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Today we are doing a bunch of traveling. To start off the traveling we went on the bullet train from the city to the country. The bullet is really called the shinkansen train. It is nicknamed the bullet because it is the fastest train in Japan. After the bullet train we took a normal train. Then we changed to a train to go up the side of the mountain. That train lasted about 15 minutes and some turns were so sharp we had to back in to the mountains and then go back out. Then we went on a Funicular railway where the car was being pulled up the mountain like a cable car that is why the Japanese call it a cable car.
After those three transports we took an actual cable car, which the Japanese call ropeway and we would call a gondola. I was so exited to get on the cable car because I heard that you can see Mt. Fuji. When it was our turn to get on the cable we saw how big the cable car was. It is like two times the size of the cable cars you would normally see. It was HUGE!!!! On the cable car we had great views of mountains. One of the very many mountains that we saw was MT. FUJI!!! We only got to see the very top of it but it was there and looked like a big mountain of snow. Also the top of it was flat not pointy.
Once we got off the cable car a boat was waiting for us called the Victory. This boat was black and gold all over. The ride was about 30 minutes long. Once we got off the boat we went right to the hotel. This hotel is not a western hotel it is a traditional Japanese hotel called a Ryoken. A Ryoken is a traditional Japanese inn. As soon as we arrived at the hotel our two rooms were waiting for us. The rooms looked sooooooo small when I walked in because it is small. After sleeping in it I got used to the smallness though. When you walked in the door there is this shelf that you put your shoes on. Then there is the toilet to your left. Right next to it is the shower and bath, which we are not going to use. Then right next to that is the sink. There is another door that the dining room and bedroom is in. The dining room and bedroom is the same room. During the day the room has a table in the middle and during the night the table is away and the beds are out. On the floor is a Tatami mat, which is made out of bamboo.
Right when we went in a lady that worked their started helping us put Yukata's on. Yukata's are Japanese robes. They are made out of cotton or synthetic fabric and worn by men and women. They are made with straight seams and wide sleeves. People wear them to hot springs and they also where them during the summer. Also people wear them to see fireworks and to festivals. That is all about the Yukata's.
After getting our Yukata's on we went to dinner. The dinner was in a room that was all to our selves. The food was all on our own small table and the food was a bunch of little platters. The dinner was really, really good. There was a bunch of different kinds of foods and there was a hot pot. I do not know what the food was called, so sorry, but I cannot tell you. All I can tell you is that there was shrimp and rice and soup. It was all sooooo goood and sooooo healthy.
After dinner it was time to Onsen. What I mean by that is it was time to go in the Onsen Baths, which are just like hot tubs except you go in them naked with other people that you do not know. Lucky for me my first time going in an Onsen Bath was with no one except my mom, my sisters, and me. Onsen's are special becasue there water comes from the ground. I loved the Onsen Bath for about 5 minutes and then I started over heating.
When we came back from dinner our beds were made. The beds are called Futons. Futons are mattresses rolled out on the floor that you sleep on. We all decided to sleep in one room together. I loved the Futons because everyone was all together.
Thank you and please comment.
Captain-O Out!
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GPa Enjoyed your story of your trip to the baths, but I have one question. After traveling on the bullet train, the regular train, the finicular, and the cable car (when you could see the top of Mt Fuji) it seemed like you were approaching a mountain top. How did you then get on a boat at the top of a mountain?