Location:
Starting and stopping point:
Free Parking Lot at the Hakone Bay Boat Pier
Peaks bagged:
Mikuni~Kurodake
Getting there/getting around:
Not particularly easy. Getting there by public transportation takes a while and a few changes. I rode my scooter. The boats and ropeways are used by a lot of people. See here for a run-down Hakone guide
Map:
Yama to Kogen Chizu #??? Beats me. I just used my smartphone this trip. Not the best practice to go without paper but it's kind of hard to get lost next to a giant lake with the largest mountain in the country and the largest ocean in the world as landmarks.
Weather Information:
Time
Total Time: 7 hours Break time: 2 hours, 4minutes
Distance:
16.6km
Elevation:
Lowest: 727m Highest: 1,202m Total Ascent: 1,061m Total Descent: 1,056m
Technical considerations/difficulty:
Very straightforward hike. Well-maintained trails. No chains or ladders. It's Japan so there are steep spots that will get your blood pumping but nothing dangerous.
Facilities:
The trail I took parallels a road and there is a michi no eki on the way. Public restrooms are located here and there.
When you get to Owakudani and the area where the boat passes, there are all the tourist amenities you could wish for.
Thoughts/observations/recommendations:
This is a really, really nice area. The volocanic activity in the area make for more hot springs than you can shake a stick at. The accommodations are really world class, the scenery is wonderful and there is historical (the checkpoint of the old Tokai road to Edo in the feudal era) as well as contemporary (ekiden popular relay race) significance. The only drawback is the distance and time necessary. The time it takes to travel there makes Hakone a stretch for a day trip. It can be done, but it would be better to overnight. The shekels necessary for a trip like that really add up, though. First, there is the expense of getting there, then of staying somewhere, then for getting around there on the ropeways and boats. Yikes.
I am sorry, but the Caveman is super busy today. Mrs. Caveman and I are relocating to a new cave in a few weeks and I need to get moving if we're going to move. I will probably not make this a terribly detailed post in order to save time. I just wanted to make anyone interested in hiking around the lake aware of what I did as a plan. If you're interested in the area, you can contact me or ask the google machine.
What is a ropeway?
ReplyDeleteIt's their word for gondola.
DeleteBy the way, Patsy, I never get notified by your blog even though I followed it. Hmmm. I tried the link under "Follow this blog with bloglovin." Maybe that will start emails??