When we first started traveling with littles we found that the less movement required once arriving at far-away destination the better. So, we developed a strategy that we would set up a home base in the city of our choice and focus on really getting to know only that city. Obviously there are down sides to this strategy. Surely people think ~we’ve come all the way to this country and we have to see it all~. I get that mentality. But, with small babes we found that having multiple destinations added to the stress. I mean…transporting pack-n-plays and strollers and luggage and babies after you’ve already journeyed around the world? No thanks. We rationalized by telling ourselves “we have traveled here with a baby! We will come back again and get to those other places.” We especially utilized this strategy when we traveled to Paris & Barcelona. But, as our kids got a little older we have stretched a bit to include two locations per trip like when we went to Rome/Florence & Iceland/Denmark. In Japan we decided to use Tokyo as our home base, take a few day trip to Kyoto & do some day trips.
One of our day trips was to Hakone. This town lies less about 100 kilometers from Tokyo & is an awesome diversion from the bustling city. Hakone is known for its beautiful nature, hot springs, Lake Ashinoko & opportunities to see the mysterious and magical Mount Fuji (if you’re lucky).
We had our first shinkansen (bullet train) experience venturing to Hakone. Train travel is essential to moving around Japan & it’s super easy, super fun, super efficient and impressively clean. Given the perks of train travel everyone taking a trip to Japan will have to figure out whether or not to get a Japan Rail Pass. It made the most sense for us.
We left from Shinagawa station to Odawara. There are two Hikari and two Kodama trains each hour that you can take to Odawara and the trip is about 30 min. It was on this train ride that we caught sight of Mount Fuji. This famous peak is pretty sneaky and many travelors are not afforded a chance at a glimpse due to clouds or weather. So when B looked out the window and nonchalantly said “I see Mount Fuji”, Rob and my heads spun around pretty quickly. He was right & we all got to see the amazing site.
The nice thing about Hakone is that there’s a loop you do to see all the cool sites that includes bus, train, boat, cable car & ropeway. Most tourists visiting Hakone are doing some version of the loop so it’s easy to follow and plenty of people to ask if you need help. We went clockwise around the loop.
Once you’re at Odawara you should buy a Hakone Free Pass which will cover all the transport you need while exploring the loop. There is lots of information at Odwara. We picked up a few maps which we were thankful for later. Also, we did some quick shopping. Tokyo had been quite warm and we hadn’t looked carefully at the weather. Hakone is much more moutainous and we needed some extra layers. At Odwara we transferred to the Odakyu line and traveled to Hakone-Yumoto. Once we stepped out here we knew we were far from Tokyo and in a different type of Japan. While we waited for our bus we enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
From here we hopped on a bus to Motohakone-ko. Beware, this was not easy on vulnerable tummies. The bus was *packed* and this area is very hilly with lots of turns. It was beautiful but Rob started to feel unwell so we actually hopped off at a random stop. Perhaps not the best move because we basically had to wait at the side of the road for another bus, but it did give us a chance to settle our stomachs. And we avoided a crowded bus puke so: WIN.
Finally we made it to Motohakone-ko. We refueled Bakery & Table and took in the beautiful Lake Ashi.
I’m pretty sure that I misplaced my Hakone Free Pass at the cafe because it was suddenly GONE when it came time to board our boat ride across the lake (which we were basically late for). I don’t think I actually cried. I mean, there weren’t technical tears. But, I felt like crying and probably audibly wailed. But, this is traveling. Not everything goes smoothly. Rob was able to pick me up (figuratively) and we just bought single tickets for me for the remainder of the day. In retrospect it was fine. At that moment I was very upset. Luckily for me, the boat (pirate ship?) ride across the lake was so breathtakingly beautiful. Seeing the Hakone Shrine (red tori) at the edge of the lake left me feeling still and centered again.
Stay tuned for Hakone part 2 for the second half of our adventure including taking to the sky, seeing Mount Fuji again and our first onsen experience.
