Japan: Mt Fuji, an avalanche of photos from Hakone and Kawaguchiko

Where To Go Next By I&P
Mar 10, 2023
3 min read

Everything is an experience in Japan, even the most basic needs. We talked about how eating was different on the last post, but the toilets, bathing and sleeping can also be so different from what we have in the western world.

First thing we had to get accustomed to was the toilet, with heated seats and water sprays for your privates. It tickles 😁

We also experienced the traditional Japanese hot springs bath and bedding in Hakone, our next destination.

We traveled from Shinjuku to Hakone with the Hakone free pass (6500 JPY/pax for 3 days) by taking the Odakyu line.

But it took some time: First we needed to go to Odawara on a 1h15 trip where we caught our first glimpse of Mt Fuji.

After changing trains in Odawara, we got the Hakone Tozan train at Hakone-Yumoto, a train that crossed gorgeous mountains through tunnels and valleys - a fun and scenic ride with some steep climbs.

Once we arrived in Hakone, we decided to follow the route that most visitors, who usually come from Tokyo for a short weekend getaway, take to try and see Mt Fuji from Ashino Lake (plan 3h):

travel to Gora station by bus to catch the cable car to Sounzan;
from there, we caught the ropeway to Owakudani where we could see some sulfur smoke, and the smell of rotten eggs reminded us of Mount Ijen;
the next part of the cable car to Togendai was, unfortunately, closed for maintenance, so we took a replacement shuttle bus to go to Togendai, the dock;
then we boarded a galleon on lake Ashino. It is a magnificent ship, really well decorated and it even had an elevator! The view of the surrounding mountains from the lake was beautiful, and we passed 2 iconic Japanese red torii gates, but no Mt Fuji as it was hidden behind the clouds.

One of those torii gates is the Hakone Torii, a giant red wooden gate close to the water, marking the entrance to a shrine. Both the torii gate and the shrine were crowded with pious Japanese or Instagram tourists.

We went back to the hotel by bus, which rocked us to sleep while driving through the winding mountain roads.

It wasn't until later that we realized we had been in so many different means of transportation but it really didn't feel overwhelming as everything went very smoothly.

After such a long day, we had the opportunity to relax in one of the onsens that Hakone is famous for. An onsen is a hot spring transformed into a bathing facility where you bathe naked.

You can go to a public one but we tried a private one called Tsukinoya, recommended by our hostess at the Hakone Hostel 1914.

It was awesome and so relaxing! When we left, after a 30mins bath, the freezing cold didn't even bother us anymore.

After having dinner (we struggled to find something affordable), we went back to the hotel to experience the futon in a freezing typical Japanese room with sliding wooden doors and even the kotatsu, the heated table. We slept pretty well but got a back ache in the morning, turns out sleeping in a futon needs some getting used to 🤣

The following day, we took multiple buses to get to the city of Kawaguchiko, on the north side of Mt Fuji. This city is one of the places in the middle of the 5 lakes area where you can watch the clouds covering and uncovering Mt Fuji. We had to take 3 buses, 2 as part of the Hakone free pass, the last one cost 1540 JPY. At one point, we were worried as we were dropped off in the middle of the mountain to wait for our next bus but it soon arrived, just as promised. Japanese transportation seems reliable!

From Kawaguchiko, we were able to admire the majestuous volcano from almost anywhere.

But we decided to get another view from a famous viewpoint, the Chureito Pagoda. So we took a local train and then walked up the hill to the Pagoda. It was a gorgeous view!

The following day we bought a 2 day pass for the sightseeing bus (like hundreds of other people) for 1500 JPY + 1300 JPY for a boat ride and a ropeway trip up a mountain to see a different view of the fantastic Mt Fuji.

That day, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, which allowed us to take beautiful photos of Mt Fuji! The forest and the lakes in the area were magnificent and are probably even more incredible during spring or autumn.

We did a tour of the region using all 3 sightseeing bus lines. We went all the way to lake Shojiko to take another magnificent picture of the goddess Mt Fuji. We had so many photos we created a collage...