Neil Duckett

There’s not much where i get off but there’s more than just one good thing about the end of the train line that gets me to work each day and that’s Hakone.

Hakone is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than 100 kilometers from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, outdoor activities, natural beauty and the view of nearby Mt. Fuji, Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo.

I can’t say i’ve ventured down that far yet but i can safely say i will over this coming winter, especially when i read more about places like the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun.

Weekends away like this involve very few things, a train ride from home to the Onsen, Beer, Sake, Lots of hot baths, some karaoke and maybe a little sleep if you’re lucky, my kind of weekend.

This particular Onsen has a uniqueness about it i’m sure will see many people make the 70 minute trip from Shinjuku this winter and that’s the “Themed Baths”.

Having a cold beer after a hot bath is a nightly ritual for many Japanese, and now the country has found a way to further indulge — soaking in the cold suds themselves.

In this mountainous hot spring resort there’s a bathtub, shaped like a beer mug, filled with heated amber water and white foam with the aroma of hops and barley. It raises several questions for me, the kids in the spa being the first … ?!

The Hakone Kowakien Yunessun is also pouring and spraying real beer into the bath and onto the customers three times a day until December 31.

The beer bath installation, which began late last month, pays homage to the “beer fights” of professional baseball season winners, much like the champaigne fights of their US Major League counterparts.

The Yunessun also offers baths of coffee, tea and Japanese sake for those not wanting the Beer variety.

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