Day Trip to Hakone, Japan

Back in September 2016, a buddy and I visited Tokyo to attend Ultra Japan and to check out the city.  After already spending a few days in Tokyo already, we wanted to get out of the busy city and visit a nearby town.  We had a free day just before the first day of Ultra Japan and thought about traveling to Hakone on the Friday.

Hakone

Hakone is a small town about 100 KM (60 miles) from Tokyo and is a part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.  It is famous for its hot springs, natural beauty and the beautiful views of Lake Ashinoko and Mount Fuji.  The town is very popular with tourists and we wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

Lake Ashinoko and Mount Fuji

Getting There

We stayed at APA Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Ekimae and had to figure out the best accessible way to get to Hakone.  There were some options like taking a taxi or a bus but we decided to take the Romancecar.  It is the name for a luxury train and is part of the Odakyu Electric Railway.  Seating is reserved and we had to buy tickets in advance.  We got on at the Shinjuku station and were to get off at the Hakone-Yumoto station, which is about a 90 minute ride.

Romancecar VSE

Romancecar 

wheelchair accessible spot for me

The Romancecar VSE came and it featured 10 separate cars and only 1 of them had the accessible seating for us.  The train was very fancy looking and had an open spot for my wheelchair to park next to my buddy’s seat.  It was easy to get around inside the train and I was surprised they had a good size accessible bathroom really close to our seats.

yes they do have an accessible bathroom

There was an option to purchase drinks and snacks but since we brought our own, we didn’t buy anything.  The views of Japan and the ride itself were great.  I always picture Japan as a huge city full of buildings, lights, and people, so it was great to see trees and nature during our ride.  The whole trip didn’t even seem that long as the time went by so fast.

one of the snacks we brought

one of the views from the train

What was really awesome about the VSE was that the driver’s cab is located above the passengers saloon.  This gives people a birds eye view out the front of the train.  It would have been neat to sit at those seats but unfortunately we were not in the front car.

front of the Romancecar

Hakone-Yumoto Station

Once we got to Hakone-Yumoto station, we were already super excited that we weren’t surrounded by city buildings and shops.  It already looked a lot different from Tokyo.  We saw one of the most popular hot springs and the surrounding greenery and homes.

just outside Hakone-Yumoto station

Hakone Tozan Bus

at the bus stop

After looking around a bit, we wanted to go a little deeper into town.  We weren’t sure if we should take a taxi or try taking the bus.  To our surprise, we noticed a bunch of buses passing by with a wheelchair sign at the front windshield.

portable ramp for the bus

We waited at the bus stop and waited for the next bus to pick us up.  The main front entrance into the bus had a couple steps so the bus driver opened the side door and attached a portable wheelchair ramp.  He even got another transit staff member at the bus stop to help tie my wheelchair down so it wouldn’t move during the bus ride.

getting my wheelchair tied down

It will be about a 30 minute bus ride to see our first attraction: Narukawa Museum.  Follow and like my Facebook page to see updates and see my next post about the top things we did in Hakone.  It was definitely easy and wheelchair friendly to get to Hakone from Tokyo and worth the trip see a closer view of Mount Fuji and check out some of the town’s top attractions.