What to do in Hakone in a day? 箱根

Spend a day in Hakone starting with the Odakyu Railway Company's "LimitedExpress Romance Car Super Hakone" train that will take you from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station in 80 minutes. this station is concentrated in restaurants, souvenir shops, and also a large number of hotels with onsen because this location has long been known for its hot springs.

How to get to Hakone? The different options

From Hakone-Yumoto, take the Hakone Tozan train to Gora . For 35 minutes, you'll travel on Japan's oldest mountain railway track as the train winds through a wooded valley, crossing bridges and tunnels, stopping at small stations from another time, overlooking This quote from David LeBreton makes perfect sense: "Whatever the outcome of the road when only the road traveled counts ".

However, the end of the path is not without interest: flower lovers will visit the Gora-Koen park and those of art, Hakone Art Museum where one can admire, among other things, an important collection of ceramics. Then, this time, the cable car replaces the train to reach Mount Sounzan (10 minutes journey). From there, take a cable car up to Owakudani, a volcanic valley whose sulfur fumes reek of the air. You can taste the famed black eggs cooked in sulfur-laden water.

On a cloudy day, Owakudani takes on an apocalyptic atmosphere. Several hiking trails are a delight for walkers as the emanation of volcanic gases has led to their partial or total closure. You can simply go your way, still by funicular, to Togendai, on the northern shores of Lake Ashi (Ashino-ko in Japanese). In good weather, the view from the cable car is breathtaking.

Places to visit in Hakone

The shores of the lake are a call to rest and this long morning walk will certainly whet your appetite. The Togendai View restaurant offers simple dishes at reasonable prices and is renowned for its view of the lake. unless you prefer to have a bento box lunch by the water. The boat ride on Lake Ashi offers one of Hakone's stunning sights: the image of Mount Fuji reflected in its waters.

Here you can also admire another iconic sight of Hakone, that of the vermilion torii of the Hakone-jinja shrine emerging from the waters. The half-hour crossing will take you to the south shore, to Hakone-machi or Moto-Hakone, the two large towns bordering the lake. We advise you to disembark at Hakone-machi and take the path that leads to Moto-Hakone. The walk of about half an hour is a delight.

If you are interested in history, take a tour of the " Hakone Check Point ", a faithful recreation of the checkpoint (Hakone Sekisho ) that existed in the time of Edo (1603-1867), when Hakone was a strategic point on the Tôkaidô road, which linked Edo (old name of Tokyo) to Kyoto, as all those who passed were subject to inspection.

End your forest walk in Moto-Hakone with a visit to the Hakone-jinja Shinto shrine, perched on top of a green hill. It is then time to take the bus to Hakone-Yumoto and meet the “Limited ExpressRomancer Super Hakone” train bound for Shinjuku. But you may prefer to relax first in the hot springs that have made and still make Hakone a special place, or extend the trip and go down to a ryokan, a traditional inn, to spend the night away from the hustle and bustle of the capital.