A race around Japan

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 4 - Hakone

Three days immersed in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo had me itching to get into nature. Truth be told, I'm not a big city person, and Tokyo is exactly that. Tokyo has a population of ~14 million people, whereas New York City has a population of ~9 million. Tokyo is also approximately 3 times the size of NYC, so while the population density is indeed higher in NYC, Tokyo is still a behemoth by population and size.

I had a quick breakfast at the hotel, before heading for the Odakyu line at Shinjuku Station. I had spotted the entrance on a previous outing, so I knew exactly where I needed to go. I had picked up my tickets from the Odakyu service center on my first day, which included a regular ticket for ¥910 and a limited express ticket for ¥1,200. I was initially confused by all the tickets I had received (there was a third one for my Hakone Freepass), but the gate staff were helpful in explaining that the one was a regular ticket and the second was for my reserved seat on the limited express train (why it needs two, I'm still not sure). The limited express Romancecar I was on made just the one stop in Odawara before arriving at Hakone-Yomoto, with a total trip duration of 1hr 15min.

 

[Maca44]

For your first trip report, you have excelled. It's a great read so keep it up.

 

[JohnM]

I have some videos I can share too, if anyone is able to recommend the best way to share them.

Uploading video is not complicated. Create a YouTube account, upload to that, then share.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

For your first trip report, you have excelled. It's a great read so keep it up.

Thank you, I appreciate that. It's quite the time commitment staying up to date, but with that said, the time spent writing the updates and collating the photos from my camera and phone provides good down time from what have been busy days in 30+ degree weather. Once you start, the fear of falling behind keeps you going. It also helps when the hotel has free drinks and desserts in the evenings, but more on the later.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

The Hakone Freepass from Odakyu Railway is your ticket to Hakone, offering unlimited rides across a number of transport modes in the region. Given I was spending 2 nights in Hakone, I had to purchase the 3-day pass which set me back ¥5,400. Having arrived at Hakone-Yomoto station on the Romancecar, I transferred over to the Hakone Tozan Train, which takes you to Gora station. The journey through the mountains takes about 30 minutes, and employs 3 switchbacks to overcome the steep gradients. I would highly recommend travelling light if visiting Hakone, as it would have been incredibly painful to manage the transfer and smaller Tozan Train with a larger suitcase.




From Gora station, it was an easy 5-minute walk to my accommodation, Hakone Yutowa, to drop off my backpack and duffel bag. By taking a relatively early train from Shinjuku, I arrived at my hotel in Gora just before midday, and therefore had the majority of the day to spend exploring. I largely based my 2-days in Hakone on this guide from Truly Tokyo, although I did the 'Day 2 Extension' on my first day.

My first stop was the Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands in the Sengoku area. This was a 20-minute bus ride from Gora station, and the last stop on the S Line of the Hakone Tozan Bus (included with the Hakone Freepass). All up I probably spend close to an hour and a half here - it was my first real opportunity to test the new camera outside of a big city, and I went somewhat overboard playing around with depth of field and creating the bokeh effects. I've had to compress the images in order to upload them, but the shades of green that this camera is able to capture are remarkable. Entry to the gardens was ¥600 - a number of attractions within the area offer a discount if you have the Freepass, so make sure to flash your pass whenever visiting attractions within the area.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

From there, it was a 15-minute walk to the Sengokuhara Pampas Grass Field. By this point, the temperature was pushing 30 degrees, with a feels like temperature closer to 35 and humidity through the roof, but the walk was well worth it... this type of landscape is a photographers delight.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I then retraced my steps back to the Botanical Gardens, jumped on the bus and got off a few stops later at the POLA Museum of Art. Entry cost ¥1,600, again with a discount for holders of the Freepass. I don't normally gravitate towards art museums, but it was hard to pass this one up. Set within a beech tree forest, the contemporary design of the museum blends into its surrounds beautifully.




The collection was seriously impressive for such a remote part of the country, featuring largely impressionist artwork from a mix of both European and Japanese artists. Perhaps this is best explained by the museums origins - POLA is a Japanese beauty product company, and the museum was opened with the purpose of displaying the art collection of its owner, Suzuki Tsuneshi. The first section focused on the evolution of Japanese Nihonga and the impact of modern impressionism.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Before anyone gets upset with me, the museum does allow pictures to be taken of all but a small number of their pieces.

The second section featured a number of pieces from Western artists, including Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Modigliani, Matisse and a number of others.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

In case that wasn't enough, the museum also offers a short nature trail around its perimeter.



By this point, it was close to 4PM, so I called it a day, jumping back on the bus to Gora. After checking in at Hakone Yutowa, I had a short soak in one of the two private onsen. Step count for the day was pushing 16 thousand. After relaxing in one of the hotels two lounges, I set out again for a short walk around Gora, eventually landing on Gyoza Center for dinner, a 5-minute walk from the hotel. I had the boiled gyoza and the regular Hakone gyoza, both of which were delicious. Highly recommend if you're in town.

 

[pagingjoan]

A splendid trip-report-in-progress, CaptainCurtis!
Thank you for sharing your experience.

We arrived back from a two week visit to Japan on the day you began yours.
Our first international travel since COVID, so doubly exciting.

We spent time in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Nara and Hakone, so overlapped with some of your travels to date.

it was a brilliant two weeks. Enjoy every minute of your time there.

 

[Cossie]

Some of those art works are special, I particularly like the “heart” one. One of things that I really like about this forum is reading great trip reports of places that I would never have considered, nor heard about, thank you very much.

 

[pagingjoan]

Some of those art works are special, I particularly like the “heart” one. One of things that I really like about this forum is reading great trip reports of places that I would never have considered, nor heard about, thank you very much.

The Hakone Open Air museum park is stunning, as is the Okada Museum of Art.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A splendid trip-report-in-progress, CaptainCurtis!
Thank you for sharing your experience.

We arrived back from a two week visit to Japan on the day you began yours.
Our first international travel since COVID, so doubly exciting.

We spent time in Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Nara and Hakone, so overlapped with some of your travels to date.

it was a brilliant two weeks. Enjoy every minute of your time there.

Thank you! Sounds like we had very similar itineraries.

Some of those art works are special, I particularly like the “heart” one. One of things that I really like about this forum is reading great trip reports of places that I would never have considered, nor heard about, thank you very much.

“Clumsy heart” by Tetsuya Noguchi. It’s tricky to gauge the scale from the picture, but the piece was no taller than 40cm. Many would have missed it. Her Instagram can be found here.

The Hakone Open Air museum park is stunning, as is the Okada Museum of Art.

Agree, a great spot, especially for those with young kids.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 5 - Hakone

This was my only full day in Hakone, so I had planned to do the main tourist loop, starting on the east side of Lake Ashi before making my way towards Togendai on the north-western tip of the lake. It was a deliberate decision to structure the day this way - there's more walking to do on the eastern side, which would be easier to do first thing in the morning, and it would be possible to visit some of the sites without masses of tourists.

I was up early and had a 10-minute walk from the hotel to Kowakidani, where the bus for Motohakone boat pier departs from. As I had hoped, arriving at the lake just after 8AM there were very few people around - it was too early for the day-trippers to get in from Tokyo, and those staying in the region must have still been snoozing.

First up was a short walk along Lake Ashi in the direction of Hakone Shrine. Temperatures were moderate in the early morning, but there was a cool breeze off the lake that kept things comfortable. Up the stairs, to arrive at Hakone Shrine.

 

[pagingjoan]

Day 5 - Hakone

This was my only full day in Hakone, so I had planned to do the main tourist loop, starting on the east side of Lake Ashi before making my way towards Togendai on the north-western tip of the lake. It was a deliberate decision to structure the day this way - there's more walking to do on the eastern side, which would be easier to do first thing in the morning, and it would be possible to visit some of the sites without masses of tourists.

I was up early and had a 10-minute walk from the hotel to Kowakidani, where the bus for Motohakone boat pier departs from. As I had hoped, arriving at the lake just after 8AM there were very few people around - it was too early for the day-trippers to get in from Tokyo, and those staying in the region must have still been snoozing.

First up was a short walk along Lake Ashi in the direction of Hakone Shrine. Temperatures were moderate in the early morning, but there was a cool breeze off the lake that kept things comfortable. Up the stairs, to arrive at Hakone Shrine.

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Nice pix!
Staying tuned for the rest of the day's shots.
The lake is so pretty. Hope you were lucky with a view of Mt Fuji.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few snaps from Hakone Shrine at the top... hardly anyone in sight.





And then a few from the torii along the shore of Lake Ashi.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Then it was time to turn around and head in the direction of Hakone Bay pier. I snapped a lot of pics while waiting for a coffee shop to open, which was ultimately from this place. Their food looked good too.




Caffeinated, the walk towards the pier continued, although this time the path was down Cedar Avenue, which is just to the left of the main road.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

The path led to the entrance of Hakone Checkpoint, which was an inspection facility during the Edo period. Entry cost ¥400, again with a discount with the Freepass. I wasn't particularly impressed with the exhibits nor the museum, with very minimal English translation. The watchtower offered a fantastic vantage point overlooking Lake Ashi though.



Now for those who are observant, you may have noticed a mis-placed pirate ship in some of the pictures. The Freepass includes a Sightseeing Cruise around Lake Ashi on nothing other than a pirate ship. Totally out of place, indeed. It was nice to get out on the water though. The cruise from Hakone Bay pier to Togendai would take around 30 minutes. The scenery reminded me a lot of Milford Sound. Unfortunately it was an overcast day, so no views of Mount Fuji (but stay tuned).

 

[CaptainCurtis]

The cruise alighted at Togendai, and then it was onto a Ropeway (you guessed it, included in the Freepass) towards Sounzan with a stop at Owakudani. Owakudani is a volcanic valley between Lake Ashi and Gora that has active sulfur vents. I would have loved to do a hike here, but by this point it was pushing midday and absolutely sweltering. I also think the hiking trails had to be booked as part of a tour, which I hadn't arranged.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I was then back on the Ropeway to Sounzan, before jumping on the Cablecar down to Gora station. My final stop for the day would be the Hakone Open Air Museum, the first such museum in Japan having opened in 1969. This reminded me of the Pt Leo Estate museum in the Mornington Peninsula, only better.



By the time I finished walking around, I was feeling a lot like this guy.