Art, Fuji and the GPS Lady strikes again!

Leaving Lalaca Ryokan, we reversed out onto the goat track with the unrequired assistance of the lovely staff, before plugging in the coordinates for the Hakone Open Air Museum on the good old GPS Lady.

Stopping exaggeratedly at a small railway crossing along the way, we came to what appeared to be a very limited parking space for the outdoor Art Museum. After some failed attempts at gaining entry to the place, we resorted to pantomiming to someone inside the large fence that we would very much like to get in. Their emphatic hand gesturing led us to believe we were nowhere near the main entrance. Our 10 minute journey past some surprised workers on their smoke-break through a gritty loading dock seemed to confirm this. Thanks GPS Lady.

Bison - with gawkers

Hakone Open Air Museum hosts a number of art pieces by Henry Moore (of Reclining Figure fame), as well as some joker called Pablo Picasso (amongst many others). Lily was dramatically aghast at the presence of nude statues - which didn't bode well, given Mr Picasso's fondness for the ladies.

Henry Moore - a fan of lying down apparently.

Some fortunately interaction-friendly eggs.

Cry me a river...or small manicured pool.

The number of exhibits on display was enormous, and the outdoor nature of the place meant I could take a break from the pre-emptive 'shooshing' that normally accompanies a visit to an art gallery (or any enclosed space for that matter).

The Hand of God

I call this Large-boned lady with poor fashion sense.

Woods of Net in the background
with a Joan Miro piece in the foreground.

The Martin kiddies were big fans of an art piece specifically designed for children under 12. It was called Woods of Net, and featured some vividly-coloured netting suspended from an outer shell of giant timber sleepers. It was a hit.

Woods of Net appears Martin-proof

We managed to avoid toddler-collisions or tanties - on the main.

Upon our departure, Hamish tested the honesty of the Japanese population by leaving his camera in the gents. Fortunately, their reputation remains intact - as the camera was sitting there waiting for him. Collective sighs of relief abounded.

A nude-free view of the Museum for your viewing pleasure.

All cultured-up, we set our sights on Mt Fuji and to that end, called into an Information Centre (and MOS Burgers) at Fuji Yoshida. The cola beverages at MOS had just a hint of overly-fragrant soap about them, and we also gained the company of an elderly gent who decided to take the table adjoining ours (read: 15 cm away) - in an otherwise empty restaurant. Odd - very odd.

In our quest to catch an identifiable photo of Mt Fuji whilst on the road, Jenny showed remarkable patience/endurance in weathering the steady stream of photographic suggestions coming from the drivers seat.

Fuji from the Freeway

The socially-phobic Mountain from the shore of Lake Kawaguchi.
Joshie declared himself 'Taller than Fuji!', whilst perched on a small rock.

Aware of the time, we entered the Ryokan at Matsumoto's phone number into the GPS (a gaijin-friendly way of setting coordinates). While it was getting late, our GPS Lady confidently guided us ever onwards. Hours later, she informed us we had reached our destination - it appeared we had done no such thing. While conveniently-close to Matsumoto Castle (and what appeared to be some Government buildings), we were on the opposite side of the city to our intended destination. It was now dark, our internet connection was misbehaving - and I could swear I could hear chortling coming from that nasty GPS minx. We ended up doing it the old-fashioned way: Combining Jen's iPhone and my Netbook (such survivalists), as well as some door-knocking on Jen's part, we tracked down Kikunoyu Ryokan.

A little frazzled, we were not in the best state of mind to appreciate tiny fish crammed full of couscous-like roe, or what appeared to be algae found in a billabong (long, cold, dark green and hairlike). After dinner, we celebrated Halloween in our own way - by stocking up on some Yebitsu and chocolate (Kit-Kats, Pocky and something called Crunky) at the corner shop. Watching the Nippon-Ham Fighters (Sapporo's own!) down the Yokohama Giants on TV while consuming our goodies, things started looking up.