A day trip from Numazu to Hakone

In June last year we took a day trip to Hakone. It's a very touristy area and a favourite haunt of Tokyoists wanting to get away from the big smoke for the weekend. I'm not going to say too much about it because the link I've provided here already says it all and then some. However, I will say one thing you won't read in the tourist brochures: Don't bring a pram/stroller/pusher. It's not a pram-friendly place. (It was the first time we'd taken Cassia anywhere without the Ergo, and it was such a pain not having it.)

You really need two or more days to see everything there is to see at Hakone, but here are some photos from the highlights of what we saw in our single day outing.

There's a ropeway that takes you to various stations around Hakone with some interesting scenery along the way -- this is a quarry in the mouth of an old volcano, complete with steaming bursts of sulphur, just near the Owakudani station.

At Owakudani you can walk (sans pram) around stinking sulphurous pools of hot water just for kicks, and eat eggs that have been boiled in sulphurous water to turn the shells black.

The view of Lake Ashi as the ropeway makes its descent to Togendai station.

You can get a ride on a pirate ship at Lake Ashi. Yes, it's as corny and tacky as it looks, but given that the very optimistically named Hakone Free Pass gives you access to them, you'd be loath to pass up an opportunity to go on one. Besides, it's a very long walk if you go around the lake.

After going through the Hakone Checkpoint, we kept walking and found this track leading to Moto-Hakone. Told you it wasn't pram friendly. But the walk itself is nice.

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How to get to Hakone from Numazu:

Get a train from Numazu to Odawara (you can do this via the local JR Tokaido line or you can take the Shinkansen from Mishima to Odawara), and then another train from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto, which is the usual place people begin their exploration of the area on the Hakone Round Course.

An alternative is to get the train from Numazu to Mishima and then a bus from Mishima to Moto-Hakone if you want to start exploring Hakone from the other end. Sorry I can't remember the name or number of the bus, but someone at the JR ticket office in Mishima could tell you. It might even be covered by the Hakone Free Pass (not sure about that for the trip to Hakone, but I do know it applies for your journey home).