From ¥50,000
Private Hakone Tours
Brief History of Hakone
Hakone’s origins are many and it’s legends plentiful. It is famous for amazing hospitality, volcanoes, hot springs and views of Mount Fuji. It’s location along the historic Tokai-Do road made it a border town with a purpose. It was here that weary travelers would take rest, bathe in the healing hot springs before continuing their journeys.
Hakone Shrine
On the banks of Lake Ashi sits Hakone Shrine, also known as Hakone Gongen (箱根権現). It dates back to the year 757. For a long time it has been an important shrine to both samurai and regular folk alike. Originally located on the top of Mount Hakone, it was a shrine to the dead, who locals believed went to see out eternity on the peaks of the high mountains. Later the shrine was moved down to the banks of the lake. Part of this is attributed to the heroics of Shinto Priest Mangan. His story in brief goes:
‘Once-upon-a-time there was a man eating dragon called a Kuzuryu, which lived in Lake Ashi. It ate and killed with such ferocious rage that the locals even fed children to the dragon just to keep it from killing everyone in sight. One day Priest Mangan was coming through Hakone. After agreeing to help he defeated the dragon and chained it to huge rocks at the bottom of Lake Ashi. A special shrine was dedicated to the Kuzuryu and is worshipped by locals and visitors alike to keep the dragon placated from its burning rage and hunger. The End.’
You can visit Hakone Shrine along with many other locations on the Hakone one-day sightseeing trip.
The Tokai-Do Historic Road to Edo
Hakone was once a stop on the old Tokai-Do Road (都街道) to Edo. Edo is a town currently known as Tokyo. Yes, thats the Tokyo. And the Tokai-Do Road was the road that connected Tokyo to the rest of southern and western Japan. Way back in the Edo Period (1603-1868) the road was busy with samurai and travelers marching through too and fro. To the south of Lake Ashi was a checkpoint. Like any border crossing today, they checked the travelers documents, searched them for weapons and other items of contraband, but most importantly, they were there to catch any women fleeing the capital. Why did they want to flee? You see they were hostages in Japan’s bizarre anti-war policy of the time. It’s fascinating stuff!
The historic road and the check point have been painstakingly rebuilt to resemble exactly how it would have looked in the Edo Period.
Hike on the historic road, drink at a tea house that has been alongside it for centuries, visit the old checkpoint and try the local craftwork of Hakone on an unforgetable day out.
Mount Kintoki
Mount Kintoki (金時山) otherwise known as Mount Ashigara (足柄山) is 1212m tall and home to one of the great legends of Japanese mythology. Kintaro was a boy so strong he could rip up trees with his bare hands and slice through huge stones with his ax. In short: he is the Hercules of Japan. Here is his tale in brief:
‘Once-upon-a-time a Great General of the Samurai and his wife lived in Kyoto. As soon as their first son, Kintaro was born, the father died in a failed rebellion. Scared for her and her baby’s life, the mother ran away in disgrace to live in the wild on Mount Kintoki. Kintaro was brought up feral and uneducated. He befriended the animals. He rode on the back of a bear and carried an ax. He possessed super human strength. One day a woodcutter saw him ripping up trees with his bare hands and approached his mother.
‘I am not really a woodcutter’ he said. ‘I am a scout sent from the great Samurai Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Your son is so strong he will surely be a great general one day.’
And to cut a long story short that is pretty much what happened. The End.
Bubble Japan
In the 1980’s a huge economic grew and burst crashing the Japanese economy. But during the period of growth there was a huge boom in huge hotels, weird and wonderful museums. In other words, nothing was sustainable and everything was done to excess.
In 1989 the bubble burst leaving most hotels, unusual museums as victims of such excess.
Though Hakone was certainly hit by this as hard as anywhere, it is my own observation that a trip to Hakone is like a trip in a time machine to the heights of the Japanese bubble. The eclectic mix of museums, luxurious inns and the flurry of life here is reminiscent of the wild scenes of Japan in the 80s.