9. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2013

If you read our blog from our first trip to Japan in February, you will remember our friends Shinsuke and Maho.

Today they are going to take us Hakone.

The view from our Bethel room window tells us that this is the perfect day to go to Hakone. Fujiama is clearly visible and there is not a cloud in the sky.

Dashboard cam...

 

When we arrived in Japan 6 weeks ago, the mountain was black but now...

The autumn weather has arrived and we are off to visit the Sekirakuen Garden.

Japanese Maple trees known as Momiji (reddened leaves).

 

 

 

 

 

The moss garden.

 

 

The pebble garden.

 

 

 

 

 

I absolutely fell in love with these cast iron pendant lanterns.

 

Shinsuke collecting leaves too.

 

Someone's granddad taking a photo... Actually, what we should have photographed was the hundreds and hundreds of Japanese people crowded into this piece of paradise each with a digital camera... Who could blame them.

Yet, we managed to photograph the garden to look as if we were here alone...

 

 

 

The perfect lunch to compliment a Japanese garden.

Notice the maple shaped carrot?

Now I know what your thinking, we titled this blog, AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, but so far, we have not done anything radically different... Well...

Today we went to our first onsen, or traditional Japanese hot spring. Can you see the nervous look on our faces?

According to Wikipedia, An onsen (温泉?) is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places.

To help us to prepare our friends sent us following web address;

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2292_how.html

The sign says mens onsen.

This photo is taken from the Gotemba Onsen website.

http://www.otainai-onsen.gr.jp/Onsen.htm

Obviously, no photos can be taken inside the onsen... So here is one that I have borrowed from Wikipedia to give you the general idea...

As they say, "when in Japan, do as the Japanese do"... Thank you to our dear friends Shinsuke and Maho for a wonderful day. This truly was an experience to remember.

Lloydnalex