Onsen Trip to Hakone, Day 2

Destination:  Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture (Distance from Tokyo: 96km, approximately 60 miles)

Map →  http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/kanagawa/hakone.html 　

Date:  November, 2007
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Have you waken up early in the morning and injected a lot of fresh clean air of highland into your body?  If so, you might know how it feels. It’s so nice huh? (unless you have a hangover).  On the second day of our stay in Hakone, we got up around 6:00am and started the day with taking a walk in the hotel’s neighborhood to get that feeling.

The whole Hakone area actually consists of several onsen towns from the foot of its mountains near Hakone Yumoto station. And the town we stayed is, called Sengokuhara, the highest and deepest onsen spot in the area.

Sengokuhara

  

Sengokuhara in the morning

The higher the better was true in Hakone. It was very quiet only with the sound of breeze and singing voice of birds.  Our 60-minute walk was nothing but awesome. We were totally refreshed by the clean air of mountain plateau. It was a good exercise to wake up our stomach, too.  A buffet style normal breakfast became look like a special meal to us.

After checking out the hotel, we went to Mt. Komagatake which stands beside Lake Ashi and is probably the best viewing spot for the lake, Mt. Fuji.

Mt. Fuji from Mt. Komagatake

@ the top of Mt. Komagatake

@ the top of Mt. Komagatake

    

@ the top of Mt. Komagatake

You might see the famous coastline of Shonan beach from its crest, if you are lucky enough to hold the weather. It did happen to us, but not clear enough to take a good picture. So please take a look at one form a website  ↓↓↓

Shonan Coastline

Unfortunately the Hakone Freepass didn’t cover the transportation fares to access to the top of the mountain. We had to use different bus and cable car services, but wasn’t expensive.

We came back down to the lakeshore and stopped by at a shopping facility  which is operated by a famous hotel company for lunch.  This place is probably the best to get your Hakone souvenir because of the variation of goods.

But we found more important stuff for ourselves than something for somebody else.  Another locally brewed beer, Hakone Beer.  No description needed. Just try it. I can promise you it’s so good.

Hakone Beer

This beer brewery runs their own restaurant which is a couple of stations away from Hakone Yumoto.   You can enjoy their lineup with great local food out there.

We came back to Shinjuku station around 7:00 PM after the full of enjoyment in Hakone. It was still a bit too early go home without having additional post-journey excitement. So we dropped in at a bar nearby the station and talked about how fun our trip was with some beer.

Hakone’s one of big advantages is this – the closeness to central Tokyo. You can enjoy an extra night activity back in Tokyo after your trip, if your energy remains.

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Traveling Tips in Hakone

-  Getting there by:

Train;  Odakyu Line from Shinjuku Station (90 minutes). JPY 5,000 for a 2-Day Hakone Freepass ticket.  (http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html)

Bus;  Bus service wouldn’t be a good option to get there from Tokyo. 

FYI → (http://www.odakyu-hakonehighway.co.jp/pdf/english.pdf)

Car;  Tomei Expressway (2 -3 hrs) from the central Tokyo

-  To get around the Hakone area:

The Hakone Freepass works best to explore the Hakone area.  It allows you to use the public transportation services, trains, cable cars, buses, and boat on Lake Ashi without any additional charge.  You can get to most of the sightseeing spots of Hakone with the pass.

-  Accommodation in Hakone:      

The hotel rates in Hakone are expensive.  It’s unavoidable. Finding good accommodation at an inexpensive price might be a tall order.  But you’d better not be stingy to make your trip memorable.  The cheaper, the worse in Hakone.  Although you don’t have to stay at a super deluxe hotel, those hotels are definitely worth of the price.

-  Affordable Hotels in Hakone:

FYI  → http://www.hoteltravel.com/japan/hakone/hotels.htm (Japanese)

-  Travel Expenses:

We spent approximately JPY 18,000 apiece for the 2-day trip including everything.  You might have to prepare additional JPY 10,000 – 20,000 for your lodging expense.  But the total cost wouldn’t much exceed it thanks to the service package of Hakonne Freepass. Everything else other than hotel fees remains at the normal price.

-  Local Tourist Information Center:

Hakone Town Tourist Association  http://www.hakone.or.jp/english/index.html

Hakne Navi  http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/index.html