箱根吟遊 - Hakone Ginyu

Mama and papa went to Hakone Ginyu onsen this weekend for 2 days. They took the Odakyu Romance Car train from Shinjuku to Hakone and then took a bus up the mountain to the onsen and hotel. The onsen was almost perfect. The staff were quite friendly and the atmosphere was so relaxing. The place itself is quite far up a mountain with a beautiful view overlooking a ravine that has a river cutting through its centre. The room was Japanese style with a tatami room for sleeping (futons, no beds). Beside the bedroom was a dining room with a large table and low, floor level chairs so guests can eat Japanese style. Attached to the dining area was the veranda which had a sofa, coffee table, a couple of cushions and an open-air bath!

Mama and papa got to the hotel at about 2:30 in the afternoon and went to the onsen after a quick walk around the hotel. The first onsen papa went to ended up being his favorite. It was called Tsukiyo and was on the 5th floor of the hotel. The bath was quite large and was covered by a roof but was an open-air bath. The water flowed over the outer edge. Papa was the only one in the onsen at the time so he had the whole place to himself.

Dinner was kaiseki ryori. It was delicious but there was far too much food. Dinner consisted of all kinds of vegetables, fish and meat. The beef was memorable because the staff brought out a heated stone and mama and papa cooked their Japanese beef and veggies on it themselves. It reminded mama of "Lost in Translation" where they pay so much money and have to cook themselves. The next morning for breakfast, again way too much food was served but it was also quite tasty.

Mama and papa went into the onsen about 5 times over the 24 hours they were at Hakone Ginyu. They tried all of them, including the one on their balcony. It was an open-air bath and was very relaxing. Papa went in at night and again the next morning but mama didn't go in at night because there were too many weird insects flying around. There were huge, ugly flying beetles that had really long antennae but they generally stayed near the lights and didn't go near the bath. Papa really loved sitting outside on the veranda looking out over the mountains.

As for me, well, I spent the weekend at a dog kindergarten in Naka-Meguro. It may not sound fun but I had a great time. The people were so much fun and there were 15 or 20 other dogs for me to play with. The staff there said I was a good puppy and very lively and fun. I ran around quite a lot and played with all the other dogs. I didn't even know mama and papa (who???) were gone!!! They came to pick me up after they returned from Hakone and I was really happy to see them. But once I got home, I was so tired from playing that I crashed and slept most of the evening. I just woke up now because of an earthquake. It was quite small but had mama and papa worried because there was a bigger earthquake earlier today in Niigata that had a magnitude of 6. I didn't even feel the earthquake, whatever the heck that is...