Accommodation:
We rented
Odawara Guest House from booking.com. For 3 days and 2 nights, 2 separate bedrooms with maximum of 3 people each only cost us
¥22,108.00 in total. The place is big, with a common lounge, kitchen, and a shared bathroom with free amenities (shampoo, conditioner, hair dryer, etc). Actually, the place is cheap considering what it has to offer.
Thrift tip:
You may purchase the
Hakone 3-day Free Pass for only
¥5,640 and you will be able to enjoy unlimited rides from all of the mentioned means of transportation here and more... I promise, it's worth it!
Day 1: Shopping, Shrines, and Temples
From Shinjuku Station, you may ride the Hakone-Tozan Line to get to the Hakone-Yumoto Station. This station is only the first stop for the day, but you can already get to see the
Shoutengai (Shopping District) and the scenic view of the
Ajisai-bashi River upon arriving at the station.
About 10 to 15-minute walk from the Ajisai-bashi leads to the Shirayama Temple and the Sounji Temple. People often go to these temples to pray, so you should not expect a lot of commotion or people in this area, although, you can still have your pictures taken.
From the Shirayama Temple, you may ride the Motohakone-Ko bus to Lake Ashi. Lake Ashi, also known as the Hakone Lake or Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in Hakone formed during the eruption of Mount Hakone 3,000 years ago. Up to now, it is a famous location for tours and river cruise.
Walking a bit around the Lake Ashi, you may arrive at the famous
Tori Gate, where a lot of tourists have their photos taken. However, this takes a lot of time since there is usually a long line of people wanting to have their own pictures taken. During my first time, it took us almost an hour just to get a few.
Following the flight of stairs takes you to the heart of Hakone Shrine where you can pray or check out your fortune. The original shrine was said to be located at the peak of the Mount Hakone, but was later relocated near the shores of the Lake Ashi.
There are few restaurants conveniently located along the way, so you might want to check them out. I personally liked the store (forgot the name, sorry) which offers a vegetable soba where the vegetables were freshly picked from the Hakone Mountain itself.
Day 2: Cruise, Ropeways, and Cable car
The
Hakone Pirate Ship, which is covered by the Hakone Free Pass, docks at three ports around Lake Ashi. These ports are the Motohakone-Ko, Togendai-Ko, and Hakonemachi-Ko. For this itinerary, we boarded the Hakone Pirate Ship at the Hakonemachi port and rode it to Togendai port to be able to ride the Sky Cables which are only accessible from the Togendai port.
Hakonemachi Port to Togendai Port is approximately a 25-minute cruise. On its course, you will be able to enjoy the view of the Lake Ashi, and watch the Tori Gate from afar.
From the Togendai Port, ride the Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani. Owakudani features a volcanic alley with active Sulphur vents. This area is popular among tourists, and you can have a close up view of the area through a pay-telescope. The area also has food store and souvenir shop. Also, you might not want to miss a view of the Mount Fuji from this ride!
From Owakudani, ride the Hakone Ropeway to Sounzan where a restaurant is located. I personally enjoyed the food in this area.
From Sounzan, you may ride the
Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Gora Park.
Gora Park is a huge recreational spot where you can do pottery, glass blowing, glass etching, jewelry-making, dried flower arrangement, eat out, or just enjoy the several gardens teeming with various species of plants like cherry blossoms (during spring) and lots of peonies.
This French-style landscape park features a tropical botanical garden and a flower garden. There's also a beautiful fountain in the middle of Gora Park (perfect for taking lots of photos!).
I personally enjoyed the Hakuun-do Chaen teahouse with offers a traditional tea and mochi for just ¥500.
Of course, the Hakone experience will never be complete without an all-day shopping galore at the Gotemba Premium Outlets. The Gotemba Premium Outlets is one of the largest shopping centers in Japan boasting around 200 outlets for well known international brands.
From Gora station or Hakone-yumoto station, you may ride the Hakone Tozan Bus all the way to Gotemba which takes around 45 minutes, depending on traffic. On the way, you will see a magnificent view of Mount Fuji, where the driver might stop so the riders can take photos from inside the bus. Mount Fuji will always be visible from Gotemba as long as the clouds are in your favor. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy when I visited.
Gotemba is a large place having an east and west section separated by a bridge, so getting a map found in convenient spots around Gotemba will prove useful in aiding your shopping spree. The prices of the items in the stores in Gotemba are considerably lower than the store's counterparts found in the city. It will not be unusual if you see sales of 50-70% off the original item's price.
I visited Gotemba on December 31, 2018 which proved to be a very good time to visit Gotemba. In some stores such as Adidas and Under Armour, additional sales of 30% were given on top of the already low price for their items because of the New Year Holidays. Other stores such as Burberry and Prada gave coupons which offered additional 20% off on their items when you enter. Still, even without the additional deals/offers, the price of the items are really cheap and the number of stores will cause you to spend the whole day shopping and spending money.
I ended the day with three new pairs of shoes from Nike and Under Armour for a reasonably low amount (
¥10,000). On the way back from Gotemba, traffic heavily increases so I suggest taking the bus to Gora station instead of Hakone-Yumoto and just ride the train from there
