Hakone, which is in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, was on our list because we hoped to see the illusive Fuji-san! This was a short train trip back through Tokyo. We arrived to the station then took a forty minute taxi ride to Lake Ashi in the Owakudani Valley where we spent the majority of our time in this region. This is typically a summer hot spot for tourism, but we made the trip off-season.

EXPERIENCE

We arrived to Hakone during some intense bad weather of high winds and cold temperatures. We waited it out until the next morning and then took the boat ride across Lake Ashi. From the boat you can see the pretty Tori Gate in the park and experience a view of Mount Fuji if you’re lucky– we caught a glimpse for about a half hour. While here we did the Hakone Ropeway to the summit of Mount Komagatake. Along the way we could see Owakudani Boiling Sulphur Hot Springs and stop for some magic black eggs that were cooked in the boiling water. From here, we decided to continue on to the town to walk around and check out Nobu’s Brewery.

On the bus ride back we made an unexpected stop to check out the Yunessun Onsen. This gigantic attraction in part felt like an amusement park with an indoor water park area that was (bathing suit clad) and full of fun themed hot springs like wine soaks, sake soaks, chocolate soaks, coffee soaks, fish pedicures and water slides. Other things to check out in the region is the art scene with the Hakone Open Air Museum, Hakone Venetian Glass Museum and others. The Hakone Shrine and Kuzuryu Shrine Singu are other attractions we skipped due to chilly weather but may be nice on a warmer day. From Hakone you can also make a day trip to Mount Fuji more properly and check out the 5 Lakes.

STAY

We had another wonderful hotel in Hakone, the Box Hotel from Bizan. This place was modern and super trendy with beautiful views of the lake. The rooms had great furniture and nice amenities like face masks, pour over coffee and record players in the rooms. We spent a lot of time in the room since the town was so dead and the weather was cold and windy here. Since the rooms were so decked out we easily made drinks, snacks and watched movies.

EAT

We enjoyed the room here so much that we cooked eggs, baos and potstickers for breakfast here in the mornings. So many of the restaurants were closed during the offseason that we had our one non-Japanese meal of the trip in the hotel restaurant here one night. The Box Hotel Restaurant is actually surprisingly good and serves impressive tacos and cheeseburgers for its location. Our best meal in the city was at Gora Brewery and Grill which is run by Nobu. The next night we found a local spot that wasn’t too impressive for some mini-hot pot and tofu. If we were to return during prime season I would check out Bakery and Table, La Terrazza, coco-Hakone and a fun fried chicken place called Karatto (which closed right before we arrived).