a weekend trip with friends was cancelled at the last moment, but purpleman and i decided we need a break from the city. hakone's only about two hours from tokyo by the regular express train --perfect for lazy bums like us in need of a quick onsen fix.
the taiseikan hotel is nothing fancy, but the views are great, especially from the outdoor baths. its location near the bottom of a steep valley makes you feel far-removed from the rest of the world. well worth the scary cable-car ride down to the hotel.
we returned on sunday and met up with claudia and taka for some soup curry at shin--an increasingly popular chain that originated in hokkaido. the vegetable curry-soup is pretty good, but maybe i'll be adventurous and try the natto-okura next time. claudia seems a bit worried about the move. it must be a bit scary to be moving to a new city where you have to make new friends and start life from scratch. but i'm sure it will be a great year for the two of them. i've never heard of anyone not having fun in barcelona!
