Japan Series: Hakone…. The Onsen town
- Wandererz4life
- Jul 6
- 5 min read
Hakone is a unique destination from where you can have a sight of the Magnificent Mount Fuji. It is a scenic town surrounded by beautiful landscapes. We woke up early since the journey to Hakone from Tokyo was of around 2 hours. It was unfortunately a rainy day in Tokyo which meant that we would probably miss watching Mount Fuji from Hakone. We took a Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen from Tokyo station to Odawara station and from there we caught another train on the Hakone Tozan line to Hakone-Yumoto station. Alternatively, you can also take Romance-car from Shinjuku station to Hakone directly which will save time. It was our first experience of travelling in a Shinkansen (bullet train) and it was an experience in itself. Average speed of a Sanyo Shinkansen is around 300 kms per hour.
It is convenient to take a 2 days pass to Hakone which includes 8 modes of transport and discounts on many sightseeing places. You can get the pass at Odawara station and it would cost around 5000 Yen per adult and1000 Yen per child (6-11years). When you get a pass from the Odawara station they also give you pamphlet giving the information about places to see in Hakone. We did a day trip to Hakone but it is highly recommended to stay at least for one night at this place as there is much to see and the same cannot be covered in a day. We planned to visit Hakone to visit Owakudani (place famous for hot sulphur springs) and to view mount Fuji which we missed because of the weather. Hakone is also famous for onsen culture of the town; the place has many public as well as private hot water bath’s (Onsens) and it is believed that the water has medicinal properties. We skipped Onsen since we were not comfortable with public bath system and for private baths you need to book the same in advance. Surprisingly it is common in Japan to have common bathrooms, many hotels have common bathroom (one for ladies and one for gents) and therefore we booked homestays everywhere. 😊
Once you reach Odawara station and you buy your 2 days pass to Hakone, you need not wait anywhere for tickets and you are ready to explore the beautiful mountain town at your own pace. From Odawara station you take a train to Gora station on Hakone Tozan line. This ride is one hour in the old switch back mountain train going through beautiful landscapes displaying autumn colors at its best if you are visiting in the fall season (October -December).
You can get down at Gora station as it has many sight-seeing places such as Hakone Open Air Museum, Hakone Botanical Garden, Glass Museum, Gora Park, Hakone Art Museum etc. Gora also has many hotels if you are planning to stay in Hakone. We skipped getting down at Gora station as we wanted to see the main attraction that is the Hot Sulphur Springs at Owakudani and the weather was getting bad with strong winds. So, we lined up to get on to a cable car that took us to Souzan Ropeway station. The view from the Souzan Ropeway station is scenic in autumn with various colors popping up from the mountains and clouds trying to hide the same making it more mesmerizing. The Souzan Ropeway station also has a small shopping area with coffee stalls and basic eatables. We got a cupcake and iced tea and enjoyed the beautiful views from the observation deck.
After a break we took the ropeway and it is the most scenic and exciting part of the journey with mountains all around and hot Sulphur springs below which is an experience in itself. Japan being an island country, it is full of volcanoes, hot springs and Sulphur activities. By Ropeway we reached Owakudani and as soon as we got out of the ropeway, we could smell the Sulphur and volcanic smoke, hence it is also called as Hell Valley. The ground part is yellowish which is crystallized Sulphide and the emitting smoke is hydrogen sulphide.
Owakudani was extremely windy and chilling, somehow, we managed to get out of the cable car and ran towards restaurant named Plaza Owakudani Hoshino. We ordered Hot coffee and Takoyaki which is a delicacy in Japan made of minced Octopus. We loved the preparation and ordered it one more time. The most famous thing to try here is the black egg which is turned black with Sulphureous water and it is believed that having one egg would increase your life by 7 years.
After filling up our tummy we went to the Owakudani Geo- Museum which gave us information about the volcanic activity of the place and the science behind it. The place has various microscopes and mineral samples which we can see and the place gives us the history of the place and evolution of the surrounding areas. They also give us a pamphlet which has all the information of the place.
After learning about the volcanic activity, we went to a nearby shrine. The shrine is small but situated just near the Geo- Museum and the location is beautiful. It is said that over 1100 years ago when Kobo Daishi was travelling around the country, he was saddened to find this rea desolate and hellish so he carved a Jizo Bodhisattva Statue here and prayed for salvation of people.
We again hopped on the ropeway and the next stop on the Ropeway was Togendai Ropeway Station famous for Lake Ashi. Lake Ashi was created by a volcanic eruption which also created the hell valley and the crater later was filled up with water and transformed into Lake Ashi. This beautiful lake is the highlight with Cruise ship taking the tourist around the lake and we can also have a view of Mount Fuji from the ship if the weather is right, the ship also take you to the Red Torri Gate. Unfortunately, when we visited the weather was bad and hence the crise ship/pirate ship was closed and we missed to experience this beautiful part of the journey. But nonetheless we clicked a lot of photos and had a cup of coffee with the beautiful view of the lake and the Pirate Ship. 😊
Unfortunately, the weather was bad, so we could not go for any other sightseeing places and returned back. If weather is right and you are not tired you can also visit the Onshi Hakone Park and Mishima Skywalk which are must visit places in Hakone. Hakone can also be combined with Fuji five lakes and Lake Kawaguchiko which is nearby and you get a combined pass of 5 days for the same at Odawara station. We skipped visiting Fuji five lakes and Lake Kawaguchiko since we were on a tight schedule.
After our last stop we took a bus down to Odawara station. You can also visit Odawara castle which is just 5 mins walk from Odawara station. We were tired and hence proceeded to our journey back to Tokyo in a Shinkansen.
If at all we visit Japan again we will definitely try to explore this beautiful place along with Hakone again. It is highly recommended to stay in Hakone as one day is not enough to enjoy this beautiful town full on Onsen and Ryokan.
Radhika Thankar.
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