Hakone, Kanagawa

Torii of the shrine in Hakone, at Lake Ashi

Hakone (箱根町, Hakone-machi?) is a town in Ashigarashimo District in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 13,339 and a density of 144 persons per km². The total area was 92.82 km².

 Lake Ashi from Hakone Ropeway, a major tourist attraction in Hakone

History

Hakone is the location of a noted Shinto shrine, the Hakone Gongen, which is mentioned in Heian period literature. During the Gempei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed at this shrine for victory over his enemies, after his defeat at the Battle of Ishibashiyama, which was also located with the borders of present-day Hakone. As with the rest of Sagami Province, the area came under the control of the late Hōjō clan of Odawara during the Sengoku period. After the start of the Edo period, Hakone-juku was a post station on the Tōkaidō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto. It was also the site of a major barrier and official checkpoint on the route known as the Hakone Checkpoint (箱根関所, Hakone sekisho?), which formed the border of the Kantō region. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, all travellers entering and leaving Edo along the Tōkaidō were stopped here by officials, and their travel permits and baggage was examined.

After the start of the Meiji Restoration, Hakone became a part of the short-lived Ashigara Prefecture before becoming part of Ashigarashimo District in Kanagawa prefecture in August 1876. Hakone attained town status in 1889. After merger with five neighboring towns and villages in September 1956, it reached its present boundaries.

Lake Ashi

Transportation

Railway

²  Hakone Tozan Railway

²  Hakone Tozan Cable Car

²  Hakone Ropeway

²  Izuhakone Railway

Hakone is best accessed from Odawara and Mishima, the terminus of the Odakyu Odawara Line, 70 minutes from Shinjuku, Tokyo. From Odawara, the Hakone Tozan Line continues into various resort towns in Hakone. Odakyu also runs the Romancecar limited express between Shinjuku and Hakone-Yumoto. From Gora, the terminus of Hakone Tozan Line, the Hakone Tozan Cable Car funicular goes to Sounzan. Owakudani can be reached by Hakone Ropeway from Sounzan and the lake, while the lake is crisscrossed by cartoonishly decorated "pirate" ships for tourists. There is also Hakone Komagatake Ropeway, which goes to the top of Mount Komagatake.

 The summer festival in Hakone includes a bonfire in the shape of the kanji 大 (dai) and fireworks

A popular "Hakone Free Pass", allowing unlimited use of most forms of transport for several days, is available. Hakone Free Pass can be bought in Shinjuku, Odawara and any other chief station along Odakyu Odawara Line.

Highways

²  Hakone Shindō

²  Japan National Route 1

²  Japan National Route 138

 Yellow Grass

Really cool looking yellow grass in Hakone

 Ship in Fog

The ship rests at a dock in the fog in Japan

 Small Japanese House

This small house in a village in Japan seems to blend into the forest

 Lakefront

The lakefront of a small lake in Hakone, Japan

 Nature Home

A home built into nature in a small town in Japan

 Japan Tourist Lake

Various boats, paddleboats and duck boats are in the middle of this tourist lake in Japan

 Small Japanese Town

A charming Japanese town in nature

 Japanese Hotel Room

A standard Japanese hotel room where you sleep on the ground and sit around this little table as you eat and drink tea

 Nature River

Buildings within the hillside along a river in Japan

 Hakone Tourism

Paddle boats and a few ships sit in a lake in Hakone. This is February so there aren't too many people interested

 Hakone Lake

A rocky shore along a lake in Hakone. Hakone is a city where people come to relax and go to spas

 Hakone Ship

A ship in a lake in the touristy city of Hakone

 Creek in Japan

A small creek with a tiny waterfall in Japan

 Japanese Village

A nice Japanese Village

 Dark Water

Dark water and a dark sky in Hakone, Japan

 Hakone Hotel

The entrance to a touristy hotel in Hakone

Creek Bridge

A charming bridge goes over this creek in a small Japanese town

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Write by: AN - Saturday, September 20, 2014