The best of traditions and modernity – Japan in 25 days

Stop 3 – Hakone, Japan. Visited 1st October 2024

From Nikko, I returned to Tokyo to proceed westward to Hakone, about 86 km away.

Hakone is an illustrious hot spring town, also known for museums, nature, and ah, the view of Mount Fuji on a clear day.

This is another mountain town. The shops and houses are nestled in the jungle. To get from one spot to the next, the public buses wind up and down the mountains, often enveloped by trees on all sides. Many came to hike in this jungle, to enjoy Japan’s nature.

I rode in the cable car to Owakudani, the first stop. The sulfur smell permeated the air, its distinctive yellow tarred the slopes. Vapor rose from the ground to join the fog above. Here, I saw Mount Fuji for the first time. Without the icing sugar, it was no snow white at this time of the year. But the symmetry, the mellow blue sky, and the passing clouds made it spectacular. Eventually, the cable car landed near the shore of Lake Ashi.

From this point, I joined other tourists on a pirate ship to cruise the lake. Lake Ashi was formed 3000 years ago by volcanic eruptions blocking the Haya River. The sky was overcast, giving the lake an indescribably somber look. The cruise ended on the other end of the lake, at Hakonemachi-Ko. Many sat here to enjoy the open space, and the serene, spiritual lake.

From here it was a short 2km walk on the main road to Heima no Torii, the iconic bright red legs-in-the-lake shrine gate. I managed to get myself lost in the trail but emerged on the main road after more than an hour, continuing toward the shrine gate. A long queue had already formed for the turn to take their exclusive photos under the gate.

Between the hot springs, sulfur, Mount Fuji, Lake Ashi, the luxuriant jungle, and the Heiwa no Torii shrine gate, Hakone is what Japan is – little Japan in Japan.