Hakone area
After a day of shopping and pounding the pavements of the city, I left Tokyo.
It was another early start with the alarm for 0600 for a shower, breakfast and packing up after 5 nights at the Tsukiji Business Ban Hotel. I left at 0700 and got to Shinjuku Station rather quickly but as it was a collection of different stations (different rail companies and then the metro), I spent considerable time finding the office and departure point for the bus to Hakone. I reckon the instructions given had been a bit misleading and I eventually found it.
It was 0810 by the time I got my ticket and the next bus to Hakone was 0830 which could drop me off at Sengoku about 5 minutes from my hotel. The alternative was to wait till 0900 for one that could drop me outside my hotel. I chose the former.
The journey was on the motorway for around 2h followed by about 20 minutes on roads in the Hakone region. The weather had deteriorated along the way.
I hopped off at Sengoku and after a wrong turn (which was fruitful as I found the ATM to get more money), I found my hotel. I dropped my pack there, grabbed some dumplings from a nearby café and started my afternoon exploring the Hakone area.
I started by taking a bus downhill to Hakone-Yumoto; it wasn’t a short ride and it was windy. The rain got heavier. When I got to Hakone-Yumoto, it was too wet to explore so I hopped on the switchback train to Gora.
The switchback train, Japan’s oldest mountain railway, consists of two carriages. It takes its name from the nature of the tracks … it zigzags up its hilly route but doesn’t switches back at some stops, ie. the front becomes the back and the back becomes the front.
The route itself wasn’t too beautiful at this time of year. The sakura had gone and the leaves weren’t out. I didn’t have any pink nor green but only the greyish brown of bare branches on the mountains slopes.
Upon reaching Gora, I wandered around briefly before hopping on the cable car (funicular railway in some countries) to Sounzan where I changed immediately to a rope-car (gondola or cable car in some countries). That took me to high up to Owakudani where I could stop to explore the volcanic area before continuing to its final stop at Togendai.
The weather had kinda fined up enough to fully explore the volcanic streams, pools and vents. It hadn’t fined up enough to get even a glimpse of Mount Fuji, which is supposed to be the highlight of visiting this area. I could get a glimpse of the water, which I guess must have been Lake Ashi.
Having just been to White Island in New Zealand only weeks before, the volcanic area was pale in comparison. I explored it fully but quickly, covering all the areas that were permitted. High winds started and I thought I’d better make my way back to the rope-car.
To my surprise, the rope-car was still operating. Unfortunately, they closed it within minutes of me joining the queue. There was no refund for the unused portion of the expensive ticket and had to pay for a separate bus ticket back down to the lake. I waited for the bus indoors in the souvenir shop for as long as I could. When I eventually had to queue up, it was in the cold gale.
Down from the mountain on the shores of Lake Ashi, all was calm and sunny. I had enough of bad weather this trip both in Nikko and the Hakone area. It was time for me to head back to the hotel and wait for dinner and a hot soak after.
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- Switchback train.
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- Largely brown scenery at this time of year.
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- Cable car.
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- Ropeway (but cable car or gondola in some countries).
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- Ropeway (but cable car or gondola in some countries).
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- There’s some industrial activity below the ropeway. Sulphur extraction perhaps.
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- There’s some industrial activity below the ropeway. Sulphur extraction perhaps.
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- Owakudani thermal area.
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- Owakudani thermal area.
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- Stream at Owakudani thermal area.
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- Barren landscape at Owakudani thermal area.
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- Owakudani thermal area just before the violent winds set in.
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- Back in the calm of the relative lowlands at Lake Ashi.
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- Back in the calm of the relative lowlands at Lake Ashi.
Onsen-style Hotel
The Mount View Hakone hotel turned out to be an excellent choice as it was a hotel set up to give a ryokan feel. It had an onsen and diners would eat in smaller dining rooms of about 8 tables instead of one large hall of 40(?) tables for the entire hotel. The corridors were all dark and atmospheric with piped in koto music. My single room including sumptuous dinner and breakfast cost me less than JPY13000.
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- The delightful Hakone Mount View is halfway between a hotel and a ryokan.
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- Collapsible escape ladder from my hotel room.
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- Japanese socks to go with the flipflops.
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- Onsen at the Mount View Hakone Hotel.
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- Onsen at the Mount View Hakone Hotel.
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- Onsen at the Mount View Hakone Hotel.
I was at the hotel for dinner and breakfast. Both the Japanese-style meals were delicious and the presentation stunning.
Some of the delicious and stunningly-presently food at Mount View Hakone Hotel.
Food racism
Being Asian, I sometimes see Western friends turn their nose up or even say “Eewww!” at various Asian foods. Somehow Japanese and Thai food escapes this treatment or response.
It’s as if these cuisines have earned more acceptance. For example, Mexican and Italian food are in the regular aisles of the supermarket instead of the International (read “Foreign”) Food aisles.
Well, today, I learnt that there are items in Japanese cuisine that will invoke those responses from Westerners. But it probably doesn’t happen because Japanese restaurants don’t promote or sell these items.
Preserved eggs? Trotters. Gristle. Not the Japanese food that Westerners know and love.