Had a wonderful night’s sleep; our room is quite spacious with two couches and room to move about. All the bathrooms in the hotels so far have a bidet, and this bathroom has a heated toilet seat. Ahhhhh…

This morning for breakfast, I finally found congee! I added pickled vegetables, pickled plums (soooooo good), and a half boiled egg (yes, a half boiled egg). I was a content and happy camper. Also had fresh fruit, an amazingly light type of donut, almost like a malasada, fresh vegetable salad, and juice. On the vegetable salad, I sprinkled olive oil and some lemon juice which was very tasty.

Considering the weather was supposed to be rainy for the first ten days of our Japan trip, so far, we’ve only had light rain one day. It’s been a little chilly at times, but with our light jackets on, we are very comfortable. Today, the sun was shining brightly and it was glorious seeing the sun’s rays dancing on the cherry blossoms.

We boarded our bus and drove to Lake Ashi, for a boat ride along what is known as a crater lake, and best known for its views of Mt. Fuji. The name means “lake of reeds”. In Japanese ashi is “reed”, and ko is “lake”. 

The chances of seeing Mt. Fuji is about 30% on any given day our guide told us, as it is usually hidden by the clouds. But as luck would have it, Hiro spotted the top of the mountain and excitedly called it to our attention while we were riding in the bus. I quickly turned around since I was in the back of the bus, and snapped the only photo that anyone was able to get. I shared the photo with everyone when we got back to the hotel, and they all were thrilled!

The boat ride was wonderful and we were the only people on this huge boat. The scenery was breathtaking, the sun was shining, and we were able to spot a glimpse of Mt Fuji from the boat, but in that short time of seeing it from the bus, it was already mostly hidden by the clouds.

One of the ladies in our group thought it would be a great idea for Allan and me to pose at the bow of the ship, and reenact the scene from Titanic. (Fortunately, we had a better ending then the movie.) LOL!

After disembarking the boat, we boarded the bus and drove to a woodworking mosaic studio. That was an amazing visit! The artisan showed us how he takes different kinds of wood, (which make different colors depending on the tree), sizes them to the depth he wants, glues them together, and then cuts them into shapes to form intricate patterns for whatever he decides to create. Sometimes he shaves a veneer off the glued wood, to be used in his projects. That veneer can be as thin as a fine paper. I purchased a lovely necklace that shows the fine workmanship.

We then had lunch at an Italian restaurant (go figure) and then walked to a nearby hotel to meet two geisha and had the opportunity to talk with them about what a geisha actually does.

Geisha are performing artists who spend many months learning how to perfect the dances that they perform. They usually can also sing or play a musical instrument and they also have to be proficient conversationalists. The geisha entertain at parties and are hired usually by hotels for wealthy business men. Sometimes they have long relationships with one man, who might always request her when he is in town, but modern geisha are not prostitutes; this is a misconception.

The first female geisha appeared in 1751, and today, the geisha performances are graceful and unique. Girls over the age of 18 can decide to train and become a geisha and live in what’s called a stable with other geisha as they learn how to perform. The Hakone geisha are unionized. They are hired by hotel managers through the union, and the union and the manager split the profits that the geisha earns for her performance.

Geisha traditionally wear long kimonos that represent the particular season during which they would be performing. It is not unusual for each geisha to own 50 kimonos. The kimonos can cost a lot of money to purchase, and many times, a geisha will buy used kimonos to save on the cost.

The kimono is made out of a 40’ long bolt of silk, that is about a foot wide. After the kimono has been worn for awhile, it must be cleaned by undoing all the intricate stitching and then assembled again. Sadly, there are not many tailors around who are capable of sewing the kimono anymore. The sash (obi) on the kimono is about 14 feet long and is wrapped around and around and then tied into the beautiful pattern that graces the back of the kimono. The geisha usually learns to do this wrapping by herself.

After the discussion, each geisha gave a dance performance for us which told a story through her movements. It was an informative afternoon and we were all so happy to have the opportunity to meet these lovely geisha.

We had dinner at the hotel and it was a buffet with both eastern and Japanese foods. Again, I tried many Japanese dishes, had a glass of wine, and then it’s off to bed.

My Fuji

Our boat

Mt. Fuji peeking through the clouds

Oh boy!

Beautiful scenery along Lake Ashi

Reenactment of the famous Titanic scene

Photo op with some sweet young girls

Geisha

My inlaid necklace