Approximately eighty minutes west of Tokyo
is the scenic town of Hakone.
Known for its abundant nature,
views of Mount Fuji,
hot springs,
and museums.
Hakone is easily accessible from central Tokyo
thanks to a direct train connection.
In this trip, we will be showing you how simple
and easy it is to enjoy a day trip to Hakone
by public transport.
So follow me, Raina Ong, as I go on a day trip to the mountainous region of Hakone.
Here’s the plan
From Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo, I take the Odakyu Romancecar
all the way to Hakone-Yumoto at the entrance of Hakone
and then explore the region on a circular route,
using bus, ship, ropeway, cable car and train.
The Hakone Freepass is a convenient discount pass offered by Odakyu Electric Railway
that allows for a round trip from a station on the Odakyu Line,
including Shinjuku in central Tokyo,
and unlimited travel on all Odakyu-affiliated transportation
in the Hakone area for 2 or 3 consecutive days.
The pass can be purchased at ticket counters and ticket machines
or ticketless in digital form on your smartphone.
The process of purchasing a digital Hakone Freepass is quick and easy,
just access the Odakyu website on your smartphone,
select the Hakone Free Pass and purchase the pass with a credit card.
Afterwards, just show the ticket on your smartphone to the staff at the ticket gates.
I’ve got my digital pass on my phone and I’m all set for my trip to Hakone.
Come follow me!
My day in Hakone starts with a bus ride to Amazake Chaya.
The Amazake Chaya is a traditional tea house where visitors can take a break
have some food and something to drink.
The tea house was established in the Edo Period and has been family-run for generations.
Now, a drink not to be missed at the tea house is amazake,
which is a non-alcoholic, sugar-free drink made from rice which was fermented with koji yeast.
Amazake is naturally sweet because of the sugars in the rice, and can be drunk hot or cold.
This is amazake, and I’m having it hot.
Mmm
It is perfect on a cold day like today.
Nourished by that nice, warming drink,
I head off to walk part of the preserved old Tokaido.
The old Tokaido was Japan’s most important highway during the feudal times,
connecting Tokyo, then known as Edo, with Kyoto along the Pacific Coast.
Two checkpoints were built to control traffic along the road,
and Hakone was one of these two checkpoints,
overseeing traffic in and out of Edo.
My walk leads over about one and a half kilometers from the Amazake Chaya
down to the shores of Lake Ashi,
which should take about 50 minutes.
While the old Tokaido path continues along the lakeshores
towards the Hakone Checkpoint,
I end my walk here in the small lakeside town of Moto-Hakone
from where some of the best views of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed when visibility is good
See the red torii gate in the water over there,
That’s where I’m headed next!
Located in the woods, Hakone-jinja Shrine is a peaceful,
atmospheric shrine surrounded by many tall trees.
A couple of large torii gates lead towards the shrine,
but the most iconic one has to be the torii gate which stands in the lake.
From the torii in the water, I make my way to the main shrine building.
The spacious shrine grounds and surrounding forests give the shrine a hallowed feel
and I pay my respects there before returning to the the lake.
one of the fun things to do in Hakone is to take a sightseeing cruise on a pirate ship across Lake Ashi
Various pirate ships sail the waters of the lake,
and one can even do pirate ship spotting from land.
The cruise is fully covered by the Hakone Freepass
and is a scenic and entertaining way to move
from one end of the lake to the other.
I’m going to be taking that pirate ship,
and while I’m not too sure about the of pirates on the lake in the past,
what I do know is, the views along the way are pretty scenic
and you can even see Mount Fuji when the weather is clear.
The sightseeing cruise took me from Motohakone-ko to Togendai-ko
at the northern tip of Lake Ashi in about 30 minutes.
From there, I transfer to the ropeway to Owakudani,
a volcanically active area on the slopes of Mount Hakone.
Owakudani was formed almost 3000 years ago
when Mount Hakone erupted,
and today, visitors can look forward to volcanic scenery
like smoking vents and boiling pools,
as well as views of Mount Fuji when the weather is clear.
Owakudani is also one of the major sources
of the hot spring waters in Hakone,
and its waters are piped from here to various hot spring facilities.
In addition to volcanic scenery,
black eggs are a local specialty at Owakudani.
I got a bag of black eggs which were cooked
in the steaming vents you can see behind me,
and eating one of these is said to extend your life by seven years
Itadakimasu!
Aside from the black eggs, other local dishes include black
soft served ice cream made with bamboo charcoal, which I had to try.
Next, I make my way to the Hakone Open Air Museum,
one of Japan’s first outdoor museums.
A visit to the museum is like walking in an art forest,
where one can experience the seasons, life and art in nature.
The spacious grounds contain both indoor and outdoor exhibition areas
filled with a large variety of sculptures, installations and paintings.
Back on the train, I head to Hakone Yuryo,
one of several hot spring facilities in the area
that is open only to daytime visitors
It can be accessed by a free shuttle bus from Hakone-Yumoto Station
And there’s nothing like winding down with a nice, relaxing hot spring bath.
Before getting on my train back to Tokyo,
I take a last stroll along the shopping street near the station
to check out the local souvenirs.
I had a beautiful day in Hakone walking on a historic route,
visiting a volcanically active spot,
and seeing Mount Fuji from different spots.
Thanks for joining me.
I hope this video has been enjoyable and perhaps even inspires some ideas,
should you decide to plan a day trip to Hakone.
For more information about this trip or to watch another video,
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