Hakone - A Place of Peace & Tranquility

If you associate the beauty of nature with peace & tranquility and that is something you can appreciate and may very well seek out for enjoyment then Hakone may be the place for you. We recently spent two days in Hakone traveling via a multitude of vehicles to get around using a special two day transportation pass.

Our first stop was this incredible botanical park.

Way above sea level this wetland park is beautiful even on a bleak overcast day.

In search of Swamp Thing.

There is an abundance of autumn colors.

The trails through the park are well maintained.

I'm a big fan of yellow leaves.

A boardwalk gets us through the marshy bog.

Surrounded by misty hills.

There are times when more is better than less - like now!

One could not ask for a better person to spend their life with than my wonderful wife.

Reds are good too!

Time for lunch. This restaurant was within walking distance of the park.

After lunch we boarded a local bus using our special pass to visit the Pola museum of art.
http://www.polamuseum.or.jp/english/
It's an incredible art museum in the middle of a forest. This particular painting was my favorite.

After the museum we caught another local bus then connected at Gora with the local train. This train travels up and down the mountain using switchbacks to deal with the steep assent.

We were not alone in the train.

Day two: High in the sky on the Hakano rope way.

The rope way makes a stop at Owakudani station. This place is described on the guide map as "sulphurous vapor erupting area" and that describes it perfectly.

They sell black hard boiled eggs here. They cook the eggs in naturally boiling sulphur water.

Returning to Owakudani station to catch another rope way car to take us to lake Ashi.

Kids love the view from the car; me too!

Passing by Mt. Fuji.

Lake Ashi with authentic tourist pirate boats.

Emi and I decided to walk along the lake shore for a little exercise.

More of that Peace & Tranquility stuff.

Such a lovely day.

Working our way back to the tourist boats.

Crossing the lake in style.

We caught a bus from lake Ashi to Hakone Yumoto station.

We decided to go for a walk along the Sukumo river. This shot was taken pointing my camera directly into the afternoon glare of the sun.

I like rivers.

Passing by a Geisha theater.

Emi marches on.

The sound of the river is music to my ears.

Last shot of the day: Crossing over the Yumoto train station platform to get to the other side where we'll board our highway bus to take us home.

Great trip! Using public transportation from start to finish was a great way to travel.

Thanks for stopping by!
Mike