The Hakone Free Pass To Tour The Hakone Circuit

In my previous blog post on Japan, I wrote about taking the bullet train to Odawara so that I can do the Hakone Circuit.

What is the Hakone Circuit ? Hakone is about 1.5 hours away from Shinjuku station and is famous for its hot spring. Besides that, it is a beautiful country side and has the famous Hakone Circuit. To do the Hakone Circuit, you will be best served by the Hakone Free Pass.

Read more about it here: http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/hakone_01.html. The Hakone Freepass is includes return transportation on Odakyu Line (which is a private railway line), a ticket allowing you to get on and off freely within a specified area, and discount admission to various attractions in the area. With Hakone Freepass, you can also ride 7 types of transport in the area, such as the Hakone Tozan Line and the Hakone Ropeway, allowing you the freedom to thoroughly explore Hakone. The fun part is to go a full circle of the Hakone with the different transportation.

Get off the train at either Odawara or Hakone-Yumoto. From there, transfer to the Tozan mountain railway for the 50-minute ride to its terminus at Gora. At Gora, transfer on to the funicular railway up to the end of the line at Sounzan. Here, transfer to the cable car, which takes you down to the banks of Lake Ashinoko at Togendai station. To get across the lake, board one of the pleasure boats and stay on until Hakone-Machi or Moto-Hakone, from where you can take a bus back to where you started, at Hakone-Yumoto or Odawara. The-round-trip should take about three hours, although in the busy summer months, it might take a longer while.