The journey to Hakone from Odawara is beautiful. I felt that first hint of fear as I left the safety of a city and entered the woods. And also that first taste of the real beauty of Japan. That feeling that I could get lost and there would not be a Starbucks to charge my phone or anyone that speaks English. For anyone who goes, do yourself a favor and sit on the back of the train so you can watch as you go through each tunnel. It’s really beautiful. My destination was the Hakone Open Air Museum, which was actually secondary to the Venetian Glass Museum. When I got in the museum, immediately I knew that I had made the right choice for the day. There was so much interesting and beautiful art in this museum that I felt a little was disappointed in the world for not taking more interest, and also greedily excited that not many tourists go there and I get to keep it as my own secret place. At the end, I stumbled upon the stained glass tower. I knew that I would love it so much that I had to brace myself. I said to myself: this is it, it’s not going to get better visually than right now. It was already late when I got there and I stayed until it closed. There was one moment of panic as my IC card wouldn’t scan to get on the train and no one else was waiting for it and I thought I had missed the last one back to to town even though it was only 5:15 pm. More people started to show up and I calmed down.
That night was my first experience in a hostel and in retrospect, it was probably the most crowded and tiniest hostel I stayed at on my whole trip. There was this red headed French girl that talked late into the night and wasn’t very friendly to me. I mean, if you’re gonna be another red head, at least be nice to me so we don’t have to be rivals. Eye roll. That night, a drunk Australian guy came into our hostel and got into a fight with one of the guests. He wasn’t even a guest, just kind of like stumbled in. I was reminded of my youth being a helpless little girl listening to my mom get beat up. I wanted to talk to my bff or loml but obviously could not. It wasn’t the best experience and scared me for my future hostel stays.
The next day I had a mission. I wanted to go to the Venetian Glass Museum based on an image that I saw on the internet somewhere. It was rainy and cold that day. On the train up, I noticed that there were not many white tourists, and almost no one under the age of 50. I was questioning my choice. I made it up and the entrance was beautiful. The rest of the museum was a bit of a disappointment.
With so much time left in the day, I went back to Hakone, and desperately searched for a gluten free dairy free meal. No fucking dice. As was the case in so much of Japan, it was simply impossible. So instead I bought some edamame from 7-11 and went to a hot spring right behind Hakone-Yumoto station. It was simple, old looking, beautiful. The best part was that I was the only person there. I think it was the first time in Japan that I actually relaxed.
When I got out I ate my edamame and went back to Odawara. I searched for more food and found a pretty decent Indian restaurant although I don’t remember what it was called. Every few days, I had to eat a real meal so I didn’t die.
I went back to my hostel I already felt more comfortable than I did the night before and I remembered about myself that it’s pretty easy for me to fit in anywhere. I talked to this Australian woman for a long time about my travel plans, fashion, my career, and fabric. She was middle aged and with her tween daughter which I think is pretty fucking cool, staying in hostels with your kids and traveling, that is. She also encouraged me to take advantage of the masseuse who has stopped by and was giving free back massages to guests. By the time I left this place, I was sad to go. Feeling like any time I get comfortable I am uprooted and on to the next journey. So I lugged my 50 pound suitcase and back pack on to the next stop.
look down, look up 