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ODAWARA AND HAKONE-YUMOTO |
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Travelling from Tokyo to Hakone, you'll pass through the historic
castle town of ODAWARA , some 75km west of the capital. The castle (daily
9am-5pm; ¥400) looks pretty impressive, especially in spring, when the
cherry trees in the grounds explode in pink blossom, but it is a recent
reconstruction and a visit here is soured by the appalling conditions of
the zoo just next door.
Better to press on to HAKONE-YUMOTO , the small town nestling in the
valley at the gateway to the national park. Despite being marred by
scores of concrete-block hotels and besso (vacation lodges for company
workers), not to mention the usual cacophony of souvenir shops, the town
has some good onsen , ideal for unwinding after a day's sightseeing
around the park. You can also pick up a map of the area at the Hakone
Tourist Information Office (daily 9am-5.30pm), two minutes' walk from
Hakone-Yumoto Station along the main road. Up the hill from the station
is the Kappa Tengoku Notemburo (daily 10am-10pm; ¥700), a small,
traditional outdoor onsen, which can get crowded. More stylish is Tenzan
Notemburo (daily 9am-11pm; ¥900), a luxurious public onsen complex at
Oku-Yumoto, 2km southwest of town. The main building has separate male
and female outdoor baths, including waterfalls and Jacuzzi baths, in a
series of rocky pools. Men also have a clay-hut sauna, and for ¥200
extra on weekdays (¥900 on weekends) both men and women can use the
wooden baths in the building across the car park. A free shuttle bus
runs to the baths from the bridge just north of Hakone-Yumoto Station.
While you probably won't want to stay in Hakone-Yumoto, it's a good
place to eat ; try Kodanaki , along the main road south from the
station, which specializes in udon noodles. There are also three
good-value restaurants at the Tenzan Notemburo, serving rice,
shabu-shabu (sautéed beef) and yakiniku (grilled meat) dishes.
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