I’m currently writing this while traveling on the Shinkansen bound for Nagoya, the last stop in my journey before arriving at the university. I’m writing this pretty late as between breakfast and securing my travel I haven’t really had the time before now. But seeing as I’ve got about and hour and a half I figured now would be a good time as any.
Day four was my booked stay at the Wakakusa no Yado Maruei, a ryokan on the shore of Lake Kawaguchiko. I had to take a bus from Tokyo Station in order to get to Kawaguchiko Station and for some reason decided that it was a smart idea to walk the 45 minutes from my hotel instead of trying to fuss with all my luggage on the train. About halfway there the fact that my shirt was more sweat then fabric emphasized how foolish of an idea this was. But I persevered and made it to the station with more then enough time to find where I had to board the bus and pick up a quick bite at the convenience store. I even had time to check out the shopping level of Tokyo Station and get a cold drink from a cafe.
Once boarded it was a leisurely 2 hour bus ride up into the mountains to reach the station. It may seem like a bus wouldn’t be a great way to travel but the Highway Buses are more akin to charter buses then the ones you would find around cities so the ride really isn’t bad at all. Plus the slower pace and mountainous path that the bus takes makes for some nice views as you ride along. Once at the station I still had to get to the ryokan which was about 30 min away by foot. They do offer a shuttle service but calling for it proved a bit difficult given that my phone didn’t seem to happy about calling a local Japanese number. Not inclined to walk 30 more minutes, and given that it was lightly raining at this point, I decided to just go ahead and hop in a taxi, which fortunately is pretty easy to do in Japan. No calls or hailing needed to be made as there was a line up of taxis at the station. So I just hopped in the first one in line, showed him the location on my phone and away we went. While more expensive the a free shuttle it really wasn’t too bad coming in around $10.
Once we pulled up there was a man waiting to take my bags as I went to the desk to check in. After check in they directed me to a small cafe on the first floor where some green tea and a small confection were waiting for me, welcoming me to my stay as they made sure the room was ready and got my key for me. A short while later a staff member showed me to my room on the third floor and it was at this point that I knew I had picked a good place. The view from the room was a relaxing look over the lake, and even on a cloudy day was wonderful. But the view alone was not why I was here. No this part of the trip was for two main reasons, see Mt. Fuji and experience an onsen, and with the clouds more then likely dashing the first reason I changed into my yukata and headed for the baths.
I could go into the specifics of what to do in a Japanese onsen or sento, public bath, but this video here would do a much better job of explaining then I can in text. I will say however that it was great and the perfect thing for recharging after all the walking I did in Tokyo the previous three days. I even got pretty lucky as it seems like the inn wasn’t too booked or the timing of when I went in but both times I used the bath I was by myself for most of the time I spent in there. Unfortunately because of the clouds I didn’t get a chance to see Mt. Fuji but maybe I can make another trip up here during my time here. However, I was able to have a small conversation with an older gentleman while waiting for the elevator and even got the superficial “Your Japanese is good” complement, which to me means it was a success. For anyone coming to Japan I would highly recommend going to an onsen or at least a sento if you can, and if you are apprehensive about being naked some places, such as the one I was staying at, offer private baths for a small fee.
Following soaking in the bath I had a lovely Japanese style dinner at 6 PM. The presentation of was wonderful and everything was delicious, even if I’m not sure what some of it was. After that I retired to my room to relax for a bit before going back to the baths one last time before going to bed on the futon that was laid out for me. Sleeping on the floor might seem quite uncomfortable but it really didn’t feel any different then sleeping on a bed, other then you can’t fall off if you roll around too much.
Breakfast was at 8 AM and was an equally impressive spread to what I had for dinner, and similar to dinner it was all really good, even the stuff I couldn’t name. After breakfast it was time to pack up and move onto the next stop on my journey, taking advantage of the free shuttle on my way back to the station. And after another bus ride here we are hurtling through Japan at 285 km/h. I’ll be getting to Nagoya later then I expected but I hope to go visit Atsuta Shrine and possibly Osu Kannon Temple.
Gaidai Gaiden 