Sadly, we had to leave the Pencil House and head to Hakone, known for its beautiful scenery and relaxing mineral hot springs.
We are staying in a Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn.) The beds are mats on the floor with warm puffs on them.
After dropping off our luggage, we made our way to the Hakone Open-Air Museum. We had all been looking forward to it, but nothing could have prepared us for the sheer scale and stunning quality of the exhibits. We wandered through the museum in awe, completely captivated, and didn’t leave until it closed.
In an indoor part of the museum they had hundreds of works by Picasso. He created art in so many different media: paint, copper, ceramic, bronze, wood, charcoal drawing, collage, lithographs and more. So versatile! He really tried to stretch his boundaries and create something totally new. His first word was “pencil.”
We ate at a zashiki—a traditional Japanese restaurant where you sit in the tatami mat floors and eat at low tables. I had the best fried rice I’ve ever tasted.
The inn has an outdoor onsen, which is like a small spa or a giant bathtub filled with hot milky white water. You reserve a time, you shower, and then enjoy it naked. Jim and I found it very relaxing at the end of a travel day.
Marsh Travels 