To finally stand in Hakone
More than a year ago for some reason I found myself on Google plus. That
strangest of web sites to which people never seem to go as a result of a
conscious decision. Then for some reason I started looking for pages
related to Japan. Within moments I had found a page of a French
photographer who appeared to have travelled extensively in Japan. The photo
of his that I saw was one of this place in Japan called Hakone. It was only
one photo, but one photo was all it took. I was hooked.
That, of course, was not the beginning of my desire to go to Japan. I had
always been fascinated by this country which seemed to be the source of so
many things I adored. That photo only added a lot of fuel to the fire.
Today, I stood in Hakone. It was raining lightly. There was a chill wind
blowing and the treetops were wreathed in tendrils of mist. It could not
have been more perfect had I orchestrated it all. Today was a very
significant day for me in more ways than one but I shall get to that after
talking about the things I saw and did.
The journey to Hakone took about two and a half hours one way and involved
two trains and a bus. I didn't have much difficulty with finding the trains
and the buses since by this point I'm fairly used to navigating the
Japanese rail system, at least when I start from Shinjuku. Put me anywhere
else and I'll probably be more lost than the show ( get it? Because lost
was actually a tv show....).
Once I stepped off the bus at Motohakone I was almost immediately lost.
There was an office which looked exactly like a tourist information bureau
which proudly proclaimed "this is not a tourist information bureau". There
were a few shops and restaurants. There was a pier from which a pirate ship
carrying tourists was casting off. Then there was the bus which I had
arrived on, now leaving me and taking with it my link to civilization.
Hoisting my backpack, completely unnecessarily since it was already on my
back, I set off in a direction. 2 minutes later, I returned and headed in
the exact opposite direction now having ascertained the fallacy of the
original choice. I walked towards the lake Ashinoko and stood there in
reverence for fifteen minutes at least. Rain in the air, the wind in the
distance and mountains all around me ringing the steel gray waters of the
lake. Eventually I tore my eyes away from the overall picture and started
scanning the vista at which point I saw it. I saw it and immediately my
mind became quiet. Rising in the distance, feet sunk into the water, red as
the sun after which this land is named. The Torii stood beckoning. I had
seen the torii of the Hakone shrine in pictures before and so I immediately
recognized it and once I regained motor control I started heading off in
that direction. My progress was not spectacular here since I was stopping
ever few minutes to take pictures and to randomly smile at passers by who
would obviously have had no idea of the reasons for my happiness.
Eventually I reached a path that forked away from the main road and that
was the point at which I got my second jolt of the day and oh what a jolt
it was. I was immediately taken back a year or perhaps more to when I saw
that picture on Google plus because in front of me was the same picture. A
path, flanked by red lanterns on either side leading into the forest. This
was the picture, this was the dream. Why? I have not the faintest idea. Why
should a simple picture evoke such responses in any sane person? I know
not. I simply know that in that moment, I was happy. It was not even a huge
kind of happiness, it was simple and unassuming. The kind of happiness you
get from waving at a child on the train and the child giving you a gigantic
grin in return accompanied by what it's tiny brain tells it is the way to
execute a wave. Breathing slow and steady I headed down to the lake and the
torii now stood right in front of me. I have taken ample pictures of almost
everything I wrote/will write about here, but this is for words and words
alone. If I cannot impart to you the feelings I experienced today without
pictures, then perhaps those feelings are mine and mine alone and are not
meant to be shared.
I finally left the lake torii and headed up the steps to the Hakone shrine.
Beautiful, old construction and a feeling of sanctity not diminished
whatsoever by people texting, tweeting and so on in the vicinity. Then the
rain began in ernest. I reached for my umbrella only to find it gone. I had
either dropped it somewhere along the way or someone had taken it from me.
This was bad because until that point I had been fearless in the face of
the rain, she was my friend there to greet me and to welcome me finally to
this place I had only dreamed about. Now the rain was pouring down and
without an umbrella and the low temperature, I was sure to fall sick.
The thoughts ran through my head, return back to the hotel, go to Akihabara
again, go to Ueno as planned and so on. I waited for a bit and then finally
started walking down the stairs of the shrine, not sure what to do. For the
next ten minutes or so I walked from shelter to shelter waiting for a bit,
searching to see if in addition to serving hot ramen the restaurant also
sold umbrellas. Finally, I decided to head back towards the Motohakone town
center and as luck would have it the first store I walk across has
umbrellas. The shopkeeper was also kind enough to give me a map and she
pointed out how to get to Hakonemachi a town on the other side of lake
Ashinoko.
Umbrella in hand I set forth and a block later dipped into a coffee shop. I
was cold by this point and getting rained on did not help things one bit.
An exceptionally friendly waitress took my order ( kohi arimasu ka? ) and
then I sat down and gathered myself with aid from the amazing cup of coffee
she made for me.
After this beautiful little break, spirits soaring I headed to Hakonemachi.
This is where things get really interesting.
As I was walking along I see a bridge leading from the road to what seemed
to be a buildings roof with an amazing view of the lake. Without thinking
twice I veered off the road and onto the roof of this building. I drew my
camera and many a shot was captured.
That by itself is nothing special, the following bit is.
I saw a path leading down from the road and I just took it. Soon, I saw a
board that said Oen Hakone park. I walked across this low bridge, almost
level with the water. I had taken a few photos with the camera and hoisted
my backpack ( again needlessly ) when I realized that I was completely
alone there. Now, with the number of people in Japan and the popularity of
Hakone as a tourist spot you have to understand that this is a very very
rare thing to happen. I forged ahead. All signs pointed to the park being
closed. I thought about turning back as all the familiar demons came out to
play. The ones cautioning me against putting one foot out of line, doing
anything that did not conform with some invisible script that appeared to
govern my life and existence and so on.
For once, I ignored them.
Steps lay in front of me, 200 or so. Slick with the rain, green with moss
they were rather treacherous. I climbed them. Furiously at first,
exhilarated that I was doing something like this, something so adventurous
and impulsive. Then I got tired and so slowed down a bit.
I kept going and going and then reached an open area at the top with
stunning views of Ashinoko. I was alone there for a good quarter hour and
then I saw someone lounging about. An old man. I was quite impressed by his
feat of climbing the staircase when I saw a couple with a small child at
which point I deduced that something was off. This is when I saw the
observation building and parking lot attached to it.
This however took nothing away from what I had done. I was still
ridiculously happy.
Every time an opportunity presented itself to go back to the road, or to go
back to the main route I searched for another path and took it. The more
farther away it lead from the actual route the better. I walked through
areas that were kissed by the lake and five steps would have had me out in
the cold waters of Ashinoko. I walked through flower gardens devoid of
flowers. I walked to and rested at lonely observation decks where it was
just me and the wind. I walked and walked.
Eventually I reached Hakonemachi and after seeing a few sights there and
once again having some delightful coffee and toast ( tosuto arimasu ka? )
at a restaurant I started the journey back to Shinjuku.
I feel like I will take away a piece of Hakone with me.
Not the over popularized, touristy, gaudy version shown by the websites and
travel guides but a piece of the Hakone that I created in my head the
moment I saw that photo.
While many of you will be rolling your eyes at me saying the following
lines I will stand by them.
Hakone gave me a gift too, it gave me freedom. For a while, for a very
brief while I was free, doing as I pleased. No thoughts of the past, no
thoughts of the future, just the present. When friends had asked me what I
intended to do in Japan I always had one answer for them " I just want to
be you know? I just want to go to Japan and breathe and just exist.".
Today, in Hakone, I just was, I simply existed.
My journey in Japan has barely begun but I feel like I have already got so
much from these first few days. I want to learn their language and make it
mine as well. I want to be able to read the works written by the Japanese
masters and to pen my own simplistic notions and thoughts in beautiful,
majestic kanji. I want to be able to breathe again in Hakone. My resolve
has been strengthened a thousandfold by what I lived through today. Yet
another parting gift from Hakone.
-Magus
More than a year ago for some reason I found myself on Google plus. That
strangest of web sites to which people never seem to go as a result of a
conscious decision. Then for some reason I started looking for pages
related to Japan. Within moments I had found a page of a French
photographer who appeared to have travelled extensively in Japan. The photo
of his that I saw was one of this place in Japan called Hakone. It was only
one photo, but one photo was all it took. I was hooked.
That, of course, was not the beginning of my desire to go to Japan. I had
always been fascinated by this country which seemed to be the source of so
many things I adored. That photo only added a lot of fuel to the fire.
Today, I stood in Hakone. It was raining lightly. There was a chill wind
blowing and the treetops were wreathed in tendrils of mist. It could not
have been more perfect had I orchestrated it all. Today was a very
significant day for me in more ways than one but I shall get to that after
talking about the things I saw and did.
The journey to Hakone took about two and a half hours one way and involved
two trains and a bus. I didn't have much difficulty with finding the trains
and the buses since by this point I'm fairly used to navigating the
Japanese rail system, at least when I start from Shinjuku. Put me anywhere
else and I'll probably be more lost than the show ( get it? Because lost
was actually a tv show....).
Once I stepped off the bus at Motohakone I was almost immediately lost.
There was an office which looked exactly like a tourist information bureau
which proudly proclaimed "this is not a tourist information bureau". There
were a few shops and restaurants. There was a pier from which a pirate ship
carrying tourists was casting off. Then there was the bus which I had
arrived on, now leaving me and taking with it my link to civilization.
Hoisting my backpack, completely unnecessarily since it was already on my
back, I set off in a direction. 2 minutes later, I returned and headed in
the exact opposite direction now having ascertained the fallacy of the
original choice. I walked towards the lake Ashinoko and stood there in
reverence for fifteen minutes at least. Rain in the air, the wind in the
distance and mountains all around me ringing the steel gray waters of the
lake. Eventually I tore my eyes away from the overall picture and started
scanning the vista at which point I saw it. I saw it and immediately my
mind became quiet. Rising in the distance, feet sunk into the water, red as
the sun after which this land is named. The Torii stood beckoning. I had
seen the torii of the Hakone shrine in pictures before and so I immediately
recognized it and once I regained motor control I started heading off in
that direction. My progress was not spectacular here since I was stopping
ever few minutes to take pictures and to randomly smile at passers by who
would obviously have had no idea of the reasons for my happiness.
Eventually I reached a path that forked away from the main road and that
was the point at which I got my second jolt of the day and oh what a jolt
it was. I was immediately taken back a year or perhaps more to when I saw
that picture on Google plus because in front of me was the same picture. A
path, flanked by red lanterns on either side leading into the forest. This
was the picture, this was the dream. Why? I have not the faintest idea. Why
should a simple picture evoke such responses in any sane person? I know
not. I simply know that in that moment, I was happy. It was not even a huge
kind of happiness, it was simple and unassuming. The kind of happiness you
get from waving at a child on the train and the child giving you a gigantic
grin in return accompanied by what it's tiny brain tells it is the way to
execute a wave. Breathing slow and steady I headed down to the lake and the
torii now stood right in front of me. I have taken ample pictures of almost
everything I wrote/will write about here, but this is for words and words
alone. If I cannot impart to you the feelings I experienced today without
pictures, then perhaps those feelings are mine and mine alone and are not
meant to be shared.
I finally left the lake torii and headed up the steps to the Hakone shrine.
Beautiful, old construction and a feeling of sanctity not diminished
whatsoever by people texting, tweeting and so on in the vicinity. Then the
rain began in ernest. I reached for my umbrella only to find it gone. I had
either dropped it somewhere along the way or someone had taken it from me.
This was bad because until that point I had been fearless in the face of
the rain, she was my friend there to greet me and to welcome me finally to
this place I had only dreamed about. Now the rain was pouring down and
without an umbrella and the low temperature, I was sure to fall sick.
The thoughts ran through my head, return back to the hotel, go to Akihabara
again, go to Ueno as planned and so on. I waited for a bit and then finally
started walking down the stairs of the shrine, not sure what to do. For the
next ten minutes or so I walked from shelter to shelter waiting for a bit,
searching to see if in addition to serving hot ramen the restaurant also
sold umbrellas. Finally, I decided to head back towards the Motohakone town
center and as luck would have it the first store I walk across has
umbrellas. The shopkeeper was also kind enough to give me a map and she
pointed out how to get to Hakonemachi a town on the other side of lake
Ashinoko.
Umbrella in hand I set forth and a block later dipped into a coffee shop. I
was cold by this point and getting rained on did not help things one bit.
An exceptionally friendly waitress took my order ( kohi arimasu ka? ) and
then I sat down and gathered myself with aid from the amazing cup of coffee
she made for me.
After this beautiful little break, spirits soaring I headed to Hakonemachi.
This is where things get really interesting.
As I was walking along I see a bridge leading from the road to what seemed
to be a buildings roof with an amazing view of the lake. Without thinking
twice I veered off the road and onto the roof of this building. I drew my
camera and many a shot was captured.
That by itself is nothing special, the following bit is.
I saw a path leading down from the road and I just took it. Soon, I saw a
board that said Oen Hakone park. I walked across this low bridge, almost
level with the water. I had taken a few photos with the camera and hoisted
my backpack ( again needlessly ) when I realized that I was completely
alone there. Now, with the number of people in Japan and the popularity of
Hakone as a tourist spot you have to understand that this is a very very
rare thing to happen. I forged ahead. All signs pointed to the park being
closed. I thought about turning back as all the familiar demons came out to
play. The ones cautioning me against putting one foot out of line, doing
anything that did not conform with some invisible script that appeared to
govern my life and existence and so on.
For once, I ignored them.
Steps lay in front of me, 200 or so. Slick with the rain, green with moss
they were rather treacherous. I climbed them. Furiously at first,
exhilarated that I was doing something like this, something so adventurous
and impulsive. Then I got tired and so slowed down a bit.
I kept going and going and then reached an open area at the top with
stunning views of Ashinoko. I was alone there for a good quarter hour and
then I saw someone lounging about. An old man. I was quite impressed by his
feat of climbing the staircase when I saw a couple with a small child at
which point I deduced that something was off. This is when I saw the
observation building and parking lot attached to it.
This however took nothing away from what I had done. I was still
ridiculously happy.
Every time an opportunity presented itself to go back to the road, or to go
back to the main route I searched for another path and took it. The more
farther away it lead from the actual route the better. I walked through
areas that were kissed by the lake and five steps would have had me out in
the cold waters of Ashinoko. I walked through flower gardens devoid of
flowers. I walked to and rested at lonely observation decks where it was
just me and the wind. I walked and walked.
Eventually I reached Hakonemachi and after seeing a few sights there and
once again having some delightful coffee and toast ( tosuto arimasu ka? )
at a restaurant I started the journey back to Shinjuku.
I feel like I will take away a piece of Hakone with me.
Not the over popularized, touristy, gaudy version shown by the websites and
travel guides but a piece of the Hakone that I created in my head the
moment I saw that photo.
While many of you will be rolling your eyes at me saying the following
lines I will stand by them.
Hakone gave me a gift too, it gave me freedom. For a while, for a very
brief while I was free, doing as I pleased. No thoughts of the past, no
thoughts of the future, just the present. When friends had asked me what I
intended to do in Japan I always had one answer for them " I just want to
be you know? I just want to go to Japan and breathe and just exist.".
Today, in Hakone, I just was, I simply existed.
My journey in Japan has barely begun but I feel like I have already got so
much from these first few days. I want to learn their language and make it
mine as well. I want to be able to read the works written by the Japanese
masters and to pen my own simplistic notions and thoughts in beautiful,
majestic kanji. I want to be able to breathe again in Hakone. My resolve
has been strengthened a thousandfold by what I lived through today. Yet
another parting gift from Hakone.
-Magus
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