Back in September 2016, a buddy and I were in Tokyo, Japan for a 10 day visit. On one of the days towards the end of the trip, we had to get out of the busy city to visit a nearby town to see more of the nature that Japan had to offer. We decided to visit Hakone, and our experience to get there was an exciting adventure itself that I wrote about it separately here. Here are the top things that we did in chronological order:
Narukawa Museum
the Buddhist bodhisattva Jizo at the entrance at the bottom of the large hill
At the entrance to the area where Narukawa Museum was, there was a giant Hakone shrine and a statue of Buddhist bodhisattva Jizo. The museum itself is up a large hill and there is a covered escalator to get to the top where the museum is. Since I couldn’t use the escalator and there was no elevator, my buddy had to push my wheelchair up the roadway to the top of the hill. The wheelchair parking is located at the top by the museum entrance. Driving and parking there would have been the best way to visit.
one of the art exhibits
Once inside, we were given a disability price for both of us (1000 yen each person). Narukawa Museum opened in 1988 and has many paintings, glass-art, kaleidoscope and other artifacts. The main floor also feature the Panorama Lounge which has a 50 meter wide picture window showing Hakone’s natural landscape and Lake Ashinoko. It wasn’t busy when we went and it was easy for my wheelchair to get around. The views were really breath taking.
Panorama Lounge with a 50 meter wide picture window
There is a chair lift to take disabled guests to the second floor, but it requires transferring to the chair, so I did not bother using it. My buddy just went up the stairs to take a few pics for me of the 2 exhibits there. There is also a garden outside that is part of the museum. I didn’t go out to see it cause of the hills but my buddy did manage to go and get a few pics for me.
did not bother using chair lift to get to the second floor
attached garden at the back of the museum
Hakone Checkpoint Museum
entrance to Hakone Checkpoint
After Narukawa Museum, we walked/rolled on the main road for about 20 minutes to get to Hakone Checkpoint. This site was originally an inspection facility back during the Edo Period and visitors and packages were examined to confirm its safety. Today, the gate has been fully restored as a museum and a historical site.
one of the exhibits
They did offer a special disability rate of 400 yen each person. There wasn’t really a lot to see as there were just a few exhibits, a prison chamber and a lookout tower. It was easy to get around in my wheelchair and some displays like the rest tower and the guard station were reconstructed to make it seem like we were back in the Edo Period.
another pic
Hakone Sightseeing Cruise
waiting to get on the Royal II Pirate Ship
Our next stop was Hakone Sightseeing Cruise which was only 6 minutes walk/stroll from the checkpoint. The closest dock to the checkpoint was Hakonemachi-ko, where we boarded the Royal II Pirate ship. We bought the combo ticket with the Hakone Ropeway ticket that includes the roundtrip back at a cost of 3500 yen each person.
one of the levels of ship
The Royal II has 4 levels and there is an elevator that can take me to all the levels except the very top tiny viewing platform that is only accessible by stairs. The trip duration to Togendai-ko dock was about 30 minutes. The day was a bit cloudy but we did get to see a bit of Mount Fuji through the clouds.
view from ship
The views of Lake Ashinoko was amazing and we got to take a bunch of pictures of the views and the pirate ship itself. There were also statues of different pirates in various poses that we had fun pictures with. Once we arrived at Togendai-ko station, we took a quick ice cream break before doing our next attraction.
top deck
Hakone Ropeway
what it looks like from the outside
Hakone Ropeway is a gondola lift station that connects us from Togendai-ko station to Owakudani station where we will ride the Hakone Tozan Cable Car. We were warned that the air quality could be a bit smokey since we will be up in the air over the volcano. The gondola itself was quite spacious and was leveled to the floor so that I could be easily wheeled into. Each gondola could hold up to a maximum of 18 people but my buddy and I got the whole space to ourselves.
really spacious
The views were still a bit cloudy but it was still amazing that we got to see views that could only been had on the ropeway. We did see a partial view of Mount Fuji but the whole experience made up for it. I suggest going on a sunny clear day to get the best views but it’s all up to nature.
up and away
Hakone Tozan Cable Car/ Railway
After Hakone Ropeway, we used Hakone Cable Car to head back. Transit workers helped and push me inside the cable car to a designated wheelchair spot. It was really awesome that the cable car had the rail line literally through a bunch of trees. The wheelchair spot was right behind the driver and I got a perfect view of where we were going. We got to go up a steep mountain, which was like a fun ride at an amusement park.
wheelchair spot on the cable car
We had to then transfer to Hakone Tozan Railway to get back to our Romancecar. Again, transit workers helped me on the train by putting a portable ramp at one of the door entrances. Everyone really went out of their way to help me get my wheelchair to a comfortable spot.
great view on the cable car
My buddy and I had an action packed full and fun day in Hakone. From taking the Romancecar from Tokyo and Hakone Tozan Bus, we got to do so much is this little town. We got to visit Narukawa Museum, Hakone Checkpoint and saw Lake Ashinoko and Mount Fuji in different ways through Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, Ropeway, Cable Car and Railway. Best of all, everything was mostly wheelchair accessible and I would do everything again next time I visit.
getting the ramp ready on the railway
