Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
294
Highway, which connected Edo (present-day Tokyo) with Kyoto. In feudal days, local
lords, called
daimyo,
were required to spend alternate years in Edo; their wives were kept
in Edo as virtual hostages to discourage the lords from planning rebellions while in their
homelands. This was one of several points along the highway that guarded against the
transport of guns, spies, and female travelers trying to flee Edo. Passes were necessary for
travel, and although it was possible to sneak around it, male violators who were caught
were promptly executed, while women suffered the indignity of having their heads
shaven and then being given away to anyone who wanted them. Inside the reconstructed
guardhouse, which was rebuilt on the site of the original checkpoint using traditional
carpenter tools and architectural techniques of the Edo Period, you'll see life-size models
reenacting scenes inside a checkpoint. A small museum has displays relating to the Edo
Period, including items used for travel, samurai armor, and gruesome articles of torture.
Open daily from 9am to 5pm (until 4:30pm Dec-Feb); admission is ¥500 for adults and
¥250 for children. Your Hakone Free Pass gives you a ¥100 discount. It shouldn't take
more than 20 minutes to see everything.
Just beyond the Hakone Check Point, at the big parking lot with the traditional gate,
is the
Hakone Detached Palace Garden (Onshi-Hakone-Koen),
which lies on a small
promontory on Lake Ashi and has spectacular views of the lake and, in clear weather,
Mount Fuji. Originally part of an Imperial summer villa built in 1886, the garden is
open to the public 24 hours and admission is free. It's a great place for wandering. On
its grounds is the
Lakeside Observation Building
(daily 9am-4:30pm), with displays
relating to Hakone Palace, destroyed by earthquakes.
If you take the northernmost exit from the garden, crossing a bridge, you'll see the
neighboring resort town,
Moto-Hakone
down the road. Across the highway and lined
with ancient and mighty cedars is part of the old
Tokaido Highway
itself. During the
Edo Period, more than 400 cedars were planted along this important road, which today
stretches 2
1
⁄
2
km (1
1
⁄
2
miles) along the curve of Lake Ashi and makes for a pleasant stroll
(unfortunately, a modern road has been built right beside the original one). Moto-
Hakone is a 5-minute walk from the Detached Palace Garden.
In Moto-Hakone,
Narukawa Art Museum
(
&
0460/83-6828;
www.narukawa-
museum.co.jp) is worthwhile and located just after you enter town, up the hill to the
right when you reach the orange torii gate. It specializes in modern works of the
Nihonga
style of painting, developed during the Heian Period (794-1185) and sparser than West-
ern paintings (which tend to fill in backgrounds and every inch of canvas). Large paint-
ings and screens by contemporary Nihonga artists are on display, including works by
Yamamoto Kyujin, Maki Susumu, Kayama Matazo, Hirayama Ikuo, and Hori Fumiko.
Changing exhibitions feature younger up-and-coming artists, as well as glassware. I
wouldn't miss it; views of Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji are a bonus. Open daily 9am to
5pm; admission is ¥1,200 for adults, ¥900 for high-school and university students, and
¥600 for children.
11
WHEN YOU'RE DONE SIGHTSEEING FOR THE DAY
Buses depart for Hakone Yumoto and Odawara from both Hakone-machi and Moto-
Hakone two to four times an hour. Be sure to check the time of the last departure;
generally it's around 8pm, but this can change with the season and the day of the week.
(The bus also passes two of the accommodations recommended below, The Fujiya Hotel
and Ichinoyu, as well as Yunessun hot-spring baths; another bus will take you to Fuji-
Hakone Guest House.) Otherwise, the trip from Moto-Hakone takes approximately 30
