Hakone: The Fujiya Hotel

On our short trip to Hakone, we stayed at the old Fujiya Hotel.  It's a beautiful old building that has been around for a long time.  Built in 1878, it has hosted tons of famous people over the years.  Staying there really feels like you're stepping back in time.  The Fujiya gets a lot of hype, and it is a really really cool building, but it is old.  Many things about the hotel have not been updated, so if you're staying there, it's best not to expect nice, new rooms or amenities!  In fact, I was a touch disappointed with the quality of the actual room given the price, even though the hotel itself was really pretty.

The exterior of the hotel and the grounds are beautiful though!  They have a large, multilevel garden in the back, complete with a koi pond, pagodas, gazebos, and bonsai trees.  We had fun wandering through and admiring the natural beauty.  And, I am sure that in the spring and summer the gardens are even more beautiful!

Hakone: Open Air Museum

After visiting Owakudani, we made our way over to The Hakone Open Air Museum, which is just what it sounds like: an outdoor museum.  There are sculptures and exhibits scattered beautifully throughout the museum's fields and gardens.  The artwork was really wonderful, and worth seeing; they even have an entire indoor Picasso exhibit!  But, the real reason we went, was for the giant play sculpture nets!  These nets were layered and the kids had to climb through holes to reach the top.  They had a blast climbing, swinging, and playing around!  Next time we go, we'll spend more time on the grounds, exploring and letting the kids run around, but it was a bit cold this time.  

Right near the nets was a giant maze-garden thing.  It was really fun, and I can only imagine it would be even more beautiful in the spring when the plants are all in bloom.  Will and Clara had a great time chasing Peter around and trying to find him as he'd hide.  Can you spot him in the picture below???

And lastly, this sculpture was a giant, metallic, reflective ball that was hung above the walkway.  And there we are, just looking right up at it!

Hakone: Ropeway and Owakudani

The day after Christmas, we took a short trip out to Hakone, a small town about an hour and a half away, going towards Mt. Fuji.  Hakone is known for its natural hot springs and onsens, or public baths, that are fed by the natural springs.  But, Hakone also has a lot more to offer than just its onsens!  It is a really fun town with lots of museums, shopping, and other unique activities.

We knew it would be really, really cold and since all of our activities for the first day were going to be outside, we bundled up!  Both kids had jeans on with snow pants over them, and then a couple layers underneath their winter coats, along with hats, scarves, and gloves as well!  We were all really happy we planned to dress so warmly though because it was COLD up in the mountains!

The first thing we did was head down to the train station for the Hakone Ropeway.  We boarded a regular train that took us pretty far up the mountainside, and then we transferred to the Ropeway station that would take us up and over Owakudani, or the crater that was formed after the last eruption on Mt. Hakone.  The cable car ride was really fun, and it was an especially clear day so we had an unbelievable view going up the mountain.  

But, of all the views from the top, the most spectacular was seeing Mt. Fuji so close!  It is incredible.

Once we arrived at the top of Owakudani, we hiked further up the mountain to the volcanic area where there were a bunch of bubbling sulfur pools.  This spot is known for boiling eggs in the sulfur pots, and if eaten, they're said to add 7 years to your life.  So, of course, we had to get some!

Here the eggs are, as they're placed into the steaming pools . . . 

And, here they are when they come up!  Completely black!

But, the inside stays white!  And, I don't know if it was the local eggs or the volcanic pools, but they were delicious!