Hakone Trip Plan - 10 October 2013

Sources :  http://www.japan-guide.com
                 http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/freepass/hakone/

Tokyo to Hakone



Hakone Area

Hakone Bus Network:

สถานี CHOKOKU NO MORI (箱根彫刻の森)

1. The Hakone Open Air Museum (箱根彫刻の森美術館)

Hakone Open Air Museum successfully attempts to create a harmonic balance of nature and art by exhibiting various sculptures on its spacious grounds in combination with beautiful views of the surrounding valley and mountains.

Besides the sculptures, the Hakone Open Air Museum features various indoor galleries, including a sizable Picasso Collection, consisting of paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramic creations.

 

 

สถานี GORA (強羅)

2. Gora Park

(強羅公園, Gōra Kōen)

Gora Park is a western style landscape park located on the steep slope above Gora Station. It is a relaxing place to unwind and enjoy the scenery and views of Hakone.

Gora Park is primarily a French styled landscape park featuring a large fountain and a rose garden. The park also has two greenhouses, one housing a tropical botanical garden while the other contains a flower garden. Additionally, there is a restaurant overlooking the main fountain, as well as the Hakuun-do Chaen teahouse.

In the Crafthouse visitors can take part in craft activities such as glass blowing, glass etching, pottery and dried flower arrangement. Activities range in cost from 1000 to 3500 yen and take from 30 minutes to an hour to complete


3. The Hakone Museum of Art (箱根美術館, Hakone Bijutsukan)
 
Hakone Museum of Art located in Gora, was founded by Okada Mokichi in 1952.   The museum displays mainly Japanese ceramics from prehistoric time through the Edo Period (1600-1868). These include a number of large earthenware and ceramic vessels such as a haniwa burial statue classified as an Important Cultural Property.

 

Moss Garden : The museum also features a pretty moss garden with stone paths winding through the shade of its maple trees. The garden beautifully reflects the seasons with brilliant autumn colours during November and vibrant greens in spring. There is also a teahouse where green tea is served for a small fee.

 

 

Sekirakuen Garden : Besides the moss garden, the museum grounds additionally feature a Japanese landscape garden, the Sekirakuen Garden, which is open only on weekends, national holidays and everyday during the month of November. The garden spreads over the slopes of Gora, featuring large decorative stones, a mountain stream and views over the valley and mountains.

สถานี  OWAKUDANI (大涌谷)

4. Owakudani

Owakudani is the area around a crater created during the last eruption of Mount Hakone some 3000 years ago. Today, much of the area is an active volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced.

A short walking trail (about ten minutes one way) leads from the ropeway station into the volcanic zone to a number of steam vents and bubbling pools. Here you can purchase eggs, cooked in the naturally hot water, whose shells are blackened by the sulfur and which are said to prolong one's life by seven years.

 

About 30 minutes past the peak of Mount Kamiyama a trail splits off down towards Lake Ashi. It leads down the mountain and along the lakeshore, ending at Kojiri not far from Togendai, from where the Hakone Ropeway connects back to Owakudani. The round trip takes about 4.5 hours.

 

สถานี TOGENDIA-KO
5. Lake Ashinoko (芦ノ湖)

Lake Ashinoko was formed in the caldera of Mount Hakone after the volcano's last eruption 3000 years ago. Today, the lake with Mount Fuji in the background is the symbol of Hakone.

The best views of the lake in combination with Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from Moto-Hakone, from the Hakone Detached Palace Garden and from the sightseeing boats cruising the lake. Note however, that clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility tends to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours.

Two companies, Hakone Sightseeing Boats and Izuhakone Sightseeing Boats, operate boats between Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi at the lake's southern shores and Togendai and Kojiri at the lake's northern end. A boat cruise from one end of the lake to the other takes roughly 30 minutes and costs 970 yen.

The Hakone Free Pass is valid on the pirate ship shaped Hakone Sightseeing Boats but not on boats operated by Izuhakone.
 

The town of Moto-Hakone at the shores of Lake Ashinoko

สถานี MOTO-HAKONE (元箱根)

6. Hakone Shrine (箱根神社)

Hakone Shrine stands at the foot of Mount Hakone along the shores of Lake Ashi. The shrine buildings are hidden in the dense forest, but are well advertised by its huge torii gate, one standing prominently in the lake and two others over the main street of Moto-Hakone.

A path leads from the torii gate in Lake Ashi up a series of steps flanked by lanterns through the forest to the main building of the shrine, which sits peacefully among the tall trees. The shrine is beautiful throughout the year, and is particularly breathtaking when shrouded in mist.

A second shrine, Hakone Shrine Mototsumiya ("original shrine") stands at the summit of Komagatake, one of Mount Hakone's multiple peaks. It is accessible by the Komagatake Ropeway from Hakone-en or via hiking trails.

7. Hakone Check Point /Cedar Avenue/ Old Tokaido

 

Hakone Checkpoint

Hakone used to be an important checkpoint to control traffic along the Tokaido (東海道, Tōkaidō), the highway which linked Tokyo with Kyoto during the feudal Edo Period. 

Today, a short, cedar lined passage of the old Tokaido and a reconstruction of the Hakone Checkpoint (箱根関所, Hakone Sekisho) are located between Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi along the shore of Lake Ashi.

It is possible to walk a longer passage of the old Tokaido (also referred to as Kyu-kaido, 旧街道) between Moto-Hakone and Hakone-Yumoto. Some of the original stone pavement remains, and the best preserved section leads from Moto-Hakone to Hatajuku (75-100 minutes) via the Amazake Chaya, a tea house serving amazake (hot, sweet rice wine) and various Japanese style snacks.

A few steps past the Amazake Chaya (which was recently reconstructed in 2009) stands the Tokaido Museum, a small museum which features life size reconstructions explaining the purpose of and life along the long road to Tokyo.

Between Hatajuku and Hakone-Yumoto (90-120 minutes), the trail follows the road, which is neither particularly scenic nor pleasant to walk due to car traffic and the absence of a side walk for pedestrians.

Preserved stone paved road of the Old Tokaido between Hatajuku and Moto-Hakone

8. Hakone Detached Palace (旧箱根離宮, Kyū Hakone Rikyū)

The palace used to serve as a summer palace for the Imperial Family, but was later opened to the public. It is located at the southern shores of Lake Ashi on the peninsula between Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi.

The relatively small and simple palace building is surrounded by a beautiful park, known as Onshi Hakone Park, which offers nice walking trails and scenic views of Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji, if visibility permits. Visibility tends to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours.