Hakone
One of our mini-trips from Tokyo was a sightseeing trip to Hakone, with the goal of seeing Mount Fuji and the hot springs.
Getting there is, to the least, complicated. First the subway lines to get you to a the special quaint Hakone-Tozan line train which zigzags (or if you want to be picky, it has “switchbacks”) a path up the mountain. The scenery was beautiful, and the tracks were lined with
Hydrangea , although the gorgeous (and yet cute) scenery was difficult to appreciate when one spent the entire night unable to breath while losing all the contents of their stomach, due to an allergic reaction to a pain medicine disguised as ”not aspirin”.
The next step was a more technically advanced and impressive looking Hozan- Tozan cable car which is a “funicular railway” – basically meaning instead of going “along” it goes up a very steep incline.
Once it had chugged it’s way as far to the top as it could go, we were left at the station for the Hakone Ropeway! It’s an aerial lift that took us from Sōunzan to Tōgendai with a pit stop at the peak – Ōwakudani which has an elevation of 1,044m – 3,425 feet (keep in mind that Tokyo’s elevation is 19m – or 59 feet if you prefer). It travels Lake Ashi, a crater lake formed from the volcano (doesn’t that sound exiting?) of Mount Hakone. It sounds like something fantastic and amazing to see, right?
Well we don’t know because we didn’t see a thing. Rain rain rain, more rain, and mist. Oh and more rain. So no steaming fissures for us, no terrifyingly high views of the world… although I have to admit that seeing the cables go off into absolutely nothing was more terrifying than most rollercoasters I’ve been on.
We tried to console ourselves with the idea that the “pirate” ships on the lake would give us a better view, as well as a fun trip, but upon reaching the end of the ropeway, we saw a notice informing us that the boats were not running due to the inclement weather. Joy.
Instead we had the dubious honour of a reserved seat on the bus to take us all the way back to Tokyo. But at least we got to catch up on our sleep! (And I even managed to jot down some commentary in my travel journal!)
