Hakone Round Course
Today I am leaving Tokyo and spending an evening in Hakone. The Hakone region is known for it’s hot springs and is a popular destination nearby to Tokyo. Part of my plan is to make my way around the Hakone Round Course. This is a series of different transportation methods that take you around the region. It includes a bus, ship, ropeway, cable car and train. All of these transportation options are operated by the Odakyu Electric Railway Company. They offer something called the Hakone Free Pass, which allows you access to all the Odakyu company’s transportation options for a few days.
After arriving in Hakone via train from Tokyo, I quickly find and hop on the Hakone Tozan bus that will take me to MotoHakone. After a short wait, the bus starts to make its way up and over a mountain before coming back down again to drop me off at Lake Ashi. The bus ride itself is kind of neat. As it goes up through the mountains, you get views of the region. It’s nice to sit through this “tour” through the mountainous terrain.
Lake Ashi
Upon arriving at Lake Ashi, I have a little time to kill before I’m to board the ship to continue the round course. Nearby is the Hakone-Jinja Shrine which has a floating Torii gate that is quite popular for tourists to take photos of. It’s a short walk from my bus stop, but unfortunately when I get there, I find that the torri gate is closed to the public. While its a small bummer, I head back to the dock and drown my sorrow in some coffee and a very tasty strawberry pastry
Hakone Pirate Ship
Soon its time to board the next leg of the Hakone Round Course. Odakyu operates “sightseeing cruises” across Lake Ashi in the form of pirate ships. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why these ships are setup to look like pirate ships. There’s no other element of the cruise that perpetuates the pirate theme. The staff do not dress up like pirates. There’s nothing notable at either dock that would denote any pirate theme either. So I really don’t know why these ships are built the way they are, but it does add a bit of uniqueness to it! Nonetheless, I leave trying to make sense of the pirate scene behind and settle down on the top deck to take in the beautiful scenes of Lake Ashi around me.
The cruise takes about 40 minutes from one port to the other. They say on a clear day you can see some spectacular views of Mt. Fiji, but sadly its a bit overcast today. While seeing the famous mountain isn’t in the cards, the peaceful cruise and the more immediate scenery more than makes up for it!
Hakone Ropeway
After disembarking from the pirate ship, we make our way into the ropeway station where we start to queue to get onto the ropeway. I’m told this is a pretty cool way to go up the mountain and take in the scenes from an elevated position. However, right when I’m about the board my ropeway car, some alarms start to sound. They stop the ropeway and the staff start moving around trying to figure out the issue. After waiting for about fifteen minutes they tell us to leave the queue as the ropeway is likely closed for the remainder of the day. This is a bit of a bummer since it’s one of the more unique forms of transportation I was looking forward to. In order to get us to the next stop on the Hakone Round Course, the staff, thankfully, arrange a few busses to take us to where the ropeway would take us.
Owakundani
The buses drop us off at Owakundani which is this volcanic area where sulfuric gases escape from the ground below. Like other sulfuric areas, the smell of rotten eggs permeates the area. It’s for sure a very different landscape than what I’ve been treated to thus far so it offers a very stark contrast to the rest of the Hakone region.
After visiting the area a little, I hop onto another bus that will take me to my last form of transportation on the Hakone Round Course today, the Cable Car.
Cable car
My last leg for today will be on a cable car that takes me down the mountain into the town of Gora. The cable car pretty much goes up and down the mountain and makes stops along the way for people to get out at the various stops. It’s built in a way that the cars are more like big steps than actual train cars so that it can adhere to the slope of the mountain.
It’s a pretty cool ride down into the town and once I get off, my accommodations for the evening are right beside the station. This makes for a super easy transit over to check in and get situated. After unpacking and stretching out a little, I head out into Gora to check out the town and find some food.
Okonomi-yaki Kaji
Gora itself isn’t very big and as such there aren’t too many spots to actually eat. Thankfully though, I did find this Okonomi-yaki spot nearby called Okonomiyaki Kaji. I order a scallop Okonomiyaki and an iced tea. It comes quickly and is very tasty. I quickly devour it and make my way back to my hotel to turn in for the night.
Tomorrow I will be heading back to Tokyo and hopping on a plane to fly North to Sapporo.
Hakone OpenAir Museum
After waking up and checking out of my hotel, I have one more thing on my list before leaving the Hakone region. That is to visit the Hakone Open-Air Museum. The Open Air Museum is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a huge park with art exhibitions scattered throughout its grounds. There’s all manner of different styles and walking through it is an experience I really enjoyed. There are colourful exhibits, oddly shaped exhibits, abstract exhibits, etc! You could easily spend a few hours here and I did!
Hakone Tozen Railway
Sadly, I do need to make my way back to Tokyo to catch a flight. The last leg on the Hakone Round Course is the Hakone Tozen Railway. This railway gains or loses about 300 meters of elevation in a very short distance. In fact a unique element of this train is that as it descends it needs to zig its way down some track switchbacks. But instead of going in one direction, at each switch back the conductor will stop the train, get off, walk to the back and drive the train forward (backwards) from there. This happens about three times, so the train literally “see saws” its way down the mountain!
Eventually I get back to Hakone where I board a regular train to Odawara and then onboard the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.
Air Do Flight to Sapporo
From Tokyo, I make my way to Haneda Airport to check in for my Air Do flight to Sapporo. Air Do is a small low cost Japanese carrier that has a fare called the Welcome to Hokkaido Fare. If you have a foreign passport and show proof of international flights in/out of Japan, you are eligible for discounted fares on the airline. With this offer I have a discounted ticket up to Sapporo.
I’m always amazed at how well things run in Japan. When I arrived at the airport I was a bit worried that I might miss my flight. I only had a little over an hour until departure and in most North American Airports this would been bad news for me. However, in Japan it seemed like I arrived right on time since check in is a breeze. Security went smoothly and I even had time to relax at my gate before boarding!
The flight itself is uneventful and quite comfortable. Even for such a short flight (a little over an hour), they still manage to serve drinks! I’m impressed with the Air Do operation and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them in the future.
Sapporo
After landing in Sapporo, I hop on a train from the airport and make my way to my hotel. I am very aware of the change in temperature and climate. There is several feet of snow on the ground and the temperature has dropped dramatically. It is very much winter here in Sapporo and exactly the reason I’m here! It’s already been a long day so I explore a little before starting the search for something to eat.
Kiraito
Dinner comes in the form of Kiraito Ramen. This spot isn’t on my list, but Google shows it has a pretty good rating. It’s also within walking distance of my hotel. I’m keen to try Miso Ramen here in Sapporo as I did read that its a notable local specialty. I’m also slightly encouraged that once I arrive at the restaurant there is a small line forming outside. Whilst in Japan, I’ve come to learn that a line is a good sigh for a restaurant! However it also means there is a bit of a wait in the freezing cold. Hopefully it’s worth it!
While in line, I end up meeting a few other travellers from Osaka up in Sapporo for some skiing. When we finally get in they invite me to sit with them and we get to share a meal together! I order the miso ramen and I can immediately tell its different than other Ramen dishes. The big distinguishing feature is the mountain of onions piled atop the dish. This isn’t a problem as I love onions so full marks for this spot and dish. I’m not the only one who likes this place either. On my way out I spot that “Team Canada” has also been a patron of this spot!
With a long travel day in the books and a belly full of warm ramen. I head back to my hotel to get some much needed rest. Tomorrow I will be heading into the center of Sapporo to visit the Sapporo Winter Festival.