Hayyyyyyyyyy.............

This is heavenly, soaking in an outdoor onsen (rotenburo) with your loved ones. We were lucky to have the pool to ourselves! Hayyyy, sarap!

Dinnertime!

Dinner at a ryokan has several courses, I lost track of the food that Nagai-san brought to the room. Didn't bother to photograph them all as the food demanded attention!

This clear broth of white eels and crabmeat was divine!







Of course we had a plate of sashimi with 4 kinds of fish plus ika. We were told that the fish were just caught in the afternoon. Pass the nihonshuu please.






OHAYO GOZAIMASU! ASA GOHAN TABEMASHOU! We start the day with a soak in our private onsen, I stayed longer this time, alone...umaga na kasi. hehehe...
Our futons were kept by male attendants and the low table set in the room. Nagai-san returned with our wafu (traditional)breakfast. Of course kanin tsaka grilled fish yun! We also had soy milk that we kept boiling and we skimmed for yuba.

After a hearty breakfast, we were set for our Hakone tour!






We went by cable car to get to the northern side. Mt. Fuji was under cloud cover, sayang. The sakura trees were not yet in bloom and so were most of the trees which were still bare. The sight was breathless, espcially when we came to a mountainside which had hot springs!
Snow, earth and sulfur in a landscape that is soooo unearthly to me. Ikaw na ang manggaling sa Pilipinas, lahat green sa paligid di ba?





This could be a perfect scene for Pedro Penduko kalaban ang dragon at kapre! It also reminded me of Naboo and the sand dwellers.









After the cable car ride, we got on a boat to cross a big lake, one of the 5 lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji.
It was a change of scenery, more pine and cedar trees now and my hay fever is theratening to go on overdrive. Buti na lang I did not forget to take my anti-histamine.




Off the boat and up a hill, this time to a museum where I saw the Noh masks up close. This is a grand view from the museum's cafe. Mt. Fuji is still under cloud cover, we are supposed to see the peak in the center. Sayang, imagine na lang ninyo.