November, 1996
I flew to Tokyo to attend a meeting which was held in Hakone. Some details of this trip have escaped from my mind. But something arranged by the conference truly impressed me.
The meeting was held in Hakone Prince Hotel, which is a very luxurious place. The meals were exceptionally gorgeous. The reception provided Japanese casual cuisines on several food stands in the auditorium hall. People were free to talk and eat. The banquet also impressed me. There were seven crystal cups (for aperitif, champagne, red, white and dessert wines) and fourteen pieces of forks, spoons and knives elegantly arranged on the table for each guest. The atmosphere was very luxurious. Except these, every meal served during the meeting was quite sumptuous. One should be away from such food if on diet.
One day we went to visit a nearby Mountain, Soun-Owakudani. We took a cable car to see the splendid view of the volcano. Here the hot vapor and sulfide were still spouting. We then visited a 400-year-old historic spot, the Check Point, to watch something that I was not very interested in. There were some markets selling local and traditional food in the scenic spots. However, I did not buy anything. Lake Ashi is famous for its inverted reflection of Mt. Fuji. Indeed, the impression was still left in my mind till now. We finally visited a small gallery, Narukawa Art Forum (成川美術館), which has a collection of ancient pottery and exhibits Japanese paintings. (written in 2003)
留言列表
