I fell in love with Japan the first time I went there in 2015 and everytime I go back I see to it that I get to visit a different part of the country. So besides the city that we usually go to, I set aside a day or two in our itinerary to see and explore some places we’ve never been. This time – we’re going to Hakone!!!
Hakone is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, about an hour and a half away from Tokyo. It is a mountainous town known for it’s hot spring resorts and views of the iconic Mount Fuji. It is a popular weekend destination loved by locals and tourists alike looking for a break from the busy grind of Tokyo. I’ve wanted to see Hakone for a while now, so for this trip, we decided to make it our first stop before continuing on to Tokyo. I’ve read that you can explore Hakone in one day but since we wanted to stay in a ryokan we decided to spend the night there.
To make the most of our trip to Hakone we decided to take the red eye flight from Manila that arrives around 5 a.m. at Haneda airport. From the airport we took the Keikyu Line to Shinagawa Station and then transferred to the JR Yamanote Line to Shinjuku station. There are different ways to go to Hakone but since we wanted to ride the Romancecar from Shinjuku station we decided to go via this route. We also opted to have our luggages delivered to our hotel in Tokyo and had prepared a hand-carry one to take to Hakone. This made our journey much easier and comfortable.
At Shinjuku Station, we went to the Odakyu ticket counter where we purchase our Romancecar tickets and the Hakone Free Pass. The Hakone Free Pass is a discount pass that provides unlimited use of Odakyu-affiliated buses, trains, boats, cablecars and ropeways in the Hakone area. The Romancecar, on the other hand is a limited-express train with reserved seating and is the fastest way to travel to Hakone from Tokyo. When riding the Romancecar you will need to purchase a Limited Express Ticket aside from the Hakone Freepass, and I highly recommend to reserve or buy your tickets in advance especially if you want to avail the observation deck seats located in the first and last train as it sells out fast. I reserved our tickets for the Romancecar two weeks before we arrived. I wasn’t able to get an observation deck seat for our ride to Hakone but I was able to get one for our return trip.
The Romancecar cafe is located inside the Shinjuku Station ticket gate and here you can buy foods and drinks that you can take and eat during the 80 minutes train ride. Here we decided to have a quick snack while waiting for our train. If you’re in a rush, no need to worry for drinks and snacks are also available inside the train.
I really enjoyed riding the Romancecar, the train has reclining seats, free wifi and ample spaces for our luggage. Eventhough we didn’t get a seat on the observation deck, the windows along the car sides are huge and gave us picturesque views along the way, we even got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji.
The Romancecar stops at Hakone-Yumoto Station, which is the main entrypoint for Hakone. If you’re planning to do the famous Hakone Round Course Loop you will start from here and the Hakone Tozan train is just directly across the platform of the Romancecar. First, we decided to leave our hand-carries at the lockers located inside the station. There are plenty of coin lockers around the station so if you have a lot of bags or luggages you can easily leave them here.
For our first stop we decided to ride the Hakone Tozan train to visit the Hakone Open Air Museum. The Hakone Tozan Line is a mountain railway that goes up steep slopes. It is also famous for its switchbacks where the train switches direction and reverses while going up the mountain. Along the way you can enjoy the passing scenery and feel the sharp curves that the train takes while climbing up the mountain. To reach the last stop, which is Gora station, it will take about 40 minutes.
Since we are going to the museum, we got off at Chokoku-no-mori Station the last stop before Gora Station. The Hakone Open Air Museum is a 5-10 minute walk away from the station and there are many signs pointing you along the way, making it quite impossible to miss.
We bought tickets at the museum entrance and since we have the Hakone Freepass we got a 200 yen discount on the tickets.
Hakone Open Air Museum is one of the must-see places in Hakone. The highlight of the museum is it’s outdoor display with sculptures and art installations scattered around the park. There are also indoor exhibits, galleries and a pavilion showing the works of Picasso. Here are some of the famous sculptures in the museum:
There is also a hot spring foot bath located at the far end of the museum were visitors can dip their feet and relax and take a break from the long walk. Towels can be purchase at 100 yen.
Here we also took our lunch at Chokoku-no-mori Dining located inside the Multi-Hall. The view inside the restaurant is so good as you will have commanding views of the museum’s beautiful landscape. We were also really hungry during that time so we tried the two rice dish in the menu which is the spareribs and their featured product, the seafood curry. There are also pasta and salad on the menu, plus they also offer a kids meal.
After spending some time exploring the museum, we decided to go back to the station and continue to ride the train up to Gora station. From here you can ride the Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Sounzan.
Since our check-in time for our ryokan is at 3:00 and we wanted to get the most of our stay, we decided to not continue with the Hakone Loop and just got out the station and explore Gora. Gora is a famous hot-spring town with lots of onsen and ryokan. Gora is known as “the hot spring with five pastel shades,” due to the different spring waters available, each with different colors and effects.
One of the most popular sightseeing destination in Gora is Hakone Gora park. Gora Park is a western-style garden with a tea house, greenhouses and a central fountain. It is a 5-10 minutes walk from the station and it is uphill so it’s a bit tiring. On our walk, we passed by many ryokans, restaurants and some small shops.
We used our Hakone Freepass to gain free entrance to Gora Park. Gora Park is built at a slope and there are a lot of steep slopes and staircases in the park. We were there the last week of February so the flowers are not yet in bloom, and we cannot fully appreciate the beauty of the park. There are a few flowers in bloom though and the fountain is really so beautiful, and I can only imagine what this place might look like in spring. We did enjoy going around the park and there are almost no people inside probably beacuse it was really cold. We walked around the area some more and even got lost inside one of the greenhouses. Then it was time to go back to the station to ride the Hakone Tozan train back to Hakone-Yumoto Station.
For more information about the Hakone Freepass and the Romancar you can visit this site https://www.odakyu.jp/english/passes/hakone/ and for things to do in Hakone https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/
thecluelesskat 