Hakone - 1978

Hakone is a place not too far from Tokyo. It is a very popular place for people of Tokyo to go for short holidays. 

Hakone  is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, less than one hundred kilometers from Tokyo. Famous for hot springs, natural beauty and the view across Lake Ashinoko of nearby Mount Fuji, Hakone is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese and international tourists looking for a break from Tokyo.

Our first visit to Hakone was in 1978 when we went for “ World congress of Cardiology.”

We as a group of 5 people travelled in a tourist bus.

From Tokyo by bus we first went to Kamakura to see  a  tall famous Buddhist Statue kept open to the sky in Kamakura.. Directly from there we were taken to Hakone , a tourist spot not too far from Tokyo.

On reaching there, we first went to a big park with where multiple statues were scattered open to sky. 

We stayed at famous  Fujiya hotel which was located at a hight. Next morning we visited Lake Hakone.  Our last journey in Bus was from  in bus was  to Odawara station and onwards by Shinkansen we went to Kyoto.

On second visit was with our friend who took us to Hakone  by car . 

He took us to famous Owakudani Volcanic Valley. Here the volcanic activity was so strong that we didn’t spend a long time and returned to Tokyo. Owakudani is the area around a crater created during the last eruption of Mount Hakone some 3000 years ago. Today, much of the area is an active volcanic zone where sulfurous fumes, hot springs and hot rivers can be experienced. Additionally, Owakudani has good views of Mount Fuji on clear days.   

The last visit we went there one more time and stayed in a small hotel  just next to Lake Ashi. We walked along Lake Ashi. Next day while we were walking around we saw a beautiful moss garden. In Japan it is custom where both Shrines and temples may be surrounded by moss gardens. Hakone has been one of Japan's most popular hot spring resorts for centuries. Today, more than a dozen springs provide hot water to the area's many bath houses and ryokan.

Yumoto at the entrance to the Hakone area is Hakone's largest hot spring town with a particularly long history, high quality water and numerous baths and inns. More hot spring facilities are found across the hills and valleys of Hakone and along the shores of Lake Ashi.