Remember about my last trip in downtown Tokyo a month ago? Well, aside from the busy & crowded Tokyo, now we’re heading southwest to an area called Hakone.
Imagine this : a blue sky, a lake with Mt. Fuji at the background, a red shrine gate, and of course, the mountainous scenes. That what makes Hakone area one of the most popular resorts in Japan, I think.
Our first stop was the Shinto Shrine. There are 2 types of ‘temple’ in Japan. It’s either the Shinto Shrine or the Buddhist Temple. Well, Shinto Shrine can be easily recognize by its red gate, though.
Some shrines does have several gates which located on the way to the shrines. It somehow leads us to the shrine. This was the 3rd gate of the shrines. Well, perhaps you shouldn’t really trust me. I kinda forget if it’s the 3rd or the 4th or the 5th.. or….. But anyway, we’re so close to it!
We didn’t spend much time at the shrine since we have a cruise to catch. Yes, you heard me right.
Remember about the lake I mention before? It’s Ashinoko or Ashi Lake.
There are a number of boats and even ferries crossing the lake. The one we took was a Pirate Ship. Yes, Pirate. You can check out the schedules and fares here. The ship took us from Moto-Hakone port to Togendai port.
We managed to enjoy the scenery of Lake Ashi from the deck of the ship. And you know, if the weather is clear enough, you can even have a look of Mt Fuji.
Crossing Lake Ashi reminds me a lot of how I crossed Selat Bali from Java island last summer. The only difference I found is the ship, and well, yeah, the weather. Winter is approaching its end in Japan on early March, but still how can you stand the cold of the strong wind when you’re on the deck of the ship?
We arrived at Togendai after 30 minutes of sailing! Now it’s time for some meal. We had some spaghetti with mushroom (didn’t find something special about it) and a big plate of fresh salads. Can’t refuse not finish it up. It was like.. really…. really… fresh.
We continue our trip to Owakudani Valley – an active volcanic valley, still in Hakone area. We saw Mt. Fuji from up there! Yes, we were lucky enough as the weather get worse just 10 minutes later and the Mt. Fuji was like… gone. It’s kinda tricky to catch a picture of it. And I failed miserably.
The strong wind seems to like us that day. It didn’t stop blowing!
Reaching the top of Owakudani Valley is quite easy since they built stairs for it. And it’s just around 1050 meters above sea level.
There’s one more thing you should about Owakudani Valley. It’s that it is popular for its Black Egg. It was actually just a boiled chicken egg. But the water itself contains sulfur and iron. That what makes it black then I supposed. Locals believe it can lengthen your life for another 7 years – which is quite silly for us. So we decided not to buy some.
Instead, we bought some Tamago Ice Cream – a soft ice cream made from the egg yolk custard. Yum!
It’s been such a great pleasant escape from the busy Tokyo. And a great day well spent with great friends too!
I found that there are still another part of Hakone to be explored. People usually stay there for 2 or 3 nights. So I guess I’m gonna come back next time ^^
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Sharon Loh 
oww…aku beberapa kali baca tentang tamago ice cream ini, tapi belum sempat cobain. It looks creamy and yummy ya *drools*
Iya kak Deb! Super creamy and thick gitu 😉 Kapan2 kalo nemu cobaiiin 😀
howaaa ini yg tadi pagi ada di instagrammu toh?
hihihihi seru bangeet pengalamannya :3
kapalnya kereeeeennn
It is, Mei! Hehehe. Iya kapal nya lucu yaaaaa. Ada patung pirates nya juga tapi aku lupa foto #bodoh
Keren keren keren … bikin envy nyh. >.<
Halooo salam kenal ya. Hihi moga2 kapan2 bisa kesana 😉
Aamiin … keep writing 😉
Fun place !
Yes it is! And nice weather too.
I hope someday I can taste tamago ice cream there 🙂
I’m sure you will. Tell me what you think once you try it! 😉
The steam coming off the side of the path there is just magical!
Beautiful isn’t it? Too bad my photo is not good enough. Should learn how to capture it in a good way!
Looks alright to me! It’s certainly given me a good impression of the place.
My family traveled in Japan in 1969, when I was 8 years old. I have fond memories of this. Recently, while visiting my parents, I looked through those photo albums, all black-and-white snap shots.
I have vague memories of seeing Mt. Fuji, which I am told is rare.
Enjoy your travels.
Oscar
That must be a good feeling, looking at old photos. I can’t wait to come home this summer.
Have a great weekend!
Haloo Sharon!
Saya pembaca newbie blog Anda, tapi ko ada foto saya ya?
Anyway, salam kenal!
Trus itu “I’m Sharon Loh. An Indonesian student who enjoy sharing the love of traveling, eating, and cooking.” harus di revisi jadi “I’m Sharon Loh. An Indonesian-student-with-GPA-4 who enjoy sharing the love of traveling, eating, and cooking.”
Haha 😀
Halo Muhammad! Salam kenal ya.
Terima kasih sudah mampir di blog saya 😀 Semoga bs jadi penggunjung tetap dan share ke teman2nya.
Hahahaha bangke lu lip.
Wah makasih ya sarannya. Akan saya pertimbangkan untuk ganti th deskripsinya 😀
Hi Sharon, mantap nih blog dan review kamu waktu baca kerasa banget asyiknya. Previous trip waktu ke hakone, aku ada nyobain telornya, enak juga rasanya BUT highlight of the trip adalah ngeliat Mt. Fuji. Btw next trip kalo ada ke jepang, remember to drop by at Enoshima island buat sunset hunting (ps: sunsetnya one of a kind) dan cobain taco senbei. Selain itu untuk tempat tinggal yg affordable bisa stay di sakura hotel, staffnya ramah dan mereka yang saranin aku untuk ke Enoshima. 😉
Hi Eko!
Wah makasiiih. Seneng deh kalo dibaca orang 🙂
Ohya? Jadi penasaran sama telornya. Semoga lain kali bisa kesana lagi hehe.
Wahhh. Never heard about Enoshima island before.
Makasih rekomendasi nya! Next time kalo kesana pasti coba buat hunting sunsetnya 😀 Dan taco senbei! Hihi.
Have a great weekend ya.
may I ask you a question? after you arrive to TongendAI, how did you get to the Owakudani Valley? just simply walking or did you have to take any buses?
Lagi iseng2 main ke blog kamu, terus buka post ini. Dari sebelum ke Jepang aku udh pengen ke Hakone. Tp nyampe sini aku malah ke Kawaguchi & Nikko terus jadi nimbang2 lagi bakal ke Hakone atau engga soalnya ky sama aja hahaha. Galau :’)
Kyaa dibaca si ruby slippers >,< Aku malah ga tau apa2 tentang Jepang, apalagi Hakone. Kemarin pas lagi student exchange aja diajak kesana. Jadi ngikut deh~
Ayo kesana lagiiii! Cantik bgt yaaa negaranya :')
Wow, that boat trip looks awesome!
Resmi jadi blog rujukan traveling akooooh!