Dear All,
On Saturday morning, we left at 5.30 for Mt Fuji. September is a month of Typhoons, and it rains heavily. Since Friday it was raining, and the weather forecast said that the weather will continue for two three more days. So we were not sure whether we will be able to see Fuji. We went by a big car – a 10 seater one. And S was driving this rented car.I really appreciate her spirit. If she wants to do something, she has enough determination and courage to do it whatever the odds against her. Throughout the trip, I found that I could communicate with her better than with anyone else.
There was an accident on the expressway and there was a traffic jam of 6 km. This concept of the length of the traffic jam is quite different from ours – it means that for 6 kms the vehicles had to move at a very slow pace – perhaps 15 km per hr. Japan and particularly Tokyo is notorious for these traffic jams. I think that way we will have to say that on Karve road or JM road there is an eternal traffic jam!!! This was our first – and perhaps only experience of Japan outside Tokyo. Fuji is a major tourist attraction, and there are lots of tourists from all parts of the world. So this area cannot be called a typical rural part of Japan. But the infrastructure here is as good as that in Tokyo. The quality of roads, the facilities available there are same as those in Tokyo. And there is no poverty in Japan. We saw a few rice fields, and there were no skyscrapers there – otherwise any village looked like a suburb of Tokyo. Fuji – Hakone is a national park, and all the hills and mountains were covered with a dense forest. The entire route was like a sequence of picture postcards – It was difficult to take pictures, because there was nothing that could be omitted. I did not find any ugly sight of deforestation. I wish Sinhagad was in Japan! They would have taken care to preserve every stone of it. The difference is not just that of money – it was not only clean – there was a keen sense of aesthetics. Even the ever present adds of Coke et al are not encroaching on the natural beauty. I liked these things more than Fuji. Near Fuji, there are some caves formed by lava. We went to one such cave. There is ice inside this cave – the temperature is near 0 degree Celsius. It was not a very deep cave – not more than 30 feet under the ground level. But for every three or four steps that we descended, the temperature decreased by one degree. It was amazing. There are five lakes near the base of Fuji. We went to one of there lakes. It was very beautiful. These lakes are famous for fishing. After this lake, we went to Fuji – that is, started climbing the mountain. Even this road is as good as the expressway. Up to the 5th level of Fuji, there is motorable road. We went to level 5. It was raining all the time, and we were driving through thick clouds. So we could not see anything of the peak.At level 5, there was a souvenir shop and a couple of Japanese restaurants. We had Japanese food there – soba and ramen. Both are types of noodles, and after testing soba, we appreciated ramen much better! Soba is made from a cereal like jawar. There was no salt in it, and they had put everything from sea weed to vegetables in it. I like bland food, but it should have some taste of its own – I really wonder how the Japanese eat soba and enjoy it. Ramen is the normal wheat noodles – more chinese than Japanese in taste. Fortunately we had also ordered some pan cake, and though it was a bit leathery, it was tasty. After this “lunch”, we really enjoyed the vanilla softy available there – it was so cold and wet, everyone was shivering with cold and all wet, and enjoying the softy! Here, just for a few seconds, the clouds around the peak cleared, and we could see Mt Fuji! After descending the mountain, we drove around another lake as beautiful as the first one. After that, our hunt for a camping site began. The car had a “navigator” which once in a while got all lost, and lead our big car in narrow dead end lanes! Unlike the tourist spots in India where every shabby hotel and eatery puts up so many sign boards and hoarding all over the place, there were no ads of camping sites on the road. But S wanted to find a good camping ground with a view, and we kept on searching. Finally, we found a beautiful spot next to a lake. We camped there for the night. S and A had brought a tent and a barbecue stove, and we bought vegetables, chicken etc in a community shop on the way. The tent was so handy – it could be packed in a small plastic bag – and very sturdy. It was drizzling most of the time, but the tent was completely waterproof, and very warm inside. The tent was ready within five minutes – and we all started with the barbecue. A is an expert in camping. Within twenty minutes we had good fire, and then it started drizzling, and the fire was gone! So, for the next one and half hour, we all were standing around the barbecue, holding an umbrella over it, trying to get a good fire. After the “dinner”, we all sat in the car – chatting, jokes and songs started after that. Finally, we went to the tent for sleeping. (four of us had to sleep in the car, and those who went to sleep there repented it later on – the tent was definitely much more comfortable.:D) We got up at 5.30 in the morning and had a walk on the lake side. The sun was shining brightly, and the lake looked really beautiful. At 7.30, the remaining people got up, and by 9 we had packed up everything, and left for Hakone. Hakone is famous for its hot springs, and the beautiful view of Mt Fuji. This day was less cloudy than Saturday, and there were some hopes of the clouds clearing. after reaching Hakone, we went to the spot where the volcanic gases are coming out of the ground – the name was quite complicated, and I do not remember it now. (aai will be happy to know that, I know.) We went to this place by a ropeway. The view from the ropeway was breathtaking – it goes over two valleys – the first is lush green, and the second has hardly any vegetation – because of the the volcanic gases which are toxic. The transformation was so sudden – when we reached the end of first valley, we thought that it was the end of the ropeway, and suddenly we were over the other valley! Here the famous eggs are sold.These eggs are boiled in the heat of the volcanic gases, and supposed to be very healthy (or lucky? don’t recollect.) But they had such a foul smell, that it was difficult to eat one. After this spot, we went to the teddy bear museum. The entry fee was too high, and we decided that we are not that much interested in seeing the museum. Next to this museum, there are very beautiful lawns – the picnics lawns of Hakone. Took lots of snaps here, and then had our lunch at a community stores. After this, we went to the crafts museum. The wood crafts displayed here are too beautiful. Then there was the flower center. I had to hurry through this place, because other people were waiting outside, and we had to go to the spa. I will describe these parts in the next mail now – there are so many more things to describe!!!
– Gouri
***
After lunch, we went to the Handicrafts museum. This was a small place, and did not look very promising from outside. But the wood craft articles displayed there were very beautiful. One of the artisans was displaying his skills there. He was joining different colored wood pieces to form a pattern, and then he was taking a thin layer of this pattern using “randha”. This slice was pasted on a paper, and used for decorating various wooden articles. The patterns were very intricate and beautiful. I have got some of the samples – the discarded slices of patterns. We had seen all the exhibits before meeting him, and could not imagine that these beautiful articles are made this way. On the way back, we stopped at a place where “Amazake” is sold. “Amazake” is sake before it is fermented – actually it tastes more like rice porridge than like sake. It was sweet.
The next stop was at the flower center. This is a garden of Begonia and orchids. The entry fee was a bit high, so only S, A, H and I went there. I saw the creeper of Passiflora here – the leaves are like those of krishnakamal. And passion fruit is a type of Passiflora. There were so many varieties of orchids – I have taken snaps of as many flowers as possible, as you can imagine. 😀 These are grown in a green house. The variety of flowers reminded me of Valley of flowers – but this is completely artificial, and well looked after. On the way back, we came across a historical stone “high way”. Centuries old cedar trees can be seen in this part. There is a hiking root through these cedar trees, but everyone else was too tired, and absolutely not interested in a walk.
Now we wanted to go to some spa – the hot water bathing houses so famous in Hakone. We had to hunt
for a spa for quite some time – it was raining, and Sunday afternoon. So either the spas were full, or
too expensive for us. Finally we found one spa that could fit in our budget. After so much of exertion,
a hot water bath was the most soothing thing we could imagine. Here, there were separate sections
for men and women (in some spas, there are no separate sections). Here, they provide you with a “towel” – that is just a small napkin. You can buy your own soap, shampoo, towels etc. You have to takea bath before entering the hot water basin – and no cloths are allowed there. We did not know this, so I was wearing my swim suit, and S and N also were wearing something. I did not feel good making the others feel conscious of their bodies. I wished our people were more comfortable with their bodies and could enjoy the spa like the Japanese. But S and N would not have come there if theyknew that no cloths were allowed! The water was
really hot – we could see the hot water stream from the windows. And it was clean. I cannot imagine such
a place in India – first of all some “moralists”will try to close that place calling it vulgar, and secondly it will never be this clean. The mugs and buckets here were wooden, and the basin was carved in stone. It was just great.
So, it was a full weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed here.
– Gouri
***
Dear All,
Finally, yesterday I went to Disneyland. All alone – because no one else was coming. It was just great. It is impossible to put it all in words. I think I have never laughed so much in one day in my life! I started at 7.30 from home, and reached there around 8.50. From that time till 9.40 in the night when I left the place, I was just going from one attraction to another – and still I have not seen half the things that are there! Walt Disney has made so many people laugh for so many years – he should be awarded the Nobel prize for peace! I just cannot describe each of the attractions here – it has not sunk in as yet – too many experiences and impressions to be digested in one day.
I was a bit apprehensive yesterday morning – I had decided that I will go even if no one else comes, but I was not sure whether I will enjoy the trip all alone. Immediately after I reached there, there was a parade – “Donald’s big splash” – splash, splash, splash, everybody splash splash splash, everybody getting wet… – that was the best possible beginning for the day – Donald and his team splashing water over everybody on the way – all dancing and singing. After that I never felt that I was alone. And I think this feeling was present everywhere. Nobody can feel lonely, left out, or low in a place like this. At “Splash mountain”, there was a couple sitting behind me. They had a poloroid camera. They just took a picture of me, and presented it to me – it was so unexpected – I just did not know what to say to them. They made my day. And while coming from “Aunt Sarah’s Kitchen”, I drop some 10 – 15 coins in a crowded place, and within no time people around me colleccted these coins and returned them to me! Perhaps I will be able to write about this place in detail later on.
– Gouri
***
हुश्श … संपली बरं का जपानी पत्र! 🙂
