Places Visited
Hakone
Owakudani (Mt Fuji views)
Lake Ashi (Mt Fuji and Tori Gate)
Old Tokkaido Hiking Trail
Amazake-chaya Tea House
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Tips
While the Hakone Free Pass is not the only way to travel to Hakone, but it is the easiest and cheapest assuming you decide to do the “loop course” going up to Owakudani and then cruise through Lake Ashi. The pass is good for 2 days and includes the to/from Shinjuku for appx C$70. It can be purchased by credit or cash at Shinjuku. A longer version is available for more and a version without the to/from Shunjuku for cheaper. You will have to find your way to Odawara. (via Shinkansen on your JR pass is one option)
Not included in your pass is the Romancecar (their express train) which is front-back seating and gets your to Hakone no transfer, the upgrade (C$15) each way is worth considering given the long journey, side seating during rush hour
Getting to Hakone early is one way to avoid the tour buses filled with tourists with a well known habit of swinging around selfie sticks. If you can’t get there early, I would recommend doing the round course in the reverse or considering staying the night at a Ryokans and enjoy the onsen.
Bring a mask if you feel sick to the smell of sulfur.
Hiking shoes definitely recommended if you want to hike the old tokkaido, aside from that, it is very accessible.
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After a full day exploring modern Tokyo, I found myself waking up early to the first of what will be many big milestone days of the trip. We hopped on a train and left the city for the first time on a day trip to the onsen (hot spring) town of Hakone. In fact, we were monitoring the weather before we left Toronto and had an alternative “rain date” planned because this is one of those places you want to visit when it is clear and sunny. Why you may ask? Well it offers one of the best views of Mt.Fuji on a clear day.
We started the morning early at Shinjuku Station and purchased the “Hakone Free Pass” by Odayku Railway. This pass took care of transportation and access to major attractions at Hakone to what is known as the Hakone Round Course Loop in which we did a modified “longer” version of. It was a 2hrs ride on a local limited express train filled to the brim with commuters to transfer trains at Odawara Station up the mountains to Hakone. As we approached Odawara, we started to see Mt.Fuji in the distance and the best was yet to come. Using our pass, we took a bus further up the mountains from Hakone station (the “climbing train” was closed due to repairs from a typhoon earlier in the year) and it passed by numerous Ryokans (Japanese traditional inns) and numerous turns along this tight road up to the gondola base station. From there, we took the gondola up to Owakudani, which is this crater created volcanic explosion on Mt.Hakone. As we pulled into the station, we could see and smell the volcanic vents below us. At Owakudani, we were treated to some amazing views of the volcanic vents and Mt.Fuji at a distance with the iconic whitecap clearly visible. They sell “black volcanic eggs” which are hard boiled eggs in the hot sulfur spring and supposedly adds 7 years to your life.
We took a second gondola down towards Lake Ashi and had a Japanese curry lunch. We boarded a pirate ship (yes…) that took us across the crater lake. We were treated to amazing sights of Mt.Fuji arising above the water and the iconic tori gate from Hakone Shrine. We got off at Hakone-Machi and walked to the Hakone Checkpoint, a re-constructed checkpoint of the old Tokkaido highway in Ancient Japan. It was smaller than we thought and they were doing major renovations for the 2020 Tokyo Games so we elected to walk through it (free if passing) quickly to begin a short hike on a preserved stretch of old Tokkaido route. It was lined with cedar trees and I felt like an old Japanese trader hiking along with goods! Along the way, there are a number of amazing spots to take photos of Mt.Fuji, Lake Ashi, and the tori gate in one shot, especially near the adjacent town.
Here is where tourists typically takes the bus back to the the train station, but we decided to continue hiking on the more difficult stretch of the old Tokkaido. It was lined with stones, lots of steep climbs/drops that pushed my regular running shoes to the limit, and lots of snowy/thaw puddles. At the end, we reached our prize, which was this centuries old tea house run by a sister and brother from the same family as the original descendants. We got warmed up over a fermented rice drink that was so sweet and delicious. They were so hospitable to a couple foreigners and shared stories of the original structure of the tea house that stood to this date. It was time to go home, we took a bus outside and arrived at the train station. As we were all tired, we decided to shell out some more money to take the more comfortable “Romancecar” directly back to Shinjuku. Not bad for a second day!
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