Japan: Getting to Hakone; Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise

Date: 31 March 2015

The second to last day on Japan soil. I had to make the most of it and accomplish a few more things. Experience a proper, natural outdoor onsen (hot spring), see Mount Fuji from closer up, — and eat sushi at a proper sushi restaurant.

Today I was going to be spending the whole day at Hakone, a popular getaway for Tokyo’s residents. Famous for offering great views of Mount Fuji, many hiking trails, resorts and many natural hot springs.

Yesterday, I bought a Hakone pass off a hostel mate who had purchased a two-day pass but only used the benefits of the pass yesterday. I could make use of the pass to avail buses and local trains within Hakone today. But first I had to get to Hakone from Tokyo station.

Tokyo station Odawara platforms — At Tokyo station, platforms 9 and 10 have trains going to Odawara (Tokaido Line)

Tokaido line Okachimachi eki Japan — I forget exactly which stations I had to get down at and transfer trains, but eventually I had to stick to the Tokaido line to get to Odawara station

View from train to Odawara — It was time leave the urban sights of Tokyo

Shinagawa station platform Japan — I think this was Shinagawa station, the second station I had to switch trains from

Odawara station Japan — It took just over an hour because of all the transfers

Bus depot Odawara station Japan — But from Odawara station, I now had to take a bus to get to the docks at Lake Ashi from where the sightseeing cruise departs

Odawara river stream Japan — You could see right away why city-dwellers come here

Odawara sights from bus Japan — Problem is, there was quite a bit of traffic and the bus was chugging along rather slowly

Cyclist Hakone hill ride Japan — I saw quite a few cyclists riding uphill

I must say though, the roads aren’t very wide. We were riding up and down hills, and the roads are just two lanes, so there isn’t a whole lot of space for cyclists. So ride carefully. I also saw quite a few high-end cars with their roofs down cruising past. The air is clean out here so I can imagine this is the right environment to go for a ride in convertibles.

I was wondering if I made a mistake taking the bus because it was moving at a rather slow pace. Sure, traffic was backed up at a few places but the buses would stop along the way to drop off passengers at various resorts, onsens and other attractions. Anyway, it’s not like I could afford to take a taxi. This bus ride was covered by the pass.

Hakone lake town Japan — I reached the town-like area by the lake where I had to get down

Sightseeing cruise office Lake Ashi Hakone — This is the office for the sightseeing cruise at Lake Ashi

Hakone sightseeing cruise tickets Japan — It costs ¥1000 for a one way ride across the lake, ¥1840 for a return journey. I didn’t have to pay for it as the ride is covered in the Hakone pass as well

Lake Ashi sign Hakone national park — Ashinoko is the full name of the lake

Lake Ashi cruise port Hakone — It was quite windy

Lake Ashi cruise docking port Hakone — There are two boat services that tour the lake. The one that is covered in the Hakone Pass is not this kind of boat.

Pier Lake Ashi Hakone Japan — I waited at the pier for my boat to arrive

Pirate ship sightseeing Lake Ashi tour — And if that looks like a pirate ship… it is

Pirate ship Lake Ashi cruise Japan — Not a sight you see too often these days, eh?

Pirate clown Hakone cruise ship — And yes, that’s a pirate clown

Inside Hakone sightseeing cruise ship — There is seating inside

Hakone sightseeing cruise ship outdoor — But I wanted to take photos

Hakone sightseeing pirate ship deck Japan — So I went to the upper deck, even though there were cold winds

Pirate ship outer deck Hakone — Still, the views are much better from here

Leaving lake ashi pier Hakone — The boat departed

Lake Ashi torii view Hakone — I decided to swap lenses

Torii lake ashi trek hakone Japan — The torii is part of Hakone Shrine inside the forest

Mount Fuji Lake Ashi Hakone Japan — But the main attraction is of course, Fuji-yama!

Mount Fuji peak from Lake Ashi — Fortunately, it was a clear day and I got an unobstructed view of Mount Fuji’s peak

Lake Ashi trees Hakone hills — Lots of trees all around

Lake Ashi forest Hakone Japan — After days of city life, it was refreshing to see Japan’s countryside again

Pirate ship lake ashi Hakone Japan — Pirate ships… in Japan. He he.

Hakone hills ropeway Japan — Hakone also has a famous cable car (ropeway is the preferred word here)

Pirate ship Hakone sightseeing tour — We were at the end of our ride

Pirate boats Hakone cruise tours — We disembarked our pirate ship and set foot on land

The cruise across Lake Ashi barely takes 20 minutes. It’s still an enjoyable cruise as the sights all around are pleasant. Next up, I would take the ropeway up to a resort from where I would soak myself in an onsen while enjoying a spectacular view of Mount Fuji. That’s the next post!

Next post in this series:

Japan 2015: Hakone ropeway; onsen at Hotel Green Plaza

Japan 2015: Ōwakudani sulphur springs, views of Mt. Fuji — and last night in Tokyo

Japan 2015: Getting to Narita Airport — and flying an Airbus A380 for the first time

Previous posts in this series:

Japan 2015: Rikugien garden’s weeping cherry blossom tree

Japan 2015: Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Ueno Park

Japan 2015: Visiting Akihabara a second time, because why not?

Japan 2015: Harajuku at night — Takeshita Street

Japan 2015: Harajuku on a Sunday – Meiji shrine and Yoyogi Park

Japan 2015: Cherry blossom sightings at Shinjuku Gyoen

Japan 2015: Boat ride to Odaiba; giant Gundam statue at DiverCity Mall

Japan 2015: Cherry blossom celebrations by Sumida River

Japan 2015: Denboin garden, near Sensoji Temple

Japan 2015: Shopping in Shinjuku, and exploring Kabukicho

Japan 2015: Nishi-Shinjuku — views from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building sky deck

Japan 2015: Shibuya – the busiest crossing in the world, and home to a loyal dog

Japan 2015: Ueno Zoo – pandas, a lonely polar bear, and more

Japan 2015: Nakamise street, Senso-ji temple, and Ueno Park sakura at half-bloom

Japan 2015: Nadagiku Shuzo Sake Brewery, leaving Himeji for Tokyo — and my last bullet train ride

Japan 2015: Himeji Castle, and the unexpected air show

Japan 2015: Kyoto Station, and arriving at Himeji by shinkansen

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Monkey Park in Arashiyama

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Gion Corner Cultural Show

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu Dera temple

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Fushimi Inari-taisha, and climbing to the mountain top

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Nishiki market and Teramachi

Japan 2015: Kyoto – Nishi & Higashi Honganji, Shijo street, and Gion

Japan 2015: Riding a bullet train for the first time, Tokyo to Kyoto

Japan 2015: Walking around Akihabara and Ginza

Japan 2015: Going to Akihabara, and spending way too much time in Yodobashi Akiba

Japan 2015: Landing in Tokyo… and using a communal bath for the first time

2 Comments

M
03/10/2016

Hi Mithun,

Just want to tell you that you have done an amazing job with your Japan blog. I am a fellow Indian, about to visit Japan in 1 week for 21 days. I know exactly what are things I should be aiming to do. Cheers

M

Mithun Divakaran Reply:
October 3rd, 2016 at 3:32 AM
Glad my blog posts helped 🙂 I’ll be publishing a post on travel tips for Japan soon!

Comments are closed.

Mithun Divakaran

2 Comments

M