EN ROUTE TO KYOTO:
Hakone-Yumoto, Hakone, Japan.
October 18th, 2013, 2:17pm.
Oh my goodness! I just realized that my 19th birthday is in 10 days! Woaaaahhh! I don't know how to feel about that. I'm sort of sad I won't be able to celebrate it at home with my family, but at the same time, how many people can say they spent their 19th birthday in Japan? Well... I guess millions of Japanese people can say they have... You know what I meant!!!
So last night, after the hot spring, Real was so impressed with my pictures, that he wanted to make sure he got better ones. He went to the hot springs numerous times, but there was always someone in it. Finally he decided that he'd get up early and go in the morning, since the outdoor hot spring would be open to men at that time. Instead, we posed in our kimono/house coat things for pictures. It was really fun! We tried doing all these weird yoga/Buddhist poses, but none of them really worked out. Within the past couple of days, Real had been teaching me how to use my camera properly, and how to make cool effects. We brought out our clear umbrellas, and made some really interesting pictures! We spun the umbrellas while the shutter of the camera was still open, so we sort of look like we are in a bubble, or have some kind of force field around us! It was awesome! Man, I'm learning so much here!
After that, we realized that it was 1:00am, and that we needed to sleep. I woke up in the morning after Real had come back from the hot spring. We got ready and headed out to Lake Ashinoko (Lake Ashi) to try our luck at seeing Mt. Fuji. It was a cloudy day like yesterday, so it didn't look too good. We took a bus to the lake, where we caught a pirate ship to the other side. It was very windy and cold, but it was something different to do. There were mountains and trees lining the water's edge. Suddenly, a dark, thin, rock looking thing peeked out from above a cloud. It was Mt. Fuji!!! It was just it's peak, though. We could barely see it, it was so hidden. It was good enough for me though! It was beautiful! We watched as the boat turned a corner and the mountain disappeared. Oh well, at least we got to see it. We took the gondola back up to the Hell Valley- we were going backward this time. As we were going up the gondola, we saw it again! Mt. Fuji's tip looked as i it were floating amongst the clouds! A part of me wished that we could have seen the whole mountain, but at the same time, I was thankful that I at least got to lay my eyes on it at all. We snapped some pictures, and got off the gondola. We could see it out of a window from the station we were at, so I quickly switched lenses to my telephoto lens. This way, I'd be able to see more of the details of the mountain. Remember, I never would have had this lens if my first camera hadn't crapped out on me. So I guess it was a good thing after all! I got a beautiful shot of the different layers of the scenery. The forest filled mountains at the bottom, some more in the distance, the clouds, the tip of Mt. Fuji, and then the sky! It was perfect! Real said he was impressed! I think we're starting a creativity contest with our cameras. "I just don't want you to be sad and cry when you lose!" he said. Yeaaaah right. We'll see about that, uncle!
We had a long journey back to our hotel after that. We had to wait for nearly half an hour for the cable car, we had to spend an hour train ride to the station, (we both fell asleep and had a nice nap on the train) and then we had to walk back to get our luggage from the hotel. We actually almost missed our train back to Odawara! Oops... At least we made it! Because now we're on the Shinkansen Bullet train en route to Kyoto! Since we got to the station so late, we got really bad seats. The only ones available were in the smoking car. So here I am, sitting in a smoke-filled room with people coughing and hacking everywhere. Uhg. At least we have a ride there! This Japan Rail pass seems to be paying off! :)
Just a couple side stories: On the way to Odawara from Hakone-Yumoto, I was sitting on in a different car than Real. There was a seat in between an older woman and I. At one of the stops in between our departure and arrival, I was trying to organize myself and get my bags cleaned up. I was going through my purse, thinking, "I am SO hungry!" Suddenly, a handful of candies just fell from the sky and landed in my bag! I was so confused! Had the Japanese Candy Gods heard my stomach grumbling? I glanced up, only to find another old lady smiling at me. She had sat down beside me. She was going on and on and on about something in Japanese. I just went along with it, nodding my head as if I understood her. She was the one that had dropped the candies in my bag. Not the Japanese Candy Gods, sorry.
She was a pretty old lady. She didn't look like she was rich or anything. She had a cane and a flowery shopping bag. She was wearing a Japanese outfit, with a hat. You know, the one that old Asian women wear? Yeah, that kind. She just kept talking and talking! And I kept nodding and nodding! Just then, I remembered that I had some fridge magnets that had "Canada" written on them and a beaver or something. I know it wasn't much of a gift, but I thought I'd give one to her anyways. At least that way, she'd understand that I was thankful for her gift. I handed it to her, and she smiled. She looked a little confused, though. She read it and went, "Ohhh! Aligato gosaimas***a!" She turned and handed a bunch of candies to the other older woman sitting on the same bench of the train. She refused at first, but the lady persisted. Finally she gave in and took them, saying thank you. Her and I exchanged glances, as if to say, "Just go with it." The old lady only stayed on the bus for one stop. With her shopping bag and her Asian hat, she waddled off the train and waved goodbye.
I took one of the candies out and looked at it. It was all in Japanese, so I couldn't read it. I tapped the woman that had also received candy, and asked her if she knew what the lady was saying. She didn't understand me at first, since she didn't speak much English. She pointed to her throat and massaged it. I knew exactly what she meant! The candies we had gotten were for sore throats! I grinned and thought to myself how nice it was for that lady to be going around giving candies away to people. Everyone likes candies, especially ones that relieve something in pain! I then realized how big of a gesture that must be, for someone who probably doesn't have much even for herself. What's better, a rich man who donates 10,000 dollars to charity, or a homeless man who donates 10 dollars? Which is all he has? I opened the candy and popped it in my mouth. I really savoured it and thought about how it made me feel. It was my way of honouring her kindness. The other lady, who was still on the train, got off at Odawara with me. With candy in our mouths, we walked together towards the next terminal. We spoke a little, explaining where her and I came from. She was from Tokyo, and I told her I was from Canada. She helped me get to where I needed to go, and was on her way. Again, I thought about how nice everyone is here. No judgement, no hate. Just friendliness and kindness. I wish we could have more people like that in Canada!
Another small side story: At the open air museum yesterday, I had offered to take a picture for an Australian couple who were taking turns taking pictures of each other. I though, well it might be nice for them to be in at least a couple pictures together! So I went up to the girl and asked if she'd like me to take it for her! She gladly agreed, and she did the same for us. We got to talking, and found out a little bit about each other. They were later heading to Kyoto, like us. We said our goodbyes and were on our way. Today, when we reached the right terminal, to get on the train I'm on now, we ran into them again! They were waiting at the exact same gate, to get onto the exact same car of the exact same train as us!! How weird is that? A similar story happened when we met a Mexican man named Alejandro. He was travelling by himself. He stayed at the first hostel we were at with us. A couple days later, we ran into him at the Shinjuku station. That is the busiest train station in the world! Apparently more than 3.5 million people pass through it each day! How is that possible that we run into Alejandro again!?
It's such a small world, really. So much to see, with so many people to meet, but I feel like once you've met someone, you have an everlasting connection with them. Like those old ladies, the Australian couple, and Alejandro. I hope in the next few weeks to come, I get to meet more people like these ones! I can't wait for the journey still to come! And my BIRTHDAY! Yay! Next time you see me I'll be a 19 year old. ;)
I'll blog again later tonight! Thank you all for reading these entries and keeping me connected to home! Mwuah!
Love always,
Lindsay Lehr