Japan-2023

In anticipation of our tour starting on Wednesday, we’ve returned to Tokyo to soak in a little more cosmopolitan vibe and enjoy our free time before the tour. Today, we woke to a lovely rainstorm that helps to explain the lush landscape around the Hokone area.  And, we had another wonderful breakfast at the ryokan before departing to the train station to return to Tokyo. Fortunately, the rain abated as we departed and our short walk from the train station to our next hotel was drama free. So far, we’ve explored 2 of the four lounges that we have access to through our hotel. They offer Breakfast from 7-10, Tea Time from 10-5, Cocktail Time from 5-7, and Nightcap Time from 7-10. Who needs to leave the hotel? ‘Snack’ from the lounge to accompany the sake flight… You don’t get the true effect, but this should be a video of the bullet train…

In the traditional Japanese Ryokan, we have a private hot spring bath with our room. It is a luxury that I could easily get used to. Just think of a constant hot tub in your house with a beautiful view out the window. So, at every opportunity, I am taking a relaxing soak in the mineral rich onsen. A great way to work up an appetite for a traditional Japanese breakfast with multi courses of goodness. After breakfast, we wandered around the property enjoyed the serenity. Then, part of the group (Nan, Sally, and John) decided to visit the Open Air Museum and the rest of us (Karen, Garret, and I) stayed behind and relaxed with puzzles and a little bit of sake and sochu. Afterwards, some of the group had massages and some of the group had private baths in the hot springs before a wonderful supper of Shaba Shabu (a form of Fondue). Another pack night, so early to bed…

Whew, what a day! We learned a few days ago that our tour guide for today had Covid. As of late yesterday, the tour company still had not found a replacement. So, we were in a bit of limbo about what to do today. We knew we were traveling to Hakone, a small town south of Tokyo that is famous for its hot spring baths (onsen). So, we decided to pack up this morning and be prepared to depart. Since we had some time, we also thought we could look for an ATM to get some more local currency. On our way to 7-11 (the best place for ATMs), we got a message that the tour company had found a new guide for us and we were back on track. So, we had to hurry back to our hotel room to pick up our luggage and head to the train station to head out for Hakone. We were a bit overwhelmed when we walked into the train station to try and figure out which train we needed and how to get to the proper track. Needless to say, we managed and we were off. Our tour guide met us at the proper stop and we embarked on...

Well, despite being exhausted, neither one of us slept very well and we were awake with the Rising Sun at 4am!! And, what a treat we woke to. It was a beautifully clear day this morning after arriving to the remnants of rain last night. And, behold, we have a view of Mt. Fuji from our room - lovely! Surprisingly, when we got back to the room later today, we couldn’t even tell Mt. Fuji was out there. Goes to show that you need to enjoy life in the moment… So, we managed to get an early start on our day. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and then went out to explore and get some logistics out of the way. We wanted to purchase a pre-paid card that is widely used for subways and some markets. We had tried a couple of places on our way to the hotel last night, but we either couldn’t understand what any of the station attendants we asked were trying to tell us, or we couldn’t get the machines to spit out a card for us. In any event, that was a good mission for us to focus on today. W...

Well, we have finally arrived in Japan! The travel here was essentially seamless, but it was loooong!! Part of the problem, for me at least, was that our flight was at 1:30 pm, lasted for a little over 11 hours, and we landed around 5:30pm Tokyo time. So, I felt like I needed to stay awake during the flight to be ready to sleep near the proper time in Tokyo (although I did close my eyes a couple of times). Then, once we landed, we took the monorail to the subway and the subway to our hotel. After a few fits and starts trying to get the proper tickets, we ended up getting to the hotel around 8:30. Luckily, the hotel has a great piano bar, so that was a nice way to unwind. Now it is time to sleep… The view from our room - I wonder what the view will be like in the daylight.