[Lake Ashi @ Hakone]

Hakone an area located about an hour or so away from Tokyo. Hakone is a wonderful place full of onsen [hot springs], nature and sites to see. It’s great if you feel like going hiking through for the day and relaxing in the onsen during the night time. As an overseas visitor you can get there for about $60 from Shibuya that includes a round trip ticket from Shibuya to Hakone by Shinkansen, Romance train, and an all day transportation pass for the Hakone area…You also get a map with the recommended hiking trail and a small keychain. If hiking is not your thing, you can just go straight to the onsen and have an extremely relaxing day.

For fans of animation. If you know Evangelion, then you know Hakone. It is the sight of Evangelion’s Tokyo- III. At your first stop you can hop to the information center and pick up a map for the Hakone area with a picture of Rei on the cover. Within the map it will show you the locations you could visit that are featured in the Eva-world.

 [Owakudani @ Hakone]

Owakudani, 大涌谷, lit. “Great Boiling Valley”, is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. They have a local specialty, eggs hard-boiled in the sulfer hot springs. The boiled eggs turn black and smell slightly sulphuric. They say that when you eat these eggs your life increases your lifespan. Up to seven years to your life for consuming one egg. But they don’t advise eating more than two.

Unfortunately for I, they had run out by the time I got to the top. So this should be one of your first stops. Travel the suggested path backwards, or wake up really early and head out here if you’d like to try some black eggs. They boil them the same day they sell them. These eggs aren’t good as souvenirs either, they only last 2 days before they expire.

 

 [Bath time.]

Doesn’t matter how you hiked for the day, it would probably end around 6pm. You are now tired, how about a relaxing hot bath before the trip back to tokyo? Or even better for those of you that decided to stay the night. Choose a hot spring that you’d like to try out and relax. If you decided not to stay the night then you’ll have to hurry on home to tokyo around 10pm, but a few hours is enough of a bath time. And for those of you that stayed the night in Hakone, enjoy the baths as long as you’d like. Sleep and enjoy the next day leisurely. Heck, take a bath in the morning too – it’s well worth it!

Nothing is as good as a great long hot bath after a serious hike. Makes me want to go back again.

Happy trailing, and enjoy your bath.