21122012 Hakone’s Suginami

Got out of the comfortable and deliciously futon at 8am, and the sun outside was already glaring. Breakfast was to be served at 8.30am, so I headed to the outdoor hot spring bath for one last soak. It felt great to be in the steaming hot ofuru, while it was just freezing outside.

Put on the yukata (Japanese bath robes), then headed down for breakfast, prepared by the hotel in traditional Japanese style. Don’t be fooled by the boxes, the portions were rather large. My favourite would still be the miso soup, which I usually drink after I’ve finished my meal, washing down everything.

Returned to the room after I was done with breakfast, and the futons had been cleared away. Had a change of clothes then checked out, leaving my bag with the hotel so that I could walk around the town. The town was still very quiet, with a mixture of sleepiness and gloom feeling strung about it.

Headed down past the dock, along the edge of the lake to get some good pictures of Mount Fuji. The taxi driver from yesterday had mentioned about this place too, and he was spot on. The sky was brilliantly clear, so you could see Mount Fuji majestically in the background, with the bright red toriimon of the Hakone Shrine perched on the end of the Ashinoko Lake.

It must had been really cold last night, as most of the puddles were frozen with a thin layer of ice on it. Had fun stepping on them, breaking the ice like a terribly fascinated Malaysian who had never seen one before.

From the edge of the lake, walked up to the main road where the traffic was starting to get heavy, and crossed it to get to the old suginami road, Cryptomeria-lined roads which used to be a part of the old Tokaido highway.

Back in the Edo period, the shogunate decided that it would a good idea to plant these trees along the roads, as they could provide shelter and shade from the hot sun for travelers along the road. I was told that sighting these trees would also mean that you are near to a checkpoint or a town.

The Edo period had ended a good 200 over years ago, so it felt very impressive to be walking among these giants who had been standing for hundred of years. People no longer travel the Tokaido on foot now, and the old roads felt very lonely while walking through them, save for an occasional admirer or two like me.