Trains, Cablecars and Pirate Ships

We'd heard so many wonderful things about Hakone from friends who have been there that we decided to include it in our itinerary. Our plan was to take the bullet train to Odawara and from there hop onto the local train to Hakone-Yumoto where we would base ourselves for the next couple of days before spending the last night at a ryokan. The Hakone region is known for its hot springs so we were really looking forward to our first "onsen" experience. As for Ryan, we knew that he would just love the different modes of transportation that would take us around the area.

Planning our route for the day ... "Mama, so we take the train here then change lines and go there..."

We decided to make our way straight to Lake Ashi on the first day so with our Hakone Free Passes in hand, we hopped onto the Hakone Tozan Railway from the Hakone-Yumoto station to Gora. The train wound its way through a densely wooded valley going over several bridges and tunnels giving us an amazing view of the surrounding area. But the most interesting thing about this ride was the numerous switchbacks the train did as we made our way up the steep slope. The train actually stops and changes direction zigzagging its way up. Ryan couldn't quite understand why the driver kept running in and out of the driver's seat!

Start of our journey through Hakone

A pensive Ryan deep in his own thoughts

At Gora we took a short ride on the Souzan Cablecar to Souzan then changed to the Hakone Ropeway as we made our way to Togendai which is the located at the shores of Lake Ashi. From there we boarded a ship for a cruise across the lake. Just to confuse people, what the Japanese call the Souzan Cablecar isn't actually a cablecar, it is a small train while the Hakone Ropeway is the actual cablecar. This trip was a dream come true for Ryan. Each time we hopped off a train, we immediately climbed into yet another one, then it was the cablecar and finally a ship, and a pirate ship at that too!

Passing over the sulfuric crater at Owakudani. The wind was so strong that at certain parts of the ride, the cablecar kept swinging from side to side. Scary!

Touristy gimmick...the pirate ship cruise across Lake Ashi

Stand back, these hostages are mine!

Walking around Hakonemachi with the beautiful mountains as the backdrop

Poor little guy was so tired from all the excitement that he fell asleep on our laps in the bus. He didn't even move when we transferred him to the pram!

Enjoying the "ume" (plum) blossoms at the Odawara Castle


Dried salted fish for sale along the Hakone-Yumoto main street


I had no idea what I was standing in line for. We were walking down the mainstreet in Hakone-Yumoto and we saw all these people queuing at this shop. So I figured it had to be for something good! Must be the "kiasu" side of me coming through.


Shopping for a "Mei-mei" (aka Teagan) lookalike

The following three photos were taken at the Hakone Open-Air Musuem. The museum was amazing, with a huge number of sculptures displayed in the open against a natural backdrop of the beautiful Hakone mountains and valleys.

Soaking our tired feet in the extremely hot "ashiyu" (foot bath)

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We stayed at the Taiseikan Hanakajika, a traditional style ryokan in Miyonoshita on our last night. This lovely ryokan was located right at the bottom of a valley within the Hakone-Dougashima Spa area. When we got to the ryokan (which turned out to be the reception point only), we were ushered down a short flight of stairs into a private cablecar. After a quick ten minute ride down the lush green valley, we were led along a garden path and across a bridge to the actual ryokan. The surroundings were absolutely gorgeous, beautiful waterfalls, tall trees, and a stream running through the property.

"Heavenly" is the only way I can describe our hot springs experience. The family onsen was a rockpool out in the open air surrounded by the trees and waterfalls overlooking a gushing stream. As for the food, I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

View from our room

Father and son enjoying a hot bath out in the cool winter air


Karate kid stance or geisha dance move???

First course of our "kaiseki" dinner. We were so busy stuffing ourselves that we totally forgot about photos after this!


Even Ryan was too busy to talk, tucking into his yummy tempura udon dinner


Breakfast the following morning, yet another wonderful spread


A weird combination, cheerios and fried anchovies??

One final soak before we went on our way (that water was pretty darn hot, see those curled up little toes!)


Waiting for the cablecar to take us back up to the top


We finally got a glimpse of the elusive Mount Fuji from the train on our way back to Tokyo