February 26, 2006
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2/26/2006 Trip to Hakone - Fujiya Hotel
We went to Hakone for a couple of days and are now officially returned. Will edit the pictures and have them up. Here are a couple for now.
These are not fishers of men, but they will have to do for now.
That is a guy asleep in his boat and snow on the trees from the night before. We could not tell if he is a sleep apniast or not. We were lucky to have a clear day!
Here are some popular souvenirs of the Hakone area called "Yosegizaiku" or parquetry. Small pieces of wood are glued together in a block which is shaved and then glued onto a wood base.
These are tissue boxes.
And lo and behold, here are some kimekomi yosegi dolls!!
More pictures from Hakone!
This bird of prey was circling on the breezes above the lake.
First stop is at the Hakone Sekisho Checkpoint. In the Edo Period travel was carefully monitored, and this was a checkpoint along the road, in one gate and hopefully out the other. This drawing is from the Internet to give a better picture of the entire checkpoint complex. It is presently being restored, and the building in the foreground is still under construction.
Let's take a peek in the completed building on the left.
Are everybody's papers in order?
Here is the kitchen and the cook.
This lady is having her big hairdo taken down and checked for contraband.
Sandals taken off before entering, of course.
The clay mannequins in yesterday's entry were on the news last night... It seems that the company that provided them for the price of $100,000 EACH paid somebody off to purchase them at that price. The purchaser is going to jail for accepting the bribe, and who knows the fate of the overpriced mannequins!
Here are some more of these fabulous works of art!!
After leaving the checkpoint, we walk along the cedar lined ancient road that all the travelers took.
This is a miniature "pull back motor" version of our next vehicle.
Here is the real thing.
Our view from the boat. Mt. Fuji will disappear behind the other mountains soon, but will become visible again from the cable car.
Let's continue on the boat ride.
Now off the boat and onto a cable car gondola. See the masts we left behind in the upper left corner?
We continue our ascent.
The clouds are starting to form around Mt. Fuji.
This is from the gondola station. This is as far as we get by this mode of transportation, as the rest of the line is shut down for renovations. A bus will take us to the next destination.
But before we continue on our trip, there is time for a snack. At a souvenir shop they were selling 'black eggs" that have been cooked in the steam that you see rising out of the mountain behind me. Some chemical in the steam seems to turn these hard boiled eggshells black. They just tasted like typical hard boiled eggs, but I will try anything just to find out what it's like!
The trip to Hakone continues. As we were walking along the road to the Fujiya Hotel where we would be staying, we ran across a sign that said that Charles Chaplin had taken a walk up this path.
Here is a view coming down the stairs as descended by Charlot.
Ok, the walk going up does not look so hot. There is a shrine up there, but we did not take time to explore it. Maybe next time.
And here HE is, with the hotel proprietor, who loved long mustaches. Other guests at the hotel include John Lennon, Twiggy, Helen Keller and Dwight Eisenhauer.
We have arrived at the hotel. The main building is in the center, and the dining hall is on the right.
Here is inside the dining hall. The food is great and the service is better!
The service had better be better, because the proprietor had his mustachioed visage placed at the bottom of each pillar in the room. The scowl is to remind the staff that they are being watched to see if they are doing their best.
Here is dessert and after dinner coffee! They even take the top off the sugar bowl for you!
These are some other buildings in the hotel complex.
These are an Eastern - Western combination.
I will try to get some pictures up from inside the hotel tomorrow.
These are the last pictures from Hakone, and I will try to throw in another set of pictures from yesterday, too. I will be away in Kagoshima for a bit helping mother in law clean up some of her 40 years worth of accumulated stuff in preparation for possibly moving up to a retirement home in Tokyo.
These pictures are from inside the Fujiya Hotel.
Here is a chapel that is used for weddings. There must have been one scheduled for that morning. There is a large music box at the front of the room, but we did not get to hear it.
Exit the chapel and this is what you see at the top of the staircase.
There are wood carvings on either side of the staircase of the tortoise and the hare. The tortoise I was not really interested in...
This is a cafe in the hotel that overlooks the garden, a very nice view!
The next day's weather was rainy, but we could not complain, since the weather of the day before made up for it. We went to a glass museum that featured old Venetian glass. I tried taking some pictures of my favorite pieces in their collection, but the focus stopped at the glass cases, so they are not bloggable. I suppose I could have tried manual focus, but did not think of that at the time. I was also not sure if I was allowed to take pictures in the first place.
The above picture was taken of a glass thing perhaps attempting to impersonate a tree. It may look better at night when lit up.
The next stop was the Pola Museum of Art, and this is the main entrance, coffee shop located at the rear of the picture.
Coffee cup located on the table in front of me.
Coffee about to be relocated. This feller hates his picture on the Internet, so don't tell him it's here!
