Our older son Niles, and I are running Tokyo marathon this Sunday (his 2nd Abbotts after our run together in Chicago last year) and we (along with my wife Kammy) got here a week prior to get over the jet lag and explore Tokyo. Last time we were here together was 22 years ago, when Niles was just a year and a half old! We were looking around for a day trip that would involve riding the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) and Hakone came up top on the list. From Tokyo station, it’s a full day trip involving the Shinkansen, a local train, a cable car with switchbacks, a ropeway (aerial tram or gondola), a pirate boat and an express bus! Quite the fun 🤩!

Shinkansen: Tokyo to Odawara

We were staying at a Ryokan, north of Tokyo at Nippori in an old town called Yanaka, away from the hustle and bustle. We took the local train to Tokyo station, fumbled around the Shinkansen kiosk (the base fare, limited express fare, reserved seats, etc. with multiple physical tickets per-person for entry are not the most intuitive!), got our tickets and onboarded the Tokaido Shinkansen towards Odawara. We made sure we sat on the right side seats to see views of the mountains. Just past Yokohama, Mt. Fuji started showing up in all her glory. It’s just a 30-minute ride, but brought back a lot of memories! I haven’t been on one of these trains for 20+ years! Forgot how speedy these things are.

Hakone Tozan Railway: Odawara to Chokokunomori

We transferred to the Hakone Tozan Railway, a local commuter of sorts, and headed up to Chokokunomuri, one stop shy of the terminus Gora. We wanted to checkout the Open Air Museum there and take the short 15-minute walk to Gora. This train does the initial climb on its way to Gora and has three switchbacks where the train backs into the tracks and reverses direction, as it’s too curvy and steep to make turns. The views of the mountains were amazing as we climbed 1000+ feet from Odawara. We couldn’t have gotten better weather – cloudless blue skies, crisp air and just a little chilly under the sun.

The Open Air Museum at Gora was very impressive! A perfect location overlooking the Sagami Bay, and a very age-inclusive setting, to explore the creative works. Personally, I’ll l take an outdoor museum any day instead of a claustrophobic, fluorescent-lit indoor one! We spent a fair bit of time here, walking around, exploring the Picasso exhibits and enjoying the crisp mountain air. We ended up grabbing lunch at the restaurant here as well and the views were definitely worth as much as the food!

Cablecar: Gora to Sounzan

A 15-minute walk later, we were at Gora and got on the Cablecar. Definitely a steep ride! Up and up we went with a few stops along the way, until we summited Sounzan. While at the museum earlier, we caught puffs of steam coming out of the mountains and a faint smell of Sulphur – all those wonderful hot springs all around us. The smell was stronger now, and by the view point, there was even a “foot bath”!

Ropeway: Sounzan to Togendai

Ok, still more to go before we see the star attraction of the day Mt. Fuji! The Ropeway is a gondola with 360 views heading up to Owakudani (summit), then transferring to another one heading down to Togendai to the shores of Lake Ashinoko. There seemed to be a hotel up at Owakudani and I’d read that one could hike over to Mt. Kami and catch another ropeway down to the lake shore. But for a day trip, adding that hike would’ve made it a very long day. We could see sulphur fumes everywhere now and Mt. Fuji in the distance. I’m glad we went on a Tuesday, the day after the emperor’s birthday. Hardly any crowd to deal with and we had the whole gondola mostly to ourselves.

Finally, Mt. Fuji in the distance, absolutely stunning 😍. Apparently as the local wisdom goes, the best way to enjoy Mt. Fuji is from a distance (ideally with a reflection on a lake with cherry blossoms blooming), not on the mountain itself. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Pirate Ship: Togendai to Moto-Hakone

The wind gusts were quite powerful at the lake shore and we had to add more layers. Queen Ashintoko is a cool triple-masted pirate ship that was zippy on the water! We briefly went up to the deck only to face gale winds. Made our way to Moto-Hakone with spectacular views of Mt. Fuji. We definitely got the lake view of Mt. Fuji with an absolutely stunning blue sky, but no reflection (too windy) and no cherry blossoms (too early in the season).

The original plan was to walk the ancient cedar forest trail from Moto-Hakone to Hakone-machi but we all wanted to stay back, soaking in the view, hoping for the setting sun to cast the golden light on the mountain. We sat around in windy silence, watching the colors of the mountain, the Torii gate and the water change whimsically, as the sun flitted in and out of the clouds. Finally it was time to say goodbye, reluctantly.

Express Bus: Moto-Hakone to Odawara

The express bus was quick and efficient and in 45 minutes we were back in Odawara. Had to work through some fare adjustments 🙄with the Shinkansen tickets and headed back to Tokyo, then to Nippori, in time for a casual Seafood Izakaya dinner in one of the hole-in-the-wall places next to the Nippori station. That was quite the amazing day trip and I highly recommend it! One can get the Hakone Free Pass, but IMHO, it’s really only worth it if you are staying around the area for more than a day and getting on/off at various stops.

Tomorrow, we go to the expo to pick up our bibs. The weather is starting to warm up leading up to the race day on Sunday. Maybe even a little too warm?