Hakone

October 30th, 2016

We had dinner at a great French restaurant last night and this morning caught the train to Hakone. As always first stop at the station is for 'lunch hunting'. In Hakone we first went cruising on Lake Ashi, but there was no sign of Mt Fuji. Our next stop was the Mt Komagatake Ropeway - an aerial cableway but there were no sweeping views of Mt Fuji or anything else!

Next morning was quite a different story. From the balcony outside our room Mt Fuji had appeared and the clear blue skies lasted most of the day. We traveled by minibus and went first to Hakone open air sculpture park. I think sculpture often looks better in the open air and this is a terrific collection in a fabulous setting - manicured gardens surrounded by mountains. Maya, Picasso's daughter left her personal collection to Hakone and there are lots of Henry Moore pieces and from many other artists.

Next stop was the Kubota Itchiku collection - no photos allowed but the work is extraordinary.
He revived the art of Tsujigahana  silk dyeing which had been used to decorate elaborate kiminos. It is extremely labour intensive and time consuming.

Another autumn view from the train.

Lunch hunting territory at the station.

Read carefully

Some lunch possibilities

Still on the train

Green tea at 250 km/h.

 Japan Rail station staff are incredibly helpful.

Lake Ashi, but still too misty to see Mt Fuji

What is a pirate ship doing on Lake Ashi?

Torii gate at a lakeside shrine.

 Fancy a boat ride. Big corporations had lodges here for their employees to holiday. After the financial meltdown they were sold often to local government.

Mt Fuji. We tracked it as it constantly changed during the day. It is easy to see why artists such as Hokusai were fascinated.

Hakone Open Air Sculpture Park

Picasso

Mt Fuji again.

The gardens at the Kubota Itchiku Gallery.

Traditional handicrafts in Hakone

Last  views of Mt Fuji.