Allow me to get in ‘tour guide’ mode and describe my most recent trip. Some three months after our initial meeting, Yukari wished to show me her hometown of Odawara and the neighbouring mountain resort of Hakone. Both are located in the southwestern-most part of Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo. The trip there took us over two and a half hours with three transfers one way, so we started early.
Shinjuku Station is not only the busiest train station in all of Japan—it’s the busiest station in the world. From there, we took the Odakyu Line and arrived in Odawara for a brief lunch. We meant to visit the city’s castle Odawara-jo, but the structure was unfortunately obscured by scaffolding. As such, we cursed our lousy luck, then continued on to Hakone, taking the country’s oldest mountain railway, Hakone Tozan.
Known for its numerous hot springs and accompanying Japanese-style hotels (ryokan), as well as the scenic crater lake Ashinoko, Hakone is an immensely popular destination for locals. Still, being a weekday, I was surprised by how busy it was. Each shop and restaurant was bustling with mostly domestic tourists. After a quick bout of window shopping, Yukari and I hopped on a bus bound for Lake Ashi.
The ride was considerably longer than I’d expected and we didn’t get to the lake until just after 3PM. Once there, we eagerly stretched our legs and went for a stroll around the southeastern portion of the lake. We opted to skip Hakone Shrine on account of the crowds. Instead, we thought we’d get some exercise by renting one of the numerous peddle boats designed to resemble swans.
I had fond memories of using peddle boats as a kid, but it was far more physically strenuous than I remembered. I suppose I’ve become quite sedentary in my mid-20s; my legs aren’t what they used to be! We peddled to the large torii gate at the base of Hakone Shrine. There, we took in a reasonably clear view of Mount Fuji, then headed back to shore, huffing and puffing all the while. (Unsurprisingly, my legs were incredibly sore the next day.)
The bus back to Hakone was at full capacity and we wound up sitting in the back corner, legs crammed into the seat in front of us. Uncomfortable though I was, exhaustion took over and I luckily dozed off for most of the ride. It was a worthwhile trip.