We've had some teary times from Anna feeling the distance from her friends in Australia while still in the process of finding her groove socially in her new class. A number of kids in her class speak Japanese as a first language and I reckon trying to fit in when language is a barrier must be tough at the age of 6. Rachel was also feeling a bit homesick in her own way, talking allot about her preschool friends and teachers back home. She has had the greatest transition at the British School which takes on a rigid academic approach to learning at a young age. She is learning to read and write now which is about 18 months earlier than we'd anticipated given we were still living in Australia. But she is a trooper and heads off to school in her little navy track pants and top quite happily (most days). I've definitely struggled more with this adjustment than she has and feel a great sense of loss that her playtime has been cut short.
Atholl learns Japanese every day. As the time is passing and the lessons are advancing he is finding this a really tough language to learn. He started learning Hiragana but that came to an end. His hand writing is bad enough in english, and he admitted it wasn't going to overcome Hiragana.
I had my moment of wanting to fly back to Sydney when Romy and Art delivered their newborn baby boy into the world 2 weeks ago. It felt wrong not to be present. Romy is so much more than just a special friend to us and we would have loved to be there to meet her beautiful baby.
Despite these moments (and of course there are others way to dull for a blog) we figure this is a natural course in a migration and we're adamant to move forward to make sure we enjoy our time.
The Red Leaf report in Tokyo refers to some of the best areas to take in the Autumn colours and as this time of the year is a highlight in the Japanese season calendar, we decided to take a trip to Hakone over a long weekend.
Hakone in the Kanagawa prefecture is about 90kms from Tokyo and famous for its scenery, proximity to Mount Fuji and onsens. We took this trip over a public holiday weekend - not a sensible idea. A one and a half hour train ride from Shinjuku station took us about 5 hours to get there by car. We took a stop to keep sane in the traffic at Denny's a cheap American style cafe/diner for pancakes and french toast. Japanese style of course.
Driving into Hakone was breathtaking comparable in our opinions to the Swiss or Italian alps in summer. Hilly and magnificent hues of brights reds and yellows, such a pretty setting. Once we finally got there we started our trip at the Hakone Open Air Museum. We were so impressed with this amazing outdoor exhibition of art and sculpture. There were 2 amazing art exhibits for the kids to run through, something really different. We also walked through an impressive Picasso gallery. There is something about seeing art outdoors - it was a bit like Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney where art and nature meet. Very lovely. We had our first taste of an onsen foot bath, a fun experience soaking our feet in thermal waters although Rachel got her tights wet and walked around the rest of the day barefoot in 10 degree weather.
We finally arrived at our hotel in the dark and rain pretty late. It was here where we fully enjoyed our first onsen experience. Onsen means 'hot spring' in Japanese and the term is used to describe the bathing facilities. As Japan is a volcanically active country it has thousands of onsens both indoor and outdoor and Hakone is renowned for them.
I've heard that Japanese people talk about the virtue of 'naked communion' and I must say I felt this was a good way to describe the experience. It felt almost spiritual (perhaps similar to a Mikvah..although with a group spin on it!). The girls came with me and we watched the locals scrubbing before and after and just followed what they were doing.
Ath went into the male onsen a little unsure of the custom (he had few men around). He burnt his eyes by splashing water over his face. Clearly a no-no. Although the water was really hot, the girls loved it, they wore the Japanese slippers and loved all the after-bathing pampering lovely creams and hair oils etc. I went again late at night trying the outdoor hot springs and again early in the morning with Anna. It was heavenly.
Waking up at the Palace Hotel Hakone was a treat. We had magical views of snowcapped Mount Fuji and the surrounding Lake Ashi. We took the picturesque boat trip across the lake to the Hakone Shrine and then made our way home unsure what the roads would be like.
After a 4 hour drive covering 15 kms we arrived at the main Hakone town and we decided that I should take the train to get the kids home. Trying to get onto the Romance Car (loved the name of this train) and buy tickets was stressful in itself but at least 1.5 hours later I was back in Tokyo with the kids bathed and in bed long before Atholl got home. It took him 8 hours to drive 90 KMs with a dodgy GPS - I was very relieved when he finally walked in.
There is so much more we want to explore. We know this a beautiful country with diverse scenery. Next travel adventure is to Hakuba for skiing next February. We're going to take the Shinkansen (bullet train) for sure. We don't have a lot of time here and we need to move fast.
(Below are photos from Hakone and Lake Ashi)
