While stranded in Taipei we met a man who was in the same situation as us. He lives in Tokyo. When he heard that we were going to Odawara, his expression showed a big question mark.
Hakone was on our initial itinerary. Then I looked into the accommodation and it was pretty pricey. And I wasn't ready to book any hostel room yet. Not that there was any hostel that was attractive enough. So Odawara became our second choice. We could just get a Hakone Free Pass and do a day trip.
Odawara as our base also made sense because hubby signed up for the King of The Mountain run. The run started at Odawara up to Hakone through the Hakone Turnpike. We used Sports Entry to help signing up for the run. Please check out the post for that experience here.
First Day
By the time we reached Odawara it was almost 4 pm. So we didn't do much other than retraced our route back to Odawara station and grabbed dinner there.
Later on the way back to our guest house we went through one of the side street near the station and came across a huge pachinko parlor. Along the same road we also found Donquijote aka Donki. For you who don't know Donki yet it's a Japanese chain store known to carry gazillion of items. Perfect place for cheaper snacks and souvenirs for travelers to Japan.
Second Day
We planned to buy Hakone Free Pass and followed this itinerary. Pretty much most travelers to Hakone who bought Hakone Free Pass go through this route either this way or the other way (from Owakudani Station). Hakone Free Pass allow users to explore Hakone using different mode of transportation.
* Odawara Station- Hakone Yumoto Station using Hakone Tozan Train
* Hakone Yumoto Station - Motohakone-ko using Hakone Tozan bus line E
Visit Hakone Shrine and the floating torii gate
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| Floating torii gate at Lake Ashinoko - credit : The Travel Intern |
* Motohakone-ko - Togendai Station using Hakone Sightseeing cruise
* Togendai Station - Owakudani Station using Hakone Ropeway
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| Hakone area map - credit : Odakyu |
We started our day early that day and went to check out the meeting site for the following day King of Mountain run. By the time we were done with that it was only half a day left. And I don't feel that spending JPY 5140 (USD 45) rushing through those Hakone destinations. But if you want to read more about using that Hakone Free Pass, read the following article by The Travel Intern.
Instead we just took bus from Odawara to Hakone Yumoto Station and explore the areas near the station. We spent about one hour there and took train back to Odawara Station.
Third Day
We left early to the meeting site of the run. The run itself didn't actually start until around 9:30. But hubby needed to pick up his bib since it couldn't be mailed internationally.
Hubby finished his run around 12 and we met up for lunch at Sukiya, a franchise restaurant popular for its beef bowl. I packed some change of clothes and our swimming outfit. After lunch we would take bus to Yunessun Resort for an afternoon of fun.
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| Inside Hakone Tozan bus |
The ticket for Yunessun was JPY 3000 for each adult. Each of us got a wrist coil with bar code. So if we needed drinks or food no cash or credit cards needed. The bar code would be scanned and added to our tab. Payment would be settled at the end of visit.
We didn't take any photos at Yunessun because our phones were not water proof. Nor did we have any Go Pro. But I was convinced to visit Yunessun after I watched this video on Youtube by popular Youtuber Safiya Nygaard.
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