Lake Ashi 
Cable car 
Hakone Open-Air Museum
Grade School kids wearing orange
Waterfront park near the dockYokohama was another overnight port! And, it is Tokyo’s port city. The Tokyo-Yokohama megalopolis (their word) is home to over 37 million inhabitants. Having been in Tokyo several times before, we decided to go in search of a photo opportunity of Mt. Fuji (which we haven’t seen since 1984). Unfortunately, the mountain was hidden from our view by foggy, cloudy, gray, and rainy weather. However, our 9.5-hour excursion was still a great day filled with many nice surprises. Some other friends just returned from there the following day so we will post a Mt Fuji photo of theirs soon for you all to see.
Traffic in the Yokohama metropolitan area of 4.5 million people is so congested that many commuters typically spend from 1.5 to 2 hours every day (each way) to and from work. Most travel by train…but freeways and city streets are still extremely over crowded during the commute hours.
Our destination for the day was the village of Hakone and the surrounding Hakone National Park. We wove our way through the traffic, and out into the countryside, where we were driven up winding roads through resorts full of small restaurants, quaint stores, and spa hotels that specialize in hot pools of steaming water. All of this was inside a volcano which we entered from about half the mountain though a tunnel. It should also be noted that separate bathing areas are provided for men and women (bathing suits are not optional…all participants are required to soak in the nude). Japanese love these onsen spas and flock to them even if for only a one night stay.
Stopping inside the volcano at Lake Ashinoko, we boarded a touring boat for an exploration of the lake. The boat cruised the entire lake, past green forests and small lakeside villages. On our third stop at docks along the shoreline, we left the boat and headed back down the windy road until we reached the Hakone Prince Hotel, which was to provide us with our lunch. The hotel was beautiful, and the multi-course lunch very tasty and well presented.
Next stop was the Komagatake Aerial Cableway with a large gondola platform, where we boarded 16-passenger cages and were whisked up the hill into the fog and mist. Our two legs of cable ride took 16 minutes, yet we were able to see very little. The cableway traveled over hot springs, a lush forest, with expected views of Mt Fuji…which wound up hiding just out of our sight. When we finally disembarked at the top, we were not able to see more than a few feet down the mountain.
Our visit to Hakone Open-Air Museum http://www.hakone-oam.or.jp/, which opened in 1969,is the first open-air art museum in Japan. It was fabulous. The beautifully manicured grounds are home to nearly 120 sculptures and works of well known artists from all over the world including Joan Miro, and 26 by Henry Moore. Other features included a large Picasso exhibit housed in its own building, and a hot-spring foot bath. We did not have time to warm our feet, but we did visit the Picasso museum, which included two floors of the artist’s works including pottery, sketches, weaving, mosaics, paintings, and bronzes. Although he is not our favorite artist, we were very impressed by the number, quality, and variety included in this permanent exhibit.
The two-hour return ride to Yokohama and the waiting Regent Mariner provided a bit of a nap for most of us on the way home. However, we all awoke for a glimpse into Yokohama’s Chinatown located only a few blocks from our ship’s dock.
The following day we chose to walk down to a city park, through the pier, waterfront, and watch as about 250 children descended upon the pier area to have lunch overlooking our ship. They just kept coming and coming and coming! By the way, each classroom of Japanese students has a certain colored hat or scarf they wear when on field trips. That creates a vast array of colors when many classes are together. Next…Osaka and the beginning of Segment 3 where we welcome 10 additional Cruise Specialists’ guests.
Traffic in the Yokohama metropolitan area of 4.5 million people is so congested that many commuters typically spend from 1.5 to 2 hours every day (each way) to and from work. Most travel by train…but freeways and city streets are still extremely over crowded during the commute hours.
Our destination for the day was the village of Hakone and the surrounding Hakone National Park. We wove our way through the traffic, and out into the countryside, where we were driven up winding roads through resorts full of small restaurants, quaint stores, and spa hotels that specialize in hot pools of steaming water. All of this was inside a volcano which we entered from about half the mountain though a tunnel. It should also be noted that separate bathing areas are provided for men and women (bathing suits are not optional…all participants are required to soak in the nude). Japanese love these onsen spas and flock to them even if for only a one night stay.
Stopping inside the volcano at Lake Ashinoko, we boarded a touring boat for an exploration of the lake. The boat cruised the entire lake, past green forests and small lakeside villages. On our third stop at docks along the shoreline, we left the boat and headed back down the windy road until we reached the Hakone Prince Hotel, which was to provide us with our lunch. The hotel was beautiful, and the multi-course lunch very tasty and well presented.
Next stop was the Komagatake Aerial Cableway with a large gondola platform, where we boarded 16-passenger cages and were whisked up the hill into the fog and mist. Our two legs of cable ride took 16 minutes, yet we were able to see very little. The cableway traveled over hot springs, a lush forest, with expected views of Mt Fuji…which wound up hiding just out of our sight. When we finally disembarked at the top, we were not able to see more than a few feet down the mountain.
Our visit to Hakone Open-Air Museum http://www.hakone-oam.or.jp/, which opened in 1969,is the first open-air art museum in Japan. It was fabulous. The beautifully manicured grounds are home to nearly 120 sculptures and works of well known artists from all over the world including Joan Miro, and 26 by Henry Moore. Other features included a large Picasso exhibit housed in its own building, and a hot-spring foot bath. We did not have time to warm our feet, but we did visit the Picasso museum, which included two floors of the artist’s works including pottery, sketches, weaving, mosaics, paintings, and bronzes. Although he is not our favorite artist, we were very impressed by the number, quality, and variety included in this permanent exhibit.
The two-hour return ride to Yokohama and the waiting Regent Mariner provided a bit of a nap for most of us on the way home. However, we all awoke for a glimpse into Yokohama’s Chinatown located only a few blocks from our ship’s dock.
The following day we chose to walk down to a city park, through the pier, waterfront, and watch as about 250 children descended upon the pier area to have lunch overlooking our ship. They just kept coming and coming and coming! By the way, each classroom of Japanese students has a certain colored hat or scarf they wear when on field trips. That creates a vast array of colors when many classes are together. Next…Osaka and the beginning of Segment 3 where we welcome 10 additional Cruise Specialists’ guests.
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