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3D2N at Hakone & fuji five lakes 2012/12/10 17:01
Hi I'm planning to stay at Hakone for 2 days at ''Fujimien'' from 23-25 Jan

From there, I'm planning to spend a day exploring Hakone and another around the fuji five lakes region.

Right now, our itinerary is roughly the following:
1st day: Travel to Hakone from Shinjuku using the odyaku line and then taking the Tozan Railway - Tozan Cablecar - Tozan Ropeway - Togendai. After which, we would check in at our ryokan (Fujimien). From there we will explore the rest of Hakone (sight seeing boat etc) got all these from: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html

2nd day: Travel up to kawaguchiko and explore the area. (kindly advise on what to do at that area)

3rd day: Check out from Ryokan and make our way back to tokyo. Via fujikyu highway bus since i understand the fuji hakone pass only allows 1 trip each for the highway bus and the odyaku line.

Q1: Just wondering how useful is the Fuji Hakone Pass at the Fuji Five lakes region? Is it able to get me to Kawaguchiko from Hakone AND around the five lakes to visit attractions such as the caves?

Q2: What attractions should i go to at the five lakes?

Q3: Is my itinerary feasible? or is there a better alternative?

Thanks much!

by XP (guest)  

Re: 3D2N at Hakone & fuji five lakes 2012/12/10 19:25
I am not too keen on Hakone so I will leave it to others on if the Hakone tour is feasible on day one.

On the second day, if using public transportation, you will probably have to ride a bus to Gotemba where you would change to another bus heading to Fujisan station. The scheduled time is about half an hour to Gotemba and another 50 minutes to Lake Yamanaka but the time of the trip will depend on traffic so leave early.

If you have time, you may want to stop at Lake Yamanaka and get some views of Mt Fuji from the east side of the lake or from the swan boat as this is lake is the closest lake to Mt Fuji as well as being the biggest lake. Probably by late January the east side of the lake will be frozen over. Dress warmly!

You can then use the pass to get a bus ride to Oshino Hakkai springs. What's there? Well just some very clear ponds, lots of souvenior places, old houses, ... Don't sound too interesting, but I will tell you that it is a popular tourist spot, I have personally been there many times, and still find it is a very nice place.

Then get on the bus again and go to Kawaguchiko. If Mt Fuji is still not covered by clouds, (she often hides in the clouds in the afternoon) get on the cable car for the most complete panorama of Mt. Fuji.

If you have done all three of these, you may be checking in at a hotel. If you skipped Yamanakako or Oshino or both, you may still have time to go to the caves. Personally, I find the caves OK. They are good in the summer as you feel the amazing temperature difference but they are just OK in the winter. They are not the largest caves in the world nor the most spectacular caverns. I don't think the pass gets you to the caves.

Other attractions are various small museums around Lake Kawaguchi. The automobile museum, tin toy museum, etc. You can kill some time in these places if you are not in luck with the weather. Also, if you are interested in old Shrines and such, you may want to visit the Sengen Jinja shrine in Fujiyoshida city between Oshino and Kawaguchiko. This is a very solemn and beatiful shrine that enshrines the god of Mt. Fuji.

The bus trip back to Tokyo from Lake Kawaguchi takes about 2 hours if the traffic is not bad but if you leave late afternoon / evening, you may find yourself in bad traffic and the trip can take over 3 hours. You can take the train (Fujisan Tokkyu express train to Otsuki and then a JR Asuza or Kaiji express train) . Get a seat on the salon car on the Fujisan Express by paying an extra 100 yen. Very likely you will virtually have the car to yourself for such a small extra.
by Harry Takeuchi rate this post as useful

Re: 3D2N at Hakone & fuji five lakes 2012/12/10 19:27
Woops. Sorry the pass does not accomodate the train trip to Shinjuku. Stick with the bus then.
by Harry Takeuchi rate this post as useful

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