Seika and Takuro rented a car and drove us to Hakone, it is a hot springs town with views of Mount Fuji. In Japan, they drive on the left side of the road. I would have been too nervous and disoriented to rent a car. On the way, we stopped for lunch with a nice view.

We stopped at 大涌谷 (Owakudani) and saw the hot spring source. It smelled of sulfur and had a decent amount of tourists.

In Owakudani, we ate the famous black eggs that are cooked in the hot springs. The black eggs are called  黒たまご (Kurotamago) and they get their black color from hydrogen sulfide reacting with the iron. The eggs are cooked in natural spring water for 60 minutes at 80°C and then steamed at 100°C for 15 minutes in steel baskets. Eating a Kurotamago is said to give you 7 years extra to your life, and it tastes just like a typical hard boiled egg. Cheers to 7 extra years! I hope we spend them well!

We arrived at our very fancy, very Japanese hotel. Our room had the tatami mat floor and also a table and chairs very low to the floor.

In the evening, the hotel staff arranged the room for sleeping and set up the futon bedding. So cozy!!!

Our balcony had a view of Mt. Myojogatake and also a private open air bath. The best!!! (さいこー!!!, Saikoo!!!)

Here is a selfie of me enjoying the balcony bath.

The hotel also had bedrock sauna (岩盤浴, Ganban’yoku). Bedrock sauna is essentially resting on a large warm rock. The black parts of the stone platform were heated. It felt similar to the moments in my childhood when I would lay down on the sun-warmed concrete after getting out of the swimming pool. Bedrock sauna encourages healthy blood circulation and is very relaxing. We had a timer set for our bedrock sauna session and took some naps.

The public onsen hot spring was in the basement of the hotel. The men and women onsen were separated and fully naked. Each section had their own open air bath with water sourced directly from the Owakudani Onsen. The water was a bit cloudy, but that’s naturally occurring minerals and is good for your hair and skin. The hotel says the look and smell of water changes based on the season and time of say. After bathing in the onsen, my hair and skin feel very soft and healthy and happy.

It is typical to bathe in the onsen multiple times a day. Before dinner, before bed, before breakfast, etc. It is so relaxing. Perhaps the other hotel guests didn’t bathe in the onsen as much, because the public onsen was almost always empty. More room for soaking and floating for us!

Cameras are not allowed in the public onsen, so here is a picture from the hotel’s website.

We had spa clothes to wear around the hotel.  We wore our 浴衣 (yukata) loungewear clothes to meals and also around the hotel. We wore our 作務衣 (samue) around the hotel as well and also for sleeping.

I was very impressed with the design of the sleeves that also function as a bag to carry items. Here I am holding my phone in my sleeve. Both the yukata and the yukata coat function this way.

We ate very traditional Japanese multi course 懐石(Kaiseki) dinner with seasonal and fresh ingredients. All of the dishes and foods were very well designed and added to the charm of the meal. I made sure to eat every bite out of experience and appreciation.

The shape of the dishes and the ingredients were all very celebratory of the autumn season.

We got to enjoy our dessert at the hotel bar which had a foot bath. I really liked the concept!

Thank you Seika and Takuro for the experience!!!