Near Hakone Yumoto, I thought I’d stop by for a day trip to the hot springs and enjoy some delicious food. I couldn’t make a reservation for a table, but I heard I could secure some unagi (grilled eel) by phone? I had no idea how that worked, but I tried calling at 10 AM when they opened, and I couldn’t get through at all. Just when I thought it was impossible, I managed to get through around 11:30 AM and secured my unagi. However, when I arrived around 1 PM, there were so many people waiting! They have a system where you decide on your menu first, and they call you when your table is ready. Fortunately, there was a branch of my favorite Suzuhiro nearby, so the one-hour wait didn’t bother me too much. It seemed that the last seating was at 4 PM, but since it was a weekday, the crowd had thinned out by a little after 2 PM, so that might be a good time to aim for. The unagi was excellent in both flavor and portion size, and the staff were very friendly, which made for a pleasant experience. It was a great meal!