Day 21: Trains, cable cars and ‘gondoras’

DID: Did the ‘circle tour’ around Mt Fuji, which involves several modes of transport.  We did the counter-clockwise route, against the advice of the brochure that comes with the train ticket. We chose this direction thinking that the majority of the people would follow the brochure route so it would be less crowded if we did the opposite (not that anything was very crowded anyway – cars were full but we always had a seat and never had to queue for very long). In the end we couldn’t understand why they tell you to go clockwise because on the one cablecar where you see the mountain slope, the mountain would be behind you so you’d have to sit going backwards or keep turning around to see it. Route is:

Luxury train (called the Romancecar) from Tokyo – Hakone-Yumoto
Hakone Tozan Train to Gora (cool old-school train that does switchbacks up the mountain. Beautiful views of the landscape plus hydrangea growing all along the tracks)
Hakone Tozan Cablecar (which is like a funicular) to Sounzan
Hakone Ropeway (advertised as the busiest “Gondora” in the world) to Togendai
Pirate ship across Lake Ashi to Moto Hakone-Ko
Bus back to Hakone-Yumoto
Romancecar back to Tokyo

Time required in the Hakone-Fuji area is about 6 hours for the loop, plus another 1.5 hrs each way to/from Tokyo. Lots of people stay overnight, there are many ryokan and onsen to explore if you’ve got the time.  GnR got a kick out of all the different cable cars, trains, etc. All of the segments are pretty short so there’s lots of time to walk around and explore. Info on the transport/ticket here:
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html

But after all of this, did we see Mt Fuji??? Kind of.  We saw a hazy corner of the western slope. I’m starting to feel like this is symbolic of our time in Japan, just showing itself enough to us that we can check things off the list, but not enough to let us feel that we’ve been invited in for the full show. It’s so private, so reserved, there’s no hint of what’s beyond the (albeit beautiful and intricate) surface. Maybe nothing? Must have language competency or a good Japanese friend for future trip(s).

This was also “Lost in Translation” day. Started off with the hotel staff not letting us see the premier (upgraded) room so that we could make an informed decision about making the effort to switch. In the end, curiosity got the best of me so we packed everything up and the hotel staff moved the luggage while we were out.

Then the concierge led us on a wild goose chase in Shinjuku station for the agency which sells the train passes to Mt Fuji (note to future travellers, agency is called the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centre and it’s on the 1st floor of the Odakyu Department Store, not the basement!)

The woman at the train office sold us only part of a roundtrip ticket. We bought the Hakone-Free pass which gets you to/from and around the mountain. We also paid for an upgrade to an express train. We thought the upgrade was roundtrip too but as it turns out it only applied to the way there.  The return train conductor made us pay a penalty in addition to the upgrade fee (after shouting at us for a good 10 minutes in Japanese even though we kept saying we didn’t understand – frustrating for all!!)

The woman at the train office also gave us a stamp card, which we were to fill out (kind of like a scavenger hunt) and redeem for a prize. She failed to specify that we had to redeem it in the Mt Fuji area rather than back at her office, so poor Gavin missed out. ☹

After all this miscommunication, a little retail therapy was in order. Went shopping in Shinjuku Sanchome (intentionally this time!) – Jason and Gavin now have sweet Japanese kicks (and in Jason’s case, hopefully the antidote to his old shoes which have been giving him blisters).

ATE: Breakfast – pastries from bakery in Shinjuku station. Lunch – treats from a café in Hakone-Yumoto station (fried chicken, a noodle salad and a seafood salad). Dinner – sushi in Shinjuku Sanchome area. Gavin tried tuna, didn’t care for it but at least he gave it a shot!

SLEPT: Well, the new room might as well be in a different hotel for the level of swank in compared to the last room. From the moment we got in the lift we knew it would be different – instead of pressing the floor button we swiped our room key card and the button lit up automatically.  Room itself not much larger than the last room but everything was nicer, from the furniture to the view to even the complimentary toiletries. Happy we upgraded.