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A
lthough
Hakone may not have the reputation of Karuizawa - another resort that
has gained fame mainly because members of the Imperial family have been
known to play tennis there - nowadays it is the area known for the villas
(dacha) of the beautiful people. Still, Hakone Prince and Fujiya hotels
are, like Manpei Hotel in Karuizawa, the place to be seen. Hakone has
beautiful scenery, including, of course, a view of Mt. Fuji, Lake Ashinoko,
hot springs (Hakone was created by volcanic activity 400,000 years ago),
and numerous art museums and parks, and a begonia garden, and is a reasonably
easy getaway from our concrete jungle, both money- and time-wise. It is
beginning to seem as if only the Methuselah generation will remember the
joys and the peculiarities of the four seasons, so any time of the year
is good for a trip.
Hakone
encompasses a huge area, and seeing it all would take days and also we
don't want to exhaust ourselves on a holiday, although many people often
do. The journey by train and bus takes about two and a half hours from
Tokyo to Hakone-en. Once there you can do a bit of skating, see some fish
and virtual reality and dip in a hot spring before you take a bus to Technic
Garden for some snowboarding (just in time for the afternoon discount
fee), or Komagatake Ropeway to Mt. Komagatake for a view. On cloud nine
from the experience, head back by the ropeway to Hakone-en and take the
ship to Hakone-machi (there are quite a few souvenir shops in the area
including a music box store where you can go wild - guess on what). It
is a short walk from there to Yoshimatsu ryokan, where you can dip again
in the hot spring (open-air too) and get happy on sake and karaoke.
Your
next day there might be well spent just riding on ships, ropeways, cable
cars and trains (Hakone Tozan Tetsudo). From Hakone-machi, take the ship
to Togendai, where Hakone Ropeway awaits you to take you up the mountain
and down again to Sounzan. Along the way, you might want to get off at
Owakudani and walk a short distance to see the bubbling hot springs, smell
the stench of the sulfur and check out the "domestically" boiled eggs
that are on sale, and also the Owakudani Natural Science Museum (Shizen
Kagakukan).
For
the small Hakone Bijutsukan, which has an admirable collection of ceramics,
pottery, and a bamboo and moss garden, get off at Koenshita Sta. on the
Gora-bound cable car. Since the famous moss garden, Kokedera of Saihoji
Temple in Kyoto, can now be seen only with advance reservations (too many
visitors were taking pieces of moss home), make the most of the chance
to see this gem.
On
the way back to Hakone-Yumoto, you should see Hakone Open-Air Museum (Hakone
Chokoku no Mori Bijutsukan), and for some warmth (it's a greenhouse) and
beauty you might consider getting off at Tonosawa Sta. for the begonia
garden which is amazing. You can try to cultivate some from the bulbs
you buy, but the home result, we noticed, is not as impressive. |
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