After 2 more bath sessions, breakfast, and a quick tour of the 4th floor it was time to check out of our hotel. The main banquet room was really beautiful, and it is a shame that probably most people that stay here never see it. I really thought that it would be great to serve all the guests dinner in that room, at least people could appreciate it and it would eliminate the need for the use of the tables they set up in the halls to serve people in their rooms.
We got the train from Tonosawa and headed to Gora. We decided to try our hand at glass blowing.
It was fun even though you really didn't have much control over the process, they pretty much did everything for you and just let you sort of experience it. We got to blow in the pipe to expand the glass and with just a cotton glove and some folded newspaper between our hands and the 1000 degree glass, we got to help set the shape of the glass.
Next we set off to Miyanoshita, home to the Fujiya hotel. We thought that we would eat lunch at a bakery that I had heard of on TV that serves beef stew in a bread bowl. On the way there we stopped into ε°ζεεΊ (Kobayashi shoten)a store that is famous for it's wood crafts. If that is the right word for them. The owner of the shop came out and procedded to give us a historical run down on the area and the shop and the relationship with the royal family. This area is home to a former Imperial residence. Actually I thought we might never get out of the store, but lucikly we did and found our way to "Watanabe Bakery". It is a very small store and there was room for only 8 people to sit and eat. Of course they were selling fresh baked goods. The restaurant just seems to be a side thing.
We enjoyed a quick light lunch then back to check out a couple more shops before we headed back down to Hakone Yumoto.
1 comment:
Hello Mike,
My home town is in Miyanoshita, and in fact, it is one of the gift shops you have visited... Kobayashi Shoten!
Thank you very much for visiting!
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