Hakone Ryokan - Kiritani Hakoneso

We spent one night in a small family-run ryokan in Hakone, which was located away from the main stations, but still within walking distance of one of the trolley car stations - and about 15 mins walk (albeit uphill) from Gora. There weren't any English signs along the way, but fortunately we had a map (printed out from Google) and the name of the place in Japanese, which helped us to find it easily.
We were put up at the new building across the road from the original guest house (in photo above). They had English-speaking staff, which made things very easy for us.

We booked a room with an ensuite toilet but without a bathroom, since we knew we would be taking our showers in the onsen.

We checked in about an hour before dinner time, which gave us time to stretch out and enjoy a hot cup of tea

So we had green tea with a red bean cookie, which was really nice.

Dinner was served in the dining hall, since we didn't really want to pay extra for having it served in our room. We didn't mind one bit, particularly after we saw the spread.

Sashimi - hamachi, amaebi and ika

From top: snail, some ngohhiang-like thingy stuffed with burdock root and carrot, hard-boiled egg that was finely chopped and reconsituted into a layered cake; and in the centre was a piece of sweet potato shaped like a piece of ginger.

Pickled vegetables

The closest name I could think of for this was crab tofu - not made with soy, but basically crab that had been creamed and reconstituted into a solid block. This was really interesting.
Fish roe with wakame

Salted salmon in some fish-cake like roll, with jellyfish

Probably the most boring dish of the evening : )

There was a nabe, or hot pot, of pork and vegetables, that was heated up once we sat down. The flower on top was made out of mochi!

A clear broth made from clams and mushrooms. The clam was stuffed with a very light and fluffy fish paste.

Free flow of rice. We only noticed later into the meal that all the other Japanese women were serving the men rice and pouring tea, while my wonderful husband was the only man in the room doing all the serving. Keep it up, I say : )

The nabe, when done, was lovely - perfect for a cold winter evening.

By the time we got back to our room, our mattresses and doonas were all laid out ready for us.

The next morning, breakfast was just as amazing, with 11 dishes per person!

Silverfish with daikon

Fishcake with mustard

Pickles

Tofu and mushrooms in a ginger-soy sauce

Crab miso soup

The Japanese breakfasts I'm used to consist only of broiled fish, steamed rice, soup and pickles, ie. what's shown in the photo below. The only thing missing was natto.

The fish was fresh and sweet

With a texture similar to the nasi lemak fish - ikan kuning
Tamago yaki

This was the view outside our window that we woke up to

The ryokan also had indoor and outdoor onsens - both male and female, as well as private onsens that could be booked for an extra fee. We didn't bother with that though, since the husband was unable to tolerate even half a minute of submerging his (rapidly cooking) foot in the water. The only onsen that he could be persuaded to use was the outdoor foot bath.

Taking into consideration the peak season surcharge, we probably paid about $180 per person for 1 night with 2 meals included, which we felt was excellent value given the quality and quantity of the 2 meals. Bought separately, dinner could have cost close to that same amount. There were also other ryokans that we saw that cost about US$500 per person per night, which we simply couldn't justify, despite all the perks of private onsens and in-room dining. I'd recommend this place anytime.

They have an English website where room reservations can be made:
http://www.japanbooking.info/ryokan/kiritani-hakoneso

Hakone - Sightseeing

So off we went to Hakone for an overnight stay and 2 days' worth of sightseeing. We bought the Hakone Freepass that got us a return trip on the train and all other forms of transport within the Hakone area, as well as discounts at various museums and parks. Since we had more time than money, we decided not to upgrade to the Romance Car, which meant that the journey took about 2 hours. This also meant that we couldn't do the Japan Hour thing and eat bentos on the train, which didn't really matter in the bigger scheme of things.

The scenery outside the window as we got closer

Odawara, where we changed trains to get to Hakone Yumoto

At Hakone Yumoto, where you can buy bentos before getting back on the Romance Car

Quite a good variety available

We decided to grab lunch at Hakone Yumoto before heading off to sightsee. It was a busy little town.

Saw a most interesting shop along the main street which definitely had to be selling seafood

Cuttlefish being dried at the front of the shop. We didn't buy anything.

Lots of stuff for sale, including freshly toasted senbei

This display area of a soba shop opposite the station caught our eye

It was opposite the station about 50m to the right, and was the only shop with a decent setback from the street

Long queue+crowded = good food. So we were happy to wait.

The husband's soba in soup, which came with one prawn and various veggies

My soba - which was meant to be dipped - plus tempura on the side.

The soba was delicious with a wonderfully chewy texture.

Nothing quite like freshly-fried tempura. Lovely!

There's extra soup in this pot, which you're supposed to pour into the bowl of dipping sauce and drink as a finish to the meal. I thought it was extra dipping sauce and had wondered why the Japanese wanted to drink it. The soup was lovely. But the meal wasn't cheap at all, at around 3000Yen per person.

Scenery at Hakone Yumoto just next to the train station.

We also visited the Hakone Open Air Museum, which has a permanent Picasso exhibition. I'm sure it was just an unfortunate coincidence that this statue of someone bending over was placed strategically in front of the large black letters.

They even had a foot bath, with towels on sale for 100Y each.

Lovely surroundings, and a perfect place for enjoying the sculptures.

Another view of the surroundings.

Looking out to the hills beyond

After the museum, we headed to our ryokan for the night (more on that later). The next day, we took the trolley car out in the direction of the lake.

Which later led us to the cable car station

Lovely views all round

Including that of Mount Fuji

We stopped at this town called Owakuwani which had eggs cooked in the hot sulphur - didn't try any though.
Another view of the elusive Mt Fuji from the cable car

We picked this up waiting for the boat at Lake Ashi

The pirate ships at Lake Ashi, which were a bit contrived although good fun in the end.

Mt Fuji from the middle of Lake Ashi. We stood out in the 2 deg C weather, with wind chill, waiting for just this view.