R&R

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Our last few days in Japan were intended as a bit of R&R before heading home and back to work. We booked ourselves into a ryokan, albeit a hostel ryokan, with onsen right next to the river. We had one big day trip planned and a few other little things we’d found in the guide book

Ito is a nice town, but I can see that piece of coast being packed in summer. We had the beach to ourselves, but it was chilly! Our hostel, K’s House Ito Onsen, was right in the middle of town, a short walk from the train and bus station. The railway was a small line going down the peninsula and certain trains were scenic ones, with the seats facing sideways out big picture windows to enjoy the view. The train went past towns and villages along the coast, with tunnels through the hills between.

The hostel was pretty amazing. 100 years old and had been renovated well and turned into a hostel. We had a large room with an enclosed balcony overlooking the river. The balcony did have sliding doors to open it fully, but the railing were so flimsy and non-child friendly we didn’t even try. The shared onsen bath was just across the hall from our room, and we made full use of it! Samara in particular loved the huge bath tub! We’ll have to leave the photos to do the talking about this place!

We had two day trips away from Ito. The first was to a couple of sights on the peninsula itself, Mt Omuro and Jogasaki. The second to Hakone.

Mt Omuro

An easy bus ride from Ito (get the daily bus pass to save a fortune in fares), Mt Omuro is a lovely place to visit, though it was so cold when we were there! We had the good fortune of a clear day and got some good views from the top. It is a dormant ‘rice bowl crater’ volcano with a chair lift to the top. The chair lift was a highlight for the girls, more than the views, but the views along the coast and inland to Mt Fuji were spectacular. There is a walk around the rim of the volcano, about 1km long, but the wind coming across was just too cold so we didn’t hang around long.

Jogasaki

South of Ito along the coast is the Jogasaki coast. Windswept cliffs, volcanic rock, pine forests, lighthouse and suspension bridge. We caught a bus from Mt Omuro to one end of the coastal walk and set off towards the lighthouse. There are two paths, one following the cliff top and it rose and fell, and the other inland slightly and flatter. We took the cliff top path to the lighthouse, marvelling in the views. The lighthouse was quite a modern design, with one set of stairs going up to the viewing level, and one set coming down. Busy, but stunning views of the coast. Just by the lighthouse is the 48m long suspension bridge hanging about 23m above the waves. There is another carpark by the bridge for those not wanting to walk, and judging by the number of people, lots chose to drive. We had to walk back to the start point to wait for the bus, which aren’t all that frequent. There was a café (pricey) and a botanic gardens of some kind with an entrance fee, so we just sat and people watched while finishing up our food.

Hakone

We really needed more than the one day in this area as we just didn’t have the time to explore fully. We’d looked at accommodation here but it was much more expensive than elsewhere in the area and it sounded like it would have been a hassle carting our bags there. And having been on the train in, it would have been.

Hakone is scenery, onsen, art museums, crowds. We’re glad we went on a weekday as that was busy enough, it must be mental on a summer weekend. While we wanted to see the scenery and to try to see some of the traditional buildings etc., the main reason for going was for Samara in particular to travel on many different types of transport in the one day.

We took two regular trains, a switchback train, a cable car, several ropeways (gondolas) and a pirate ship. There is a travel pass that gives you two days unlimited travel on all these, which saves many $$$ from paying each time. And it seemed like most people there had this ‘Hakone Freepass’ as very few people were buying tickets.

From Odawara we took a ‘normal’ train to Hakone-Yumoto where we changed to the small and crowded Hakone Tozan Train. Due to the landscape, there are several switchbacks along this line, where the driver gets out of the front of the train and goes to the back which becomes the front of the train for the next stage. From there we hopped on the cable car up to the base of the first gondola/ropeway, and again without a break queued up for the gondola. Amazing views going up, watching as Mt Fuji comes into view above the ridgeline.

We had a break between gondolas, enjoying the view and having a snack. The landscape was pock marked with steaming craters and yellow sulphur deposits, and snow! The second gondola took us down towards Lake Ashi and a boat ride. Our boat was decorated like a black pirate ship to the delight of the girls, and included a plastic pirate and a treasure chest. We planned to take a bus back from the other end of the lake back to the train, but decided not to get off the boat and went back to the gondola. We re-traced our footsteps all the way back. So as not to make the day even longer than it was, we didn’t stop at any of the other places we wanted to, though they would have bored the kids I expect. I’d read about a café with hot foot baths outside, and I thought sitting there having a drink, soaking my feet and enjoying the views would have been a great way to while away part of the morning! But not this time. Still, it was a great day out but we’d certainly recommend taking more time, even if it meant expensive accommodation.

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