The Yin and Yang of a Sunday in Hakone

A bright, sunny Sunday morning turned into the highlight (!) of our last day “on the road” before reaching Tokyo.  Lee had planned a grand “circle tour” of the Hakone area from our delightful AirBnB in Ohiradai involving the local Tozan rail line, a cable car, two ropeways and a pirate ship.

 A bright, sunny Sunday morning turned into the highlight (!) of our last day “on the road” before reaching Tokyo.  Lee had planned a grand “circle tour” of the Hakone area from our delightful AirBnB in Ohiradai involving the local Tozan rail line, a cable car, two ropeways and a pirate ship.

Our first stop was at the Hakone Open Air Museum featuring contemporary sculpture from all around the world.  The grandkids especially enjoyed the Woods of Webs, an interactive playground unlike any other, while the adults appreciated both the sculpture and the care with they were placed in their surroundings, giving each piece the needed “breathing room”.

So far, so good.  Even prospects for seeing Mt. Fuji seemed certain.  Then the reality of a perfect early Spring Sunday full of blossoming trees and millions of people within an easy day trip distance began to manifest itself.

 The wait for the cable car wasn’t too bad, but to board the first ropeway up to Kuradome took at least forty-five minutes as did the wait for the trip down 
the other side to Lake Ashi.  By then the clouds had rolled in and the temperature had dropped precipitously.  The pirate ship accommodated a large crowd but not enough seats were available, so most of us continued to stand aboard ship as we had been doing for several hours by then.

 The wait for our bus back “home” proved equally 
frustrating as did our ultimate trek into Tokyo (we even spent much of our ride on the Shinkansen standing up!).

We were scheduled to arrive at our Tokyo digs by 5:00 PM but didn’t check in until nearly nine o’clock.  That, my friends, is what a yin-yang kind of Sunday can be like ....








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