MT. FUJI || LAKE ASHI || HOT SPRINGS/ONSEN || RYOKAN
Unlike Tokyo, Hakone is quiet and far from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Hakone is known for its beautiful scenery, natural hot springs (onsen), and soba noodles. We took the Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto which took 85 mins. Once there, we had a quick lunch in Gora, then took the cable car to Souzan station, and the ropeway to reach Owakudani. Owakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulfur. This is where Hakone got its source of natural hot spring – which has many benefits. Hakone is very popular during the winter as people fill up the onsen to relax and soak in. You will also get a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji in Owakudani. Feel even closer to Mt. Fuji during the ropeway ride to Togendai- where we took the cruise across lake Ashi.
We wanted to visit the Hakone Checkpoint and the Hakone Shrine but we got lost and we needed to eat. FYI all restaurants close at 5pm here so don’t forget to grab a bite before then. We then made our way to our ryokan at Mount View Hakone. Love this place! Accommodation is around $300/night but this is the average ryokan price in Hakone. There are cheaper ones of course, with smaller/shared rooms and shared toilet which we didn’t want.
Our room was very big (in comparison to Japanese standard), and we can book a private onsen- which we love! We had the private onsen at night after a day of non-stop activity. It was heavenly! They also had a public onsen (separate for male and female) which we did the next morning. Being naked in front of strangers isn’t as bad as we thought! We had a lovely breakfast then made our way to Kyoto. Stay tuned for our next adventure!!
▶︎For more info on planning your trip:
▶︎Book a room at Mount View Hakone (highly recommended! Such a beautiful ryokan):
▶︎SUBSCRIBE!
▶︎CHECK OUT OUR TRAVEL PHOTOS ON INSTAGRAM: @jetlagwarriors
▶︎GEAR
SONY A6000:
▶︎Get USD$40OFF airbnb:
AloJapan.com