6 October 2026
We didn’t sleep too well this night. The room is too warm for our taste. So getting up at 7:40 to get breakfast at 8:00 is not a problem.
Before breakfast we ask for a transfer to the town at the reception desk for 9:30. Breakfast is a buffet of mixed western and Japanese food. The western part is mostly dry bread that even toasting cannot rescue. It becomes a mixture of stuff like scrambled egg, Japanese omelette, rice, Japanese curry, [bread?], jam, and fruit from a can. But enough to start the day.
We’re on time at the reception and the driver is there, and very annoyed at two women who are one minute late and have forgotten something. When everyone is on board, it’s a short ride down to the port.
The lady at the information is very helpful with tips about what to do. The next Lake Ashi cruise is at 10:10 and we have the goals for the day set. Time enough to get the one geocache at the port and the stamp for our book.
There’s a longer line to board the boat, and when selling stuff they suddenly translate into 8 languages. You can upgrade to first class for 700 yen. We skip it this time and check out what the deal is for the way back.
The boat is one of three that all look like sailing ships. It does not get more touristy. We go up to the top deck to have the outside view, and it’s not so much different from what we see from the first-class side. This boat is huge and has a lot of capacity.
The weather today is really warm. 29 degrees the forecast says. We are prepared with sunblock and sunglasses. We are really lucky on our excursions until now. Beautiful landscape around the lake. We first had planned a hike along the lake, but after the week of walking we’re happy not to do it.
The cruise takes about 25 minutes, and before coming to Hakone-machi we can see Fuji-san. There’s a little cloud in front of the top, but we can see it. Just missing the snow on the top from the known pictures you see everywhere.
Leaving the pirate ship and our plan is to go to the Mishima Skywalk. The N bus just left and we have 50 minutes to spend. First some hydration at one of the vending machines, and then a short walk around town. At the bus stop we choose a small café to drink a tea/coffee and then go to the bus.
The Hakone Free Pass works great. Not like the Nikko pass where we had to log in every 5 minutes. The driver also knows what he’s doing and hits the gas.
After 29 minutes we are at our goal. We are cooking here. The skywalk costs 1,100 yen (6.10 €) per person. First of course photo session at the sign. The best part is, we have a clear and beautiful view of Fuji-san. And pictures and selfies were taken here, of course.
They built a bridge just for the view and added some activities you can do on the other side of the Skywalk. Tim wants to do ziplining for about 11 €. Luckily, there’s a weight limit for this and I have one more excuse to just watch people cross the valley hanging from a metal rope. After a security video, Tim goes up to the start, while I go down to the return place and take videos of him on the line. Nice guy at the return point told me “video video” when Tim started his return.
After he returned his harness and refreshed the sunblock, back to the bus stop. Lunch time. A smoked chicken sandwich and our first French fries this holiday. For 10 €, not a bad lunch deal.
Just back to Motohakone. Another port for the pirate ship. We first thought about going to Hakone Park, but decided against it. We had a great Fuji view already.
There’s a longer line for the pirate ship back to Togendai port. So we just use the 700 yen per person to upgrade to first class. Fancy armband and first on board. Not a big difference, just fewer people and in front of the boat. More photos and then back at the port on our side of the lake.
Time to make use of the lavatory facilities that are everywhere in Japan. Clean and free.
After the no-view cable car ride yesterday, we do it one more time, but now with a view. It’s become a little more cloudy, but we have full visibility.
From Togendai Station via Ubako Station up to the top at Owakudani Station. It smells a lot like sulfur here. Instead of going to the viewing platform, we take the next cable car back down to Sounzan.
Now we can see the crater where they mine sulfur. The yellowish stuff everywhere. Smoke coming from the earth, a little bit further away a vent from an eruption from 2015 looks like a chimney. The smell is not good. If you have to fart now, nobody would smell the difference.
Quick turnaround at Sounzan and back up the mountain. At one of the vending machines I discover that my Suica card is gone. That sucks, since there was still 20 € on it. But it doesn’t help. Must have fallen out of my pocket somewhere. Have to get a new one.
We get off the cable car at our Ubako Station and walk down to the hotel. At the reception, same procedure as yesterday, we order a shuttle to another restaurant. The one we want is closed, so only one option remains.
Driver on time as always, and a ten-minute ride to a Japanese noodle restaurant. They seem to have their own corner for shuttle tourists, with the same tables on the floor that we had in Kawagoe. All noodles are with fish.
The broth is based on dashi and a no for me. They’ve marked the ingredients on the menu. So it’s stir-fried garlic chicken and rice for me. Together with a Coke, about 9 €. Tim goes a little more fancy and orders horse sashimi, raw horse meat. He lets me taste it and it’s good. A slight dip in soy sauce. Surprisingly good.
Transfer back to the hotel and down to the onsen again. We have it to ourselves. Two rounds of soaking in the hot spring water, and Tim makes me try to sit in the cold water tub. Hell, is that cold when you get in. But after the first shock, it cools you nicely down after the hot water.
The rest of the evening we sit in the lobby alone. Nobody there. We bought the famous -196 Strong Zero (which tastes like a Radler but has 9% alcohol).
We retire to our room a little after 22:00. Tomorrow, we go to Kyoto.
