{"id":1877,"date":"2017-02-21T13:22:21","date_gmt":"2017-02-21T13:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkerten.com\/wordpress\/?p=1877"},"modified":"2019-01-06T00:04:56","modified_gmt":"2019-01-06T00:04:56","slug":"japan-self-drive-in-central-region-day-7-hakone-kanagawa-prefecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkerten.com\/wordpress\/2017\/02\/japan-self-drive-in-central-region-day-7-hakone-kanagawa-prefecture\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan self drive in Central Region – Day 7 – Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan Self Drive in Central Region – Day 7 – Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hotel\u00a0Mt. Fuji<\/strong><\/p>\n

The weather was really great when we woke up in the morning in Hotel Mt.Fuji<\/a><\/strong>, we took more pictures from the garden with Mt Fuji at our background. \u00a0It was a sunny day but with strong winds. \u00a0It was a cold morning.<\/p>\n

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Hakone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Picture taken in the car not far from Hotel Mt.Fuji<\/a><\/strong>, on our way to Hakone<\/p>\n

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We stopped by a photo spot on the highway to take some nice photos. \u00a0I could not smile properly because the wind was so strong. \u00a0The strong wind also caused me to have a very serious headache that day.<\/p>\n

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After taking some photos, we went in the souvenirs shop\u00a0and found some delicate Japanese candy which was quite hard to resist.<\/p>\n

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Mt Fuji Station 5\/Gotemba Trail<\/strong><\/p>\n

We arrived in Mt Fuji Station 5\/Gotemba Trail at around 10am but it was already full with tourists and big tour buses. \u00a0This is a popular sightseeing spot and above 2300m high sea level. \u00a0We went up to the observatory point where we could see the unblock view of Mt Fuji. \u00a0I remembered an old man from mainland China fell down because the observatory point was so crowded and slippery due to some early rain, but he was fine. \u00a0I guess he must be too eager and excited to see the Mt Fuji View. \u00a0This is also the entrance to Yoshida Trail, the most popular route for climbing Mount Fuji but the trail was closed due to bad weather that day.<\/p>\n

Hakone<\/strong><\/p>\n

We arrived in Hakone before noon and wanted to do an early check in but we could not check in the hotel as yet because it was still early. \u00a0Normal check in time is about 2pm.\u00a0We then\u00a0drove\u00a0to Hakone Open Air Museum and had our buffet lunch there. \u00a0We did not explore much and no photos taken because I was still suffering serious headache. \u00a0We parked our car in the Hakone Open Air Museum and the staff reminded me that the car park will be closed at 5pm.<\/p>\n

The Open Ari Museum is one of the highlight in Hakone, it was ashamed that we did not really get to explore it, especially there is a\u00a0pavilion which was specially dedicated to Picasso.<\/p>\n

Odawara<\/strong><\/p>\n

We walked to the nearby train station to go to Odawara. \u00a0Traveling by train was a different experience compared to\u00a0travel by car. \u00a0The reason why we wanted to try train this time because Hakone area is very busy with traffic. \u00a0Tokyo is only slightly more than an hour drive from Hakone, so this place is quite crowded and\u00a0very\u00a0challenging to find parking lots too.<\/p>\n

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Red train going to Odawara. \u00a0Bought a Hakone inari bento\/lunch box, wrapped in nice wrapping paper in the train station.<\/p>\n

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It\u00a0took us almost 1 and half hour to arrive Odawara train station. \u00a0The train was moving very slow, exactly like a tortoise, may be the train master wanted us to enjoy the stunning\u00a0scenery of Hakone. \u00a0When we arrived in Odawara, it was almost 4pm. \u00a0We then realized the car park in the Open Air Museum closed at 5pm, so we needed to rush back before the car park was closed. \u00a0We did not get to go out to see Odawara city. \u00a0Anyway, the station is packed with people, so busy! \u00a0We were lucky we were in the countryside of Japan for the past few day, so relaxing and laid back.<\/p>\n

Our luggages were still inside the car. \u00a0We quickly rushed back to the Open Air Museum station. \u00a0We reached the Open Air Museum station at 4.45pm and managed to get our car at 4.55pm! \u00a0What a day!<\/p>\n

Day 7 – Itinerary<\/strong><\/div>\n
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