Hakone

​Hakone was suggested to me, and I’m so glad that we came to this little mountain area. It is starkly different from Kyoto as it is really a collection of small mountain towns near a lake. It would sort of be like saying you were visiting Blue Ridge, Georgia. While there is a lot to see and do, it is over a large, expansive area. So, we bought the Hakone Pass which allowed us to take a wide variety of transportation to see the beauty around here! We traveled by train, bus, cable-car, rope-way(gondola), and even a boat! With the expansive scenery, all of these are both a means of getting from one to another as well as a sight-seeing journey. High season is around here is the fall and spring with maples and cherry trees, but right now, we got to enjoy a plethora of stunning and unique hydrangeas. The adorable train did something rather remarkable. It traveled down over 400 meters in about 40 minutes, and some of this drop was made possible with switchbacks. I’d never seen that on a train, but we would pull in somewhere, then reverse and go down a different track! 

We enjoyed a chilly cruise across the lake one evening, taking in the surrounding countryside. We also walked to the beautiful torii gates that are in the water, symbolizing peace. 

The ropeway up the mountain is always a fun way to travel! It took us to the small stop of Owakudani. Here, the land is starkly different from the lush green landscape surrounding it. Instead, it looks like a desert, with plumes of smoke rising in various locations and the strong smell of sulphur fills the air as it is part of a volcanic valley. Over 1,000 years ago, a statue was built in this place to prolong one’s life. Now, eggs are boiled in the hot spring pond which turns the shells black. Because the number seven is lucky here, and the statue was built to prolong life, it is now said that if you eat a black egg, you will prolong your life by seven years! I hate boiled eggs. The only kind of eggs I really enjoy are scrambled. But, when there is a chance to participate in local tradition AND expand my lifespan, well, I couldn’t let this pass me by. It was not horrible, however, smelling rotten egg smell while eating an egg did not make it more pleasant. 

We continued our journey to the Hakone Outdoor Museum. It was so much fun! I am not one who appreciates modern art as much as one should, but, I absolutely loved this unique museum! It was a huge, expansive garden area with modern art sprinkled amongst the garden paths. I loved the koi pond with floating art, the sunny-side eggs, the giant tower with thousands of pieces of colored glass, and the concrete wall maze in the shape of a star. 

With a little time on our hands, we decided to stop by the Hakone Craft House. It was also such a unique place! In the middle of this large beautifully landscaped park, there are different buildings that offer different classes in all sorts of different crafts from glass bead making to pottery to blown glass. We didn’t book ahead, but instead showed up and asked what was available. So, we took an hour long class on kiriko glass cutting! We were both a little out of our comfort zone, but we had so much fun! Our instructor was great, and for about an hour we learned the art, practiced and then etched the glass of our own sake glasses! 

We enjoyed the Mishima Skywalk even though this beautiful vista was covered in clouds so we didn’t get to see the stunning Mt. Fuji. The large suspension bridge is 400 meters long and does provide stunning views of the valley below. We also ate the special blue ice cream that you can only get here. It’s crafted of rich local dairy milk and butterfly pea. (Yes, pea, not pee.) 

Speaking of food, while Hakone may not have been our best food stop, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the delicious foods we ate: tiny hamburgers on a stick, black sesame dangos, a chicken teriyaki hot dog and hydrangea ice cream. 

One of the other big attractions of this area is the natural hot springs. We decided we should take advantage of the one in our hotel. But first, let me explain how onsens (Japanese hot springs) work. You’re naked. Completely, 100% no clothes. It was certainly intimidating at first, and we were a little nervous, but we read as much as we could ahead of time and decided, “When in Rome!” The rooms are divided into one for men and one for women, which I greatly appreciated. Our room provided us with robes, so we walked through the hotel in our large robes that certainly covered us. Then, in the women’s locker room, we left it all behind. Yep, you walk around the locker room in your birthday suit, then go into the hot springs room. Before getting into the pools, you go to a small, somewhat private shower stalls where you sit and wash completely with the soap provided. Then, you’re welcomed into the pools. There was one inside and one outside and even a sauna. The water was so hot! I found myself going to rinse in the cold water in the shower stalls a couple of times and then returning to the hot water. No matter what, I was blown away by the quiet respect and acceptance of all of the women! (No photos of this for obvious reasons! 🤣)

Our first evening in Hakone, we noticed a weird vibe. It almost seemed like a ghost town. Sure, we encountered people, but very few despite the long zig zag rope lines at attractions. In many of the small towns, some buildings seemed a bit dilapidated, and it was very hard to find a restaurant that was open for dinner. Our hotel is lovely, but we seem to be bringing the average age down a fair amount, and perhaps our hotel (Yumoto Fujiya) had its glory days when the patrons were young. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had great service and the staff are exceptionally friendly. It has fancy little touches everywhere, and yet, when you look closer, it’s like it hasn’t been updated in a while. I say all of this, because it, too, kind of adds to the “ghost town” vibe. We did learn a few things that helped to explain this. High season is when nature is showing off: cherry blossom season and maple leaf season. Also, many people come here as a day trip from Tokyo which is why most places (food and shops) close by 5. Now, would I still recommend this place? Absolutely! Just know this coming in, and know that you don’t need a long time to see most of what there is to see. Hakone was a lovely place to visit, and a great way to get off the beaten path a bit!