My brother Paul and his girlfriend Gemma arrived from Australia last Friday night and on the Saturday we headed out of town to Hakone for the day. This was my first time to go and I had wanted to go for ages so was glad for the opportunity- it was a little tough going with Noah still been so young but he was a trooper all day!
We left just after 8am and by the time we got home it was already after 8pm so it was a LONG day! It was lots of fun though.
We caught the shinkansen from Tokyo station to Odawara station where we bought our Hakone Free Passes (which allows you to use all of the buses/trains/gondolas/pirate boats/cable cars. Yes, we caught ALL of those things as well as the shinkansen on Saturday!!!
We went from Odawara station to Hakone Yumoto station and then we hopped on a bus which took us to Moto-Hakone where we could see Lake Ashi and also part of Hakone Shrine. Sometimes you can see a view of Mt Fuji from there but unfortunately the day was too cloudy for this and we didn`t actually see Mt Fuji at all (much to Gemma`s disappointment- but I have since heard she has seen Geisha/Maiko in Kyoto so all is right again with her!!!)…Oh it was also FREEZING! About 1 degree although I think it may have been about 0 degrees at another point in the day!!
You can see part of Hakone Shrine in the background- the red torii (gate) is in the water.
Next we caught a pirate boat across Lake Ashi to Togendai port. It was such a cold and cloudy day that we stayed inside the boat but Paul & Gem went up the top of the boat to get a better look!!! At Togendai before we headed up the mountain (?) on the ropeway we grabbed some lunch- by this stage Noah had had enough of the carrier anyway so it was good to get him out so he could have a bit of a break. I much prefer him in a pram but I knew we would be on and off buses/trains and what not all day that the carrier seemed better- I think he may still be a little small for the ergo though (and he hates the infant insert) so later on in the day i swapped him to another carrier (that criss crosses across my back)- while I said he was a trooper all day, and he was, he was pretty much grumpy, hungry or sleeping the whole time!
He was happy at lunch time though
We didn`t eat onsen tamago (black eggs cooked in sulpher water) in case anyone is wondering- though we did see a sign advertising curry that had the eggs with it! haha
We hopped on the ropeway after lunch and headed towards Owakudani- sometimes known as the great boiling valley (due to his volcanic nature)! I have been to Rotarua in NZ which has similar sulfurous water and areas and I can safely say that Rotarua smells MUCH more than Owakudani! It was really pretty though (although sooooo cold!)- there is a nature trail near there apparently but we skipped it.
We continued on the ropeway, then switched to a cable car which took us to Gora. We stopped in Gora and had a quick look around at the little shops/stalls- we tried some of the taste tests that they had out. Let me say Gem and even my brother in some cases (which is totally weird since he is so picky!) were much more game to try the things on offer than I was. I fed Noah and changed him in a little rest stop which I think may have been for people waiting for taxi`s but it was deserted and well, Hakone was short on “baby” rooms! HAHA!
From Gora we took the train (kind of like a country train that winds through the mountain) back down and stopped at Chukoku no mori stop to see the Open Air Museum! This was probably my favourite part of the day- I loved how they had set it up and it is was great to see how they had incorporated art with nature. I would love to take Noah back when he is older (and can play on some of the exhibits designed for children!). There was also some galleries within the museum including work by Picasso & Henry Moore.
They also had a foot spa (with hot spring water) but we were all so exhausted by then and knew if we didn`t start heading for home we would be so late! Would love to have spent more time there!
There is heaps more to see and do in Hakone than we got to do- in fact it would make a great weekend getaway as the area is quite famous for onsen (hot springs!) and it would be lovely to explore some more as there is also some lovely gardens and parks as well as other museums. We grabbed bento`s for dinner at Tokyo station on our way home since there was no way I was cooking after such a long day!!!
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese world we live in! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son in January 2011, 2 months premature (Shion). I am working hard at raising them to be confident, bilingual, happy kids!
It’s amazing how much you and your brother look alike! he’s a pretty handsome guy
Looks like you guys had lots of fun! It’s been one of my goals since I arrived in Japan to visit a hot spring, and it looks like Hakone might be a good place! T and I will have to consider it as an お疲れ present to ourselves once my school and his job search are finally over with!
Oh, and I also really like the Daddy & Son pic of Shun and Noah there. Adorable! You have some good lookin’ men in your life, Lulu!
Oh sounds like you had a nice day-trip!
I’ve always wanted to go to Hakone, but never have! I don’t blame you for not eating the onsen tamago! no offense to anyone, but they don’t appeal to me at all! Looks like you all had fun on the play things, even if Noah was too small to enjoy them!
Looks like fun! Way to go with the ergo carrier, it is a good way to get the little ones to tolerate long foot-trips. We did the Great Wall wearing DS, but I’m always a meanie and make DH do the babywearing, haha.
Sounds like a great trip! So glad you guys had fun, too bad about Fuji-san! I loooooove Hakone! You *have* to go back and go to the Venetian Glass museum, they have some gorgeous exhibits, and Yunessun, super fun (the wine onsen was my fave)
Looks like you all had a great day, albeit a very long day. It’s best to get out and about now while Noah is still so portable. I’ve found it gets harder to go further a field as my kids ahve got bigger. I’m sure that will change soon enough once they get a little older too. I haven’t been to Hakone for a few years – the college where I used to work would take all the staff for an all expenses paid weekend in Hakone (at the Prince Hotel no less!) once a year as a thank you for all our hard work. I could do with a dip in an onsen right now…