Hakone Guide

Pictured: Hakone -- Ashinoko or Lake Ashi

Hot Springs near Lake Ashi

This area "...is the Japanese tourist-mecca par excellence. If the weather cooperates and Mt. Fuji is clearly visible, the Hakone region can make a fun day trip from Tokyo. You can enjoy cable-car rides, visit an open air museum, poke around smelly volcanic hot springs and cruise Ashino-ko. If it`s rainy or cloudy, however, you may simply feel that you`re riding a conveyor belt of which the sole purpose is to strip you of your cash."

--Japan, Lonely Planet




Pictured: Me with friends in younger years, not far from Lake Ashi.

Yumoto is the most popular hot springs resort in the region.

To get there:

Take the Hakone Tozan Railway from Odawara to Yumoto Station. Most of the best hot springs are near the station.

The Hot Spring Baths

Kappa Tengoku Notemburo

Open 10AM-10PM

It`s a very popular outdoor bath. Located behind Yumoto Station.

Ten-zan Notemburo

Open 9AM-11PM

Many indoor and outdoor baths. To get there take the free shuttle bus from the bridge near Yumoto Station.

This whole area is part of a national park, not too far fromTokyo. It is famous for its beauty, hot springs, and the many interesting volcanic things you can see and do. It is a greatbreak from Tokyo!

"Yumoto, at the entrance to the...area near Odawara, is Hakone's most famous hot spring with a particularly long history, high quality water and numerous baths and inns. But many more hot spring baths can be found in the valleys and mountains of Hakone and at the shores of Lake Ashi."

--japan-guide.com

Gora

Is an onsen resort near the top of Soun-zan Mountain. It is in the center of the area. It is a pretty area with resorts and hotels.

Hakone Bijutskukan (Art Museum)Tel 0460-2-2623It is 3 minutes by cable car from Gora Station to Koen-ue. It has a great collection of Japanese and Chinese ceramics. Plus the surrounding grounds are covered in moss and Japanese maples. A truly Japanese experience. An interesting Japanese bamboo grove also surrounds the museum.

Cable Car

Goes to the summit of Soun-zan. A tram goes down the other side and is the second longest in the world.The end of the tram line is Togendai on the shores of Lake Ashi (Ashinoko). Stop at Owaki-dani to view the sulfur spewing holes and stop to boil an egg if you`d like. Like a scene from a dinosaur movie! In Togendai you can take a boat to Moto-Hakone or take a bus to Hakone-en.Moto-Hakone

Is 40 minutes by bus from Yumoto. It is a beautiful area of large trees and lakeside. There are some interesting shops and good restaurants with lake views. Gongen (Shrine) is a famous site with it`s red torii gate, which is actually in Lake Ashi. It frequently appears in photographs in books on Japan. This shrine was founded in 757.

Hiking the Old Tokaido Road

You can hike the Old Tokaido road the famous road that stretched from Kyoto to Edo (the old name for Tokyo). You can hike the road from Moto-Hakone to Sukumogawa and it takes about 2 and a half hours.At the end of the hike in Sukumogawa you can catch a bus back to Yumoto. Not the whole road is the original from hundreds of years ago, some of it is asphalt unfortunately.

Other Things to See & Do

Chokoku no Mori Bijutsukan (Open Air Museum)

Even if you are not that interested in art, you should consider seeing this museum. The Picasso exhibit alone is worth the price of admission. I wish I had been the first to think of using a bicycle seat for art! Damn! It exhibits sculptures by Western artists including: Picasso, Arp, Rodin, Noguchi, Moore and Giacometti. There are also displays of Japanese paintings inside.

Nearby is the interesting city of Odawara.

More information about the area.

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