“I like this one because it reminds me of the Hamburgerlar.” We’re inside a Picasso exhibit on the side of a mountain in Hakone, Japan and Chad is explaining to me why he likes a specific Picasso portrait. I start laughing, a bit too loudly, and we continue out into the Open Air Art Museum that sits next to our hotel on the side of a mountain.
We’re in Hakone, in the mountains close to Mount Fuji (which we could almost see from the train but weather is cloudy). We’ve made the mistake of spending far too much money on a ryoken that has a private onsen in the room but the deed has been done and we’re going to enjoy ourselves whether we like it or not. We’re here for the night, which will be nice because we need some relaxation after our Tokyo adventure. We are preparing to eat a nine course meal for dinner served in our room and then enjoy the hot springs. What can I say, we really splurged… (I’m looking for freelance work if anyone is hiring!! haha)
We ate a small lunch at a place called Woody’s, a tiny restaurant dedicated to Toy Story. The town we are in, Gora, is a really quiet town with just a few streets so after lunch, we stumbled upon a brewery and had to try a beer. It was delicious and a perfect way to spend our afternoon before our onsen experience. We’re in Hakone for one night of pure bliss and then onwards to Kyoto.