Hakone Trip (Day One) (October 6th)

Autumn collage near the Souunzan sta of Hakone cable car.
秋色のコラージュ。箱根ケーブルカーの早雲山駅周辺にて。

Today's course:
Musashisakai sta. - Shinjuku sta. - Odakyuu line -Hakone-yumoto sta. - Hakone Tozan railroad - Gora sta. - Hakone cable car - Souunzan sta. - Ropeway - Oowakudani sta. -Ropeway -Tougendai sta. - by bus - Sengoku-kougen BS - by bus - Tougendai sta. - Ship -Motohakone port - on foot - Hakone Lake Villa YH.
(Recommend to get Hakone Free Pass of Odakyuu company, which covers all those transportation costs for 2 days by 5000 yen from Shinjuku for example.)

We went to Hakone on this weekend. The Oowakudani, where lots of ejection holes of sulfur are blowing off smoke, is pretty famous spot for the visitors in the Hakone area. There were lots of people there and they all had black boiled eggs cooked in hot spring. The eggs are originally normal white, but sulfur in the hot spring turns the eggshells into black. We ate some too and got another bag of them for beer snack in the evening. Then we took ropeway down to Tougendai sta. and headed to Sengoku-kougen, where is famous for its huge Miscanthus sinensis (Susuki, Japanese silver grass) field. Lots of people there, too. However, it was pretty amazing view to see that huge area covered with the grass waving in the breeze. It was really beautiful. Then we were back to the Tougendai and took the ship to Motohakone port. On the ship there were lots of foreigners as if nearly half of the passengers were foreigners. We had supper at Motohakone and walked to the youth hostel, which has hot spring. It felt so nice to soak in the hot spring after the long traveling day.

箱根に来るのは３年ぶりくらいでしょうか。今回もフリーパスを使ってぐるっと回ってきました。紅葉にはまだ気が早いですが、そこここに秋の気配を感じられました。仙石原のススキも見ごろをむかえていて、時折、曇り空から差す日差しにきらめいてとてもきれいでした。夕暮れ時に束の間、富士のシルエットを見ることができました。


Tiny hint of autumn color in the maple tree.
早雲山駅周辺にて。ほんのり紅葉が始まったカエデ。


Oowakudani. Smoke smelled like sulfur.
大涌谷にて。


Black boiled egg at Oowakudani.
大涌谷名物、黒たまご。


After 2 hours they picks up the eggs, which turn into black.
湧き出している温泉につけること２時間。白い普通の卵が真っ黒に。


Miscanthus sinensis (Susuki, Japanese silver grass)
at Sengokuhara.
仙石原のすすき。


It was so huge area covered with this kind of grass.
こんなに広いススキ野とは思いませんでした。




The silver grass in the sun.
日差しを浴びて。


きらめいてます。


Lake Ashi, Mt. Komagatake.
船上からの眺め。駒ケ岳が見えます。


Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi.
夕暮れ時の芦ノ湖と富士。