Hakone (箱根町) Kanagawa Prefecture

12th May 2009, we made our way by train to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 100 kilometers south-west from Tokyo. Hakone is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, which means you can view Mount Fuji from here. It is also famous for it's hot spring. We will be spending 2 days 1 night at Hakone, staying in a traditional ryokan with it's own onsen.


But first, how to get there. You can purchase a Hakone Freepass from Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center at Shinjuku Station. The return ticket cost Y$5000 each (S$75) for a 2-days pass. 3-days pass are also available. From Shinjuku, it's 1 hour to Odawara, where you will need to change to the Odakyu Line to Hakone-Yumoto (15 minutes). From Hakone-Yumoto you take a train to Gora (40 minutes) uphill, and from Gora you're free to explore as you wish. Note that the freepass give you unlimited access to all the train rides in the Hakone area. This includes ropeway, cable cars, buses, and even cruise ships.


Our destination for that day was Owakudani (大涌谷), which is also known as Great Boiling Valley. Will write more about it tomorrow. Stay tune.

Ref:
Mount Fuji 富士山,
Ryokan 旅館
Onsen 温泉