Ideally, if you can do a Hakone overnight trip at Hakone, experience the onsen and explore the mountains, lake, and villages there, then the next morning, move to Lake Kawaguchi to continue to experience this magnificent Mt. Fuji Five Lakes area. Below is a sampling of suggested stops but there is so much more to…
Category: Travel
Maple Corridor, Lake Kawaguchi
A news crew documents the first day of Maple Corridor Illumination. Summer took long this year so the leaves have still been getting enough sunshine and chlorophyll, staying green and delaying autumn. It is when the weather gets too cold, hours of sun are shorter, and the leaves are deprived of chlorophyll that they turn…
Den’s Inn, Lake Kawaguchi
Coffee and Hot Chocolate at this homey hostel cafe just across Kawaguchi Lake Forest. Den’s Inn looks Western outside but once you enter, traditional Japanese custom of removing your shoes at the entrance [and using the slippers they provide] applies. [Just a note so that you mind the socks you put on for this trek…
Kawaguchiko Music Forest
A musical theme park, Kawaguchiko Music Forest is situated right by picture-perfect Lake Kawaguchi. With the right weather conditions, you could get a view of Mt. Fuji as well. This is a lovely setting to take in the spectacular environs of Yamanashi Prefecture. There is a museum and event hall to complement the gardens. Catch live…
Tenjo Yama Park Mt. Kachi Ropeway
For a Mt. Fuji Sighting Site, take the Lake Kawaguchi Mt. Tenjō Ropeway to get to the peak of Mount Tenjō, famous for being the place of the Kachi-kachi Story. If you have time to go to the Fujiya Cookie store before or after your ropeway ride, try the different flavours of Mt. Fuji-shaped cookies. (They…
“Spring of the Gods”: Oshino Hakkai Springs
Not-to-be-missed Mt. Fuji World Cultural Heritage Site and Japanese national monument, Oshino Hakkai Springs is situated in an idyllic, picturesque village in the Fuji Five Lakes region where you can explore nature, history, food, and culture while chasing Mt. Fuji. On a clear day, you might see her majesty, the elusive Fujisan. If you happen…
Planning Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo
Driver-san took us to the mountain top to see this: He said, “Kaba.” That was because the gorgeous scenery in front of us was on the cover (kaba) of the Hakone travel magazine!!!😍 What a lovely view to cap our Hakone visit! Not bad for an iPhone camera (my shot, not the magazine’s 🙂 [Thank…
Hakone Checkpoint (Hakone Shekiso)
Imagine you were a young girl and had to leave your family to be sent to a heavily-guarded compound to work under a strict feudal rules. Day in and day out, all you did was work, work, work. Violators of rules are severely punished. You are walled in and watched from all sides by weapon-wielding guards….
Lake Ashi Cruise Hakone and Taxi Information
I’ve been on a Lake Ashi Cruise before but I’m so thankful that this time, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise we took, takes a different route altogether. [I showed Driver-san the picture of the red pirate ship and I tried oh so hard to tell him that this is the lake cruise I want to take….
Owakudani, Hakone
Breathtaking not only for the full circle majestic nature views but also for the air’s sulphuric vapor [#cough]… around 3000 years ago, Hakone Volcano had an eruption which formed this valley called Owakudani (translated as “Boiling Valley” but sometimes referred to as “Hell Valley” by locals). It has active sulphur vents and hot springs. (Please…
BUTTERFLY IN THE SPRING 