Sights of Hakone

There is so much to see and do in Hakone National Park area its hard to know where to begin.

I recommend purchasing the Hakone Free Pass or Hakone weekday pass which is even cheaper if you travel up there on weekday. The Hakone free pass is valid for 3 consecutive days and the Hakone weekday pass is valid for 2 consecutive days. You can purchase the pass at 3 major JR (Japan Rail) stations - Shinjuku, Machida or Odawara. The pass allows you to take the train up to Hakone, use all the transportation in the area and gives you discounts into some of the attractions. Its great value for money.

The best way to see all of Hakone is to start with the Hakone round course. Once you arrive in Hakone start at the Hakone-Yumoto train station. Here are the details of the Hakone round course.

* Hakone Yumoto station take the Bus to the Amazake-Chaya Tea house and get off here. Just back and to the left behind the tea house is the start of the Old Tokaido Highway. Make sure you go left and start walking along the Old Tokaido Highway.
* Note the road can be a little uneven and steep in parts of it also you need to cross the main road at one point.
* Follow this down to the end and you will come out at Moto Hakone.
* To the left you will go down the street and see a big red tori gate if you go past this you can walk down Acient Cedar Avenue.
* From here you can take the boat on Lake Ashi to Togendai. Get off in Togendai there are a few resturants around here.
* From Togendai take the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani.
* Owakudani is a huge crator that puts out sulfurous fumes and in the area is a hot spring you can go to as well as try one of the famous black eggs cooked by the sulfur fumes. It is believed to be good for your health. There is a small souviner shop in the area.
* From Owakudani you can take the Hakone Ropeway across the valley to Sounzan.
* From Sounzan take the cable car to Gora.
* Gora station area there are a few shops and also Gora Park is in the area. I recommend going to Gora Park its beautiful.
* From Gora take the train back to Hakone-Yumoto station.

This is the round course. It took from 9am to 4pm to do this.

Either when you purchase the Hakone Free pass or Hakone weekday pass or When you arrive at Hakone Yumoto train station be sure to pick up timetables for all of the transportation so you can plan your day. Across the road from the Hakone-Yumoto station is a tourist information centre.

I recommend taking food, snacks and drinks with you to have a long the way. There are shops, convience store and resturants around the Hakone-Yumoto station area. Otherwise till you get to Moto Hakone or Gora there isn't much else between where you can buy food.

At the end of the day why not try one of the many Hot springs or even stay overnight at one of the Hot spring hotels.

My recommendation is Kappa Tengoku which is a 3 min walk just above the Hakone Yumoto station or take the free shuttle bus just outside the Hakone Yumoto train station to Hakone Begonia Garden Himeshara Hot Springs. It's 1050 Yen for just the bath and 1450 Yen for the bath and the begonia garden.


Kappa Tengoku
http://www.japanhotel.net/kappa/

Hakone Begonia Garden
http://www.hakone-begoniaen.com/

If you want to stay at a hot spring hotel I recommend staying at Hakone Tenseien there are 5 different hot springs in this hotel. I stayed at the attched part of the hotel called HIENKAKU Annex in the Garden view Japanese style room its cheaper than staying at the Tenseien hotel and will give you a traditional Japanese experience rather than a western style stay. I didn't take the breakfast or dinner and it was very reasonable to stay there around 6,500 yen per person per night if its during the week.

http://homepage2.nifty.com/tenseien_eng/index.html

http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/

I highly recommend Hakone as a must see while in Japan.

I recently stayed at this hotel in Hakone. Its part of the Tensien Hotel but in a seperate building next door.

It is located about 12 minutes from the Hakone-Yumoto train station and you can take a taxi for around 1,500 yen. Returning back to the station is an orange bus that leaves from the front of the Tensien Hotel and cost 100 yen.

The area around the hotel is very pretty and there is a waterfall at the back of the hotel.

There are approximately 5 onsens in the hotel both indoor and outdoor. They are located in the Annex part and the hotel next door which you go into and can use the onsens located there also. They are seperate sexes so one for men and one for woman certain times are allocated for each onsen for men and womans use. Then they change at allocated times so you would have a chance to go in each of the onsens should you wish.

The rooms are Japanese style and divided into two seperate areas a sitting area with lounge chairs and then the traditional Japanese tatami room. You are given traditional japanese bedding futons which you put out yourself.

The hotel ammenties include:
TV, Hot water and Green tea, Air conditioning, Heating, Telephone, Refrigerator, Hair Dryer, Soap, Shampoo, Rinse, Toothbrush, Razor, Shower Cap, Comb, Brush, Bathrobe (Japanese Style), towels. Your room also has private bath, shower and toilet. Also available in the hotel Restaurant, Night Club, Midnight Snack Corner, Banquet Hall, Conference Room, Spa, Japanese Outdoor Bath, Vending Machine, Game Center, and Table Tennis .

The cost per person per night for the room was 6,500 yen which didnt included breakfast or dinner. I recommend buying some food and drink from the local convience store by the station and the room has a refridgerator so you can put food and drink in there.

The room I had over looked a japanese style garden with pond and Japanese Koi fish.

Although the building it self is a little old it is still clean and comfortable as well as affordable.

I can highly recommend this hotel.

There are many hot springs all over Japan and they are worth a visit as its a great experience however, at first many people may find it daunting to get naked in front of strangers.

It's really worth the experience I recommend being brave and just do it.

Here are a few tips on how the process works.

* First you enter the change area and there is a basket and or coin lockers to put your towel and clothes in. If you stay in a traditional japanese style inn (Ryokan) you may already only be wearing yukata (cotton robe)so you place your things in the basket or coin locker.
* There are no swimming suits allowed however some people take a small hand towel known as a modesty towel used for privacy.
* Next you enter the washroom area you will see rows of taps and small stools as well as a washbowl.
* You sit on the stool and in front of you will find body wash, shampoo and conditioner. So you wash off using the tap and bowl or sometimes its a shower head and tap so you can use either. You mostly have to clean your body its not necessary to wash your hair if you dont want to. Make sure to clean up your area.
* After you have washed off and rinsed down you can enter the hot spring bath the water tempertaure is normally between 38 degrees to 44 degrees. At first it can be very hot so enter slowly and dont move around too much the more you tend to move around the hotter it seems. If you start to feel too hot you can exit and sit on the side half in and half out this is okay.
* When you have soaked enough and want to leave don't wash yourself down again if you want the water and the minerals to help your skin.
* Exit the wash area and go back into the dressing area to dry off and put your clothes back on.

*** NOTE - in most places there are hair dryers, chair and mirros provided, brushes sometimes so if you washed your hair you can dry it here.

Taking a hot spring bath is a great experience and I highly recommend doing it.
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