Hakone, Mt Fuji

At our Spring visit to Tokyo, we made a day trip to Hakone 箱根 to catch a view of Mount Fuji. I booked a day tour where we were picked up from the hotel at Shinjuku at eight in the morning.

Mount Fuji 5th Station

Our first stop was to Mt Fuji 5th Station located along the Subaru Line, less than 100 kilometres away from Tokyo. Along the way, we were fortunate to have a full view of the majestic Mount Fuji several times.

The 5th Station is situated at 2,300 metres above sea level. Unfortunately, we could not go up to the 5th Station due to road surface freezing. The Fuji Subaru Line was completely blocked.

Instead we visited the Fujisan World Heritage Centre. Upon arrival I bought a cup of lava coffee served with lava sugar. The coffee was fragrant and strong.

From the Fujisan World Heritage Centre, our next stop was lunch facing the Lake. Lunch was good as usual. Food in Japan can never go wrong.

 Lake Ashi 芦ノ湖 Ashinoko

After lunch, we went on a fifteen minutes cruise on Lake Ashi. The name means “lake of reeds” in Japanese with Ashi means reed and ko mean lake. Lake Ashi is a crater lake along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone that was formed by a powerful volcanic eruption about 3,000 years ago.

The Ashi Lake is known for its views of Mt Fuji and its numerous hot springs, historical sites and ryokan. We were supposed to get a postcard view of Mount Fuji but sadly we did not even catch a glimpse of it. The sky was too cloudy.

Though the weather was still cold at Hakone, there were many people fishing by the lake or from their boats. There were a few even stood on the shallow part of the lake to fish.

Fuji Hakone Izu National Park – Mt Komagatake

Next stop was a 7-minute ropeway ride to the summit of Mt Komagatake, the central volcanic cone of the Hakone range that rises 1,327 metres above sea level at 1,800 metres long aerial.

The ropeway operates between Hakone-en and the summit of Mt Komagatake. The ropeway tram has a capacity for 101 persons. Check out the breathtaking panoramic view of Lake Ashi and the surrounding mountains taken from the ropeway tram.

At the summit of Mt Komagatake, it is known to offer a magnificent view of Mt Fuji. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day, the following picture was the best view of Mt Fuji. Glad we managed to get a full view of Mt Fuji on our way to Hakone, else it would be a wasted trip.

As the view of Mount Fuji was so bad, I decided to climb up to the Hakone Motomiya-jinjya Shrine and hoping to have a better view of Mt Fuji.

The sky was too cloudy, the peak of Mt Fuji was covered by the clouds.

It was freezing at the Shrine area. I felt my body was defrosting when I came down and went indoors at the ropeway station.

After spending almost an hour there, it was time to leave. We were disappointed that we did not get to see the peak of Mt Fuji. We will be back.

Departing from Hakone, we proceed to Odawara Station by coach to catch Kodama Shinkansen to go back to Tokyo.

Bye Mt Fuji, till we meet again.

The Lowdown

How to get to Hakone from Tokyo: 90 min by rail from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station by Odakyu Line or 40 min from Tokyo to Odawara by JR Tokaido Shinkansen Line, and 15 min from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto Station by Hakone Tozan Line

For more on Hakone, do check out www.jnto.go.jp/eng/regional/kanagawa/hakone.

Thank you for stopping by, Happy Living for Experiences!

Support me by sharing and following my blog, Facebook and Instagram.