Went on a day trip to Hakone

I went on a trip to Hakone

On Friday, March 1, everyone from my school (I think there were about 300 of us) went on a field trip to 箱根 (はこね, Hakone), Kanagawa-ken, Japan. It was about 1.5 – 2 hours by bus from Shibuya. So why did we go there? I mean, just what is Hakone known for?

Well, it’s probably most known for its 温泉 (おんせん, onsen), or hot springs. We didn’t actually go to any though, which is probably for the best. I didn’t really want to see my male classmates in the buff. However, 混浴 would be OK! ^_~

Hakone is also known for its 黒卵 (くろたまご, kurotamago), or hard-boiled black eggs. The story goes that if you eat one, you’ll have 7 years added to your life. I ate two.

Now, before you get weirded out about the idea of a black egg, I have to tell you that only the shell is black. The rest of the egg is white and yellow and otherwise normal. And it tastes just fine. They’re black because of the sulfuric water the eggs are boiled in. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of them, but you can see them in the video below!

While there, we also took a boat ride around 芦ノ湖 (あしのこ, Ashinoko), a lake located in Hakone. There was a pirate ship type boat there, but unfortunately we road a normal one. Still, it was nice to get out and see some nature. It’s a joy to see it after being surrounded by urban things all the time in Yokohama and Shibuya.

It was on the boat ride that I had the chance to eat two “strange” things. They can both be seen in the video above. The first was a piece of squid filled with some type of peppers inside. This came from a classmate who brought it from her home of 大连 (Dàlián), China. As said in the video, it’s not something I’d try to find on my own, but looking back while I type this, it was pretty tasty.

Next was a duck tongue. Yes, the actual tongue of a duck. I really wish I had taken pictures of this with my camera rather than only video. Still, watching the video you can get an idea of how alien that thing looked. The flavor was good, but the texture was a little strange. I’m glad I tried it though!

No we were on a much bigger boat. A boat that held all of the students and teachers and had room for more

It was a trip of about 7 hours with the bus ride and all. I really wish we could have two field trips each term, or at least a few days to walk around areas of Tokyo and get out of the classroom more often. But I guess once is better than none!

As always, there are plenty more pictures. Click here for to view the rest of the pictures.

Picture taken inside the boat. A little more than half the people in my class. The others are wandering somewhere…

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