Kijite Hoeiso, Hakone

My friend and I visited Tokyo and Hakone over the Chinese New Year holiday and we had a good time there. Our experience at the Japanese onsen was impressive.

To me, as a foreigner in Japan, my experience at Kijite Hoeiso is considered as very ‘Japanese’. This traditional style ryokan has about 18 to 20 rooms, fabulous indoor and outdoor onsens and exotic (to me) food for dinner.

Kijite Hoeiso in Hakone

I was served pheasant sashimi as the appetizer dish for dinner. I eat fish sashimi whenever I dine at a Japanese restaurant but bird sashimi is a whole new different ball-game to me. I courageously took a bite, it tasted good (no smell, somewhat tender) and proceeded to enjoy the remaining portion. I took some Asahi beer with the pheasant, hoping that the alcohol would finish off any germs on the bird (blue flu concerns). You may think I am crazy but hey, I needed the peace of mind. I later found out that pheasant sashimi is also eaten in Korea. That made me feel better, at least I know I am not the only ‘weird’ one. The rest of the dinner was somewhat intriguing and unfamiliar but good. The steamed soybean milk tofu that was served for breakfast the next day was also delicious.

The raw pheasant, as the appetizer, to be eaten with soy sauce and wasabi

The thigh of the pheasant, as the main course, to be grilled to medium raw.

And the onsens! Ahhh, the onsens! My friend and I booked this facility for its onsens. We wanted to experience Japanese onsens just like those that we have seen on Japan Hour – outdoor, natural setting (not tiles but rocks), steamy and clean. We were not disappointed. Our timing was good. It snowed the day we arrived in Hakone, the winter snow perfected the whole onsen experience. We rinsed off at the indoor onsen and then walked quickly (it was freezing cold) to the outdoor onsen for our relaxing dip. After 8pm, the facility allowed private booking of the outdoor onsen and I highly recommend this. They gave us a tag to hang outside the outdoor onsen so people would not come walking in. The outdoor onsen is located right next to a stream and you can hear the water flowing. It stopped snowing, the skies are clear and we could see the stars and a few planes flying by.

The outdoor onsen, next to the stream

Our private time slot at the outdoor onsen.

The facility is small and you get a lot of privacy - you are not bumping into people at every turn of a corner. We were assigned a lady to serve our meals in our room and prepare our futons. She is marvelous – very attentive and speaks a bit of English to help explain things to us.

First time to an onsen and do not know what to do? No worries, they have a guidebook for you. =)

Given the remarkable experience that we have had, my friend and I will definitely be back. Next time, we will skip the whole tour of Hakone thing, go straight to Hoeiso, enjoy the onsens, have exotic dinner in the room, enjoy the onsens again, sleep, wake up, enjoy the onsens again, have breakfast, go around facility to take more pictures and check out. 

Some tips for Hakone:

• You can take the express train from Shinjuku Station instead of the Romance Car to save some money. You have to change train at Odawara but that is no bother, very straight-forward.
• If you have the Hakone Free Pass, I think you can take the Tozane bus from the bus stop opposite the Hakone-Yumoto train station to go to Hoeiso. No need to take the small bus “B” and save Yen100 per way. I found out about this on my way back to the train station from Hoeiso. 
• The road where the Hakone-Yumoto train station is located has a quite a number of restaurants, so this is a good place for you to catch lunch or dinner.

Till my next blog entry, please take care! =)