On Tuesday we headed out of Tokyo for a day trip to Hakone. If the weather had been clear (which it wasn't), it woul dhave been our chance to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. Even without the view, it was a fun-filled day with lots of forms of transportation around the Hakone area.
We started by taking the metro to Shinjuku station where we could buy our Hakone Free Pass (2-days, 5000 yen plus 870 yen surcharge for the "Romance Car"). The "Romance Car" is the silly name for the express train to Hakone-Yumoto. This service is operated by a different rail company, Odakyu, so we could not have used our JR passes for this trip. Once we found the Odakyu ticket counter in the station, we bought our tickets and headed to the platform. Surprisingly, we were on time.
This was our first time on a Japanese high speed train and it was as sleek, clean and fast as I had imagined. It was a weekday and it was not very crowded, so we could stretch out and take up a few seats.
The Free Pass covers train fare from Tokyo, as well as most of the other types of transportation in Hakone. We did the standard "loop" from Hakone-Yumoto backwards so there would be less crowds. This entailed:
- Bus trip to Hakone-machi
- Sightseeing cruise to Togendai
- Ropeway to Owakundani and Sounzan
- Cable Car (funicular) to Gora
- Train to Hakone-Yumoto
- Express Train back to Tokyo's Shinjuku station
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| Narrow gauge train between Hakone-Yumoto and Gora. |
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| Sightseeing boat across Lake Ashi. |
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| View of the cable car/ funicular that runs uphill from Gora. |
In Owakundani, we ate the famous black eggs which are boiled in the hot springs and turn black because of the sulphur. The eggs are said to increase longevity.
And even though we missed out on any views of Mt. Fuji, we still enjoyed the ride on the ropeway and the amazing views across the valleys.
Back at Hakone-Yumoto, we hopped on the express train again for the ride back to Tokyo, but before we did, we picked up a few beers to keep us company along the way.
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