Ichinoyu

We visited Hakone (a resort area outside of Tokyo near Mount Fuji) for an overnight. Our first stop when we got to the Hakone area was to drop off our bags! The little railway train dropped us off, and we found this map of the area. Hmmm. We did manage to figure out where our ryokan (Japanese style hotel) was, and started down the path/ramp/stairs.

We found this Buddha under the stairs on the way to the ryokan.

Then Adam posed by this garden.

Once we got to Ichinoyu (which has been around for over 375 years), we dropped off our bags. Here's the view from our room.

After our day in Hakone, we enjoyed relaxing in the room before dinner. There was the tatami mat area and a nice area by the windows with the view of the river.

We then went upstairs to dinner. Most ryokans offer dinner and breakfast there - many served in your room. This one served dinner in their restaurant, but it was still delicious. We had a multi-course meal: raw beef with green onions, shabu shabu pork (like fondue), fried cod, seared Spanish mackerel, miso soup, rice, and yuzo (a Japanese citrus) sherbet. I don't like fish, and even I liked almost everything.

Everyone posing in our room.

The big draw of this ryokan was the private outdoor bath. Japanese bathing consists of washing while sitting on a stool with a showerhead, then, after you are fully clean, soaking in scaldingly hot water. Bapa and Gram tried out the public bath downstairs, while Adam and Lottie enjoyed bathing Japanese style. They loved the hot water - straight from the hot spring. We all had a good time soaking in the hot water while enjoying the view of the river.