki (whichever you get off the main trains to come to this area). This gives you unlimited rides and entries into most Hakone places of interst. There's the old Hakone rail train, the cable car and the trolleys. You'll have to switch between these to get to Owakudani, but the sight is worth it. On a good day, you might see Mt Fuji.

After successfully going through all the sights, we rushed back to Hakone-Yumoto to get onto the train to Tokyo again, and then on to Narita. Charlene's parents and Mimi were leaving first, so we all sent them off.