Hakone

Day 4

We slept much better and woke up at 6am to pack up, grab a quick breakfast and head straight over to Tokyo’s fish market, Tsukiji market. We checked out of the hotel and took our bags with us. We’d invested in some decent cases with four wheels and popped our smaller bags on the top. It really wasn’t a bother at all - and quite easy to use elevators or escalators at the train station. We paid for a ticket on the Ginza line to Ginza and then walked around 15 minutes to the market. It wasn’t that busy at all. The trade area must close earlier, as we did arrive for around 7am. However, there was still a lot to see! We also bumped into a fair few tourists and it certainly feels like the market is just set up for tourists now which is a bit of a shame.

After strolling around the market, we grabbed a coffee and then headed back to Tokyo station which was around a 20 minute walk from the market. Once there, we found a bullet train to Odawara which only took 30 minutes. The train station was pretty easy to navigate - they’re just so big. We found the unreserved carriages on the train and could easily get on with our luggage and find some seats. It wasn’t too busy at all and we enjoyed a wonderful journey. The train carriages are modern, plugs are available and lots of legroom. There’s also a pulldown desk on the back of every chair which is ideal if you want to pull a laptop out.

Tip: Backpacks are heavy… and as we wandered around the fish market and walked back to the station, we realised how effective it is to have cases with four wheels! It’s so easy to push your belongings along with very little effort rather than carry them all on your back!

Once at Odawara, we jumped off and took a few photos of the bullet trains coming through. It’s great to watch the sheer speed of them as they come through the stations. Following google maps, we then went about locating our bus to our guesthouse. We debated for some time over the Hakone free pass but due to a recent typhoon, some of the modes of transport weren’t operating so we weren’t sure we’d get full use. We will reassess at the end of our time here in Hakone. We paid 800 yen to get to two stops before our hotel, we couldn’t get any further as the road was closed due to the typhoon. However, it was only about a 10 minute walk up the hill to find our accommodation.

Our guesthouse was absolutely lovely and only has a small number of rooms, which made it quite private and homely.

After leaving our bags and having a lovely conversation with the owner who recommended a couple of key places and talked us through the map, we headed back down to the bus stop. We had a strained conversation with the man at the bus stop who pointed us towards one bus, we jumped on but it didn’t go the way we wanted it too… so we jumped off at Gora, slightly panicking and took some time to have a wander, grab a coffee and sit with the map for a little longer! We paid 180 each for that short journey, but it’s all an adventure. Looking over the map and checking the weather for the next few days, we decided to head higher up for the views the next day when the weather was due to be better. Instead, we headed to Chisuji Falls. We walked from Gora to there in around 30 minutes, you could easily get the bus. It was stunning and well worth the trip, we took some amazing photos there too.

On heading back up to the road, I noticed some gardens on google maps which had free admission. The gardens were stunning, particularly in their autumnal colours, with mountains as a backdrop. Just an incredible place to stroll around and take some photos.

By this time it was approaching 4pm and we were absolutely shattered. We headed to a bus stop to make our way back to our guesthouse. Lesson learnt for the buses in Hakone - don’t use google maps, use apple maps. Each of the buses have a letter and google maps does not tell you which letter bus to get - we got the wrong one, jumped off when we realised it definitely wasn’t going our way and then jumped on another one, using our apple maps knowledge- easy.

Back at the guesthouse, we prepared for our private onsen! We were booked in for one hour at 6pm and it really was a treat. Given the number of steps we’ve done over the past few days - it really was needed! The onsen is a hot spring bath and very popular in Japanese culture.

It was so relaxing, that on returning to our room we didn’t want to move but by this point we were starving! Unfortunately, dinner was not on offer in the guesthouse so we asked for recommendations. Many of the restaurants were not open and didn’t open until a Thursday or Friday. Our host recommended the burger box… Our first thoughts were why come all the way to Japan to have a burger?! But we were so glad we did. We both said it was probably one of the best burgers we’ve ever had. We both had the Hakone burger, which comes with fries. It wasn’t cheap and in fact, was probably our most expensive meal so far - the burgers were 1800 yen. However, it was great and used local beef. We also experienced a few powercuts whilst there! If you go to hakone, definitely recommend the burger box.

Tip: Thinking about getting about in Hakone and understanding the buses, I really think we would have been lost without our pocket wifi. It has been so handy to have it and know we can just search a route or for places to eat based on recommendations.

Steps: 17,500!

Day 5

We got up and headed for breakfast, which was provided in our guest house. The breakfast was amazing - toast and egg combination with some sort of sauce, seafood chowder and a pot of something similar to ratatouille with cheese on the top - I was absolutely stuffed. We then quickly headed out towards Gora station. Looking on google maps, the walk to Gora station from our guesthouse was 20 minutes. However, what we didn’t take into account was the gradient!! We started walking up the road towards Gora but then found there were steps instead off to the side. I think we successfully burnt off some of our breakfast - the bus might have been easier.

Once at Gora Station, we bought our tickets for the Hakone Tozan Cable car. This isn’t actually a cable car, but a funicular train from Gora station to Sounzan, 214 metres above. Once at Sounzan, we then bought tickets for the Hakone Ropeway, which was actually open. These cable cars run directly from Sounzan down to the top of Lake Ashi, Togendai. There are also options to make stops along the way, but unfortunately, on the day we visited, you couldn’t leave the stations. Unfortunately, the view was too cloudy to see Mount Fuji from the ropeway itself, but the views all around were still stunning. Climbing over the sulphur mines was also an experience with the strong smell and apocalyptic views.

It was still clouded over when we arrived in Togendai but we checked and the sightseeing cruise was running. We decided to have a wander around Togendai and grabbed a coffee at the other ferry terminal, hoping that the sun would start to breakthrough. We only waited around an hour, and the clouds did begin to clear. We headed back, bought our tickets for the cruise and jumped on. The pirate ships they use are beautiful, and it was easy to find a space to stand on the top deck, without it being too crowded.

As we headed towards the other end of Lake Ashi, we caught glimpses of Mount Fuji’s snow capped peaks but it wasn’t until we reached near to Hakonemachi-ko that we were treated to a really clear view of Mount Fuji in all its glory. We jumped off the ship here and spent a while taking photos and also just taking in the view. The day turned out to be glorious and very clear, with blue skies.

We then walked from Hakonemachi-ko down to Motohakone-ko which was around a 20 minute walk, but we did some window shopping at the small shops in Hakonemachi-ko on the way through and went via the edge of Onshit-Hakone park. Just before reaching Motohakone-ko, there is an observation deck where we took some more photos of Mount Fuji, the view was just fantastic.

We wandered slightly further into Motohakone-ko where the other ferry terminal sits. As there was a 7- eleven store, we grabbed some snacks (given our big breakfast) and sat at the front to eat our picnic in front of the glorious view. Many others were doing the same. However, there were plenty of restaurants as well to eat at. As you walk further into Motohakone-ko, you lose the view of Mount Fuji.

We walked up to the Hakone shrine and spent some time wandering around there, as well as walking down the steps to the gate in the lake at the bottom of the shrine steps. We also took part in the ritual, cleansing our hands with the ladle of water. Although we moved around quite a bit, and still did many, many steps, we found this day to be quite relaxing and stopped to sit at quite a few points to just take in the views. We then got a bus back from Motohakone-ko to our guesthouse and were thoroughly looking forward to our private onsen - great for aching feet and legs. We decided to head to the ⁷⁄₁₁ to grab some supplies for dinner, a japanese ‘pot noodle’ and a couple of beers. The 7-elevens are great here - don’t compare them to the American ones - the food is so fresh and the sushi is great - perfect for some cheap eats.

Steps: 19,000

Was the Hakone Free Pass worth it?

On arrival at Odawara, we were under the impression that many of the transport options in Hakone were not operational due to the typhoon. However, it was only the Hakone Tozan trainline that was unavailable.

We used the bus a number of times, took the cable car, ropeway and a one way cruise. We spent 5580 yen each on this and the Hakone free pass to buy from Odawara station was 5000 for 3 days. Therefore, there really wasn’t much in it. If more of the transport options hadn’t been running, we would have saved by not using the Hakone pass. However, for flexibility and ease of use, I think the Hakone free pass is really worth it. If you don’t have a pass, you need to work out your change for the bus. However, the buses are great and relatively simple to understand. You take a ticket and the grid on the screen will update so you know how much you’re paying.