■Hakone

 Hakone is both a town and its surrounding area, south of Mt. Fuji in Kanagawa Prefecture, at the edge of Fuji-Hakone National Park.  It’s a pleasant destination, and you can easily spend two or three days exploring the areas offerings at a leisurely pace.

 Several of these attractions have their own articles here on the site, including the volcanic valley Owakudani, a local craft called Yosegi, the Lalique Museum and a hot springs resort and amusement park called Hakone Kowakien Yunessun.

 The Hakone area centers on Lake Ashinoko.  From the northern end of the lake, weather allowing, you’ll get great views of Mt. Fuji, and the lake’s shoreline trails make an enjoyable walk.  At the Togendai cable car station, you can take a cable car up the hillside and down into the sulfurous steam of Owakudani.  Many travelers may prefer to board one of the pirate ships, an eccentric but strangely endearing touch, that travel up and down the length of the lake in about half an hour.  At the south end of the lake, there are a number of accommodation options available, as well as a picturesque stone-paved stretch of the old Tokaido Highway, lined with more than 400 cypress trees planted in 1618.

 North of the lake and long ago a part of the lakebed, a favorite with dayhikers is the Sengokuhara Plateau, famous in the area for the graceful, silver susuki grass that grows in thick profusion across the landscape with trails cut through it.  And about ten kilometers east of the lake the town of Odawara has an attractive reconstruction of its seaside castle, a good photo opportunity for travelers who may not be able to visit one of Japan’s better known castles.  Between the lake and Odawara, the little village of Miyanoshita may be the perfect place to stay while you look around Hakone.  The town offers hot springs, hiking trails, an assortment of shops that are a cut above the usual tourist fare, and some of the areas very best hotels, including the wonderful old Hotel Fujiya, one of Japan’s first resort hotels.


>>Access
JR Odawara Station====(15 min. by Hakone Tozan Railway)====Hakone Yumoto Station

>>Website
HAKONE-ZENZAN (English, Korean, Chinese)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　-Matt Mangham

>>Hotels and Ryokans in Hakone Yumoto