A short trip to Hell Valley and a ride on a pirate ship. Arrrr mateys. I survived Hakone.

Location:  Lake Ashinoko, Hakone

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:  Lake Ashinoko Weather

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.

On the way to Hakone, I passed through Odawara and dropped by the Odawara Castle.

I was on the trail by 8.

The Minami Alps in the background on the left.

I had lunch by the lake.

My plan was to hike all the way up to Owakudani.  I was really unhappy to find the trails closed from halfway up.  I had to take the ropeway.  The prices nearly put me off.  The caveman is a cheapskate and likes to walk.

Owakudani is cool!  The sulfur smell was strong at times.

This picture doesn't really give a sense of how packed the souvenir shops were.  There were a ton of people at Owakudani; many if not most of them foreigners.  It sounded like the U.N. up there.  For me, after a nice bucolic morning in the woods it was sensory overload.  I wanted to get back into my cave.

The most popular item for sale is black eggs.  Owakudani black eggs  Those are eggs boiled in water with a content of sulfur and iron.

The guy selling black eggs in this picture reminded me of a famous episode of Seinfeld.  I think of this guy as the "Egg Nazi".  All he does is sell eggs.  Someone brought another souvenir to his register hoping to purchase it and was told, "No souvenir.  Only eggs here!"

This was taken from the ropeway.  Mt. Kintoki is a mountain I did on another trip last July.  I highly recommend it.

From the boat back to where my bike was parked.

OK.  That's it.  Thanks for dropping by the cave.  I don't know when I'll be blogging again, but I will sometime.  The little woman and I are moving to the mountains!