Discover 9 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Hakone (Japan). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Hakone Shrine, Hakone Barrier, and Pola Museum of Art. Also, be sure to include Mount Hakone in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Hakone (Kanagawa).
Table of Contents
Hakone Shrine
Also known as: 箱根神社
Shinto shrine and museum next to a lake. The Hakone Shrine is a Japanese Shinto shrine on the shores of Lake Ashi in the town of Hakone in the Ashigarashimo District of Kanagawa Prefecture. It is also known as the Hakone Gongen.[1]
Hakone Barrier
The Hakone Barrier was a security checkpoint which was established by the Tokugawa Shogunate on the Tōkaidō highway connecting the capital of Edo with Kyoto in Edo period Japan. In 1923, the site was recognized as a National Historic Site.[2]
Pola Museum of Art
Also known as: ポーラ美術館
Museum in Hakone, Japan. Pola Museum of Art is located in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It opened in September 2002 within Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It houses the collection of over 9,500 works acquired by the former head of the Pola cosmetics group, including many works of French Impressionism and of the École de Paris. The striking building is by Nikken Sekkei. The museum added the "Pola Museum of Art Nature Trail" in 2013, a 670 meter long hiking trail along the museum grounds intended for museum guests to enjoy the scenery at Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.[3]
Address: Hakone, 1285 Kozukayama, Sengokuhara
Mount Hakone
Also known as: 箱根山
Volcano in Japan. Mount Hakone is a complex volcano in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan that is truncated by two overlapping calderas, the largest of which is 10 × 11 km wide. The calderas were formed as a result of two major explosive eruptions about 180,000 and 49,000–60,000 years ago. Lake Ashi lies between the southwestern caldera wall and a half dozen post-caldera lava domes that arose along a southwest–northeastern trend cutting through the center of the calderas. Dome growth occurred progressively to the south, and the largest and youngest of them, Kami-yama, forms the high point of Hakone. The calderas are breached to the east by the Haya-kawa canyon. Mount Ashigara is a parasitic cone.
The latest magmatic eruptive activity at Hakone occurred 2,900 years ago. It produced a pyroclastic flow and a lava dome in the explosion crater, although phreatic eruptions took place as recently as the 12–13th centuries AD.
According to the nearby Hakone Shrine, the Komagatake peak has been the object of religious veneration since ancient times.[4]
Ōwakudani
Also known as: 大涌谷
Geothermal valley with hot springs. Ōwakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulphur vents and hot springs in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was created around 3,000 years ago, as a result of the explosion of the Hakone volcano.
It is a popular tourist site for its scenic views, volcanic activity, and kuro-tamago (黒卵, lit. "black egg") — a local specialty of eggs hard-boiled in the hot springs. The eggs turn black and smell slightly sulphuric; eating one is said to add seven years to your life.
Upon seeing the hellish scenery, when Koubu Daishi visited Owakudani more than a thousand years ago, he offered prayer to Bodhisattva. The Enmei-jizo in Owakudani is said to have its origin in the prayer.[5]
Hakone Museum Of Art
Hakone Art Museum is the oldest art museum in Hakone, located in Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture. It opened on June 15, 1952.
Address: 1300 Gora, 250-0408 Hakone-machi
Okada Museum of Art
Museum in Hakone, Japan. Okada Museum of Art opened in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, in 2013. A private museum of Asian art with the largest indoor exhibition space in Hakone, extending over five floors, the collection of some 450 pieces centres on early modern and modern Japanese painting while also including Chinese bronzes, lacquer, ceramics, and Buddhist sculpture.[6]
Address: Hakone, 493-1 Kowakudani
Moto-Hakone Stone Buddhas
Also known as: 元箱根石仏群
Historical place in Hakone, Japan. The Moto-Hakone Stone Buddhas is a grouping of stone sculptures and associated tō, dating from the late Kamakura period and located in the former village of Moto-Hakone, now merged into the town of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The group has been designated an National Historic Site and includes a number of Important Cultural Properties.[7]
Hakone Ropeway
Lookout
Address: 1251 Sengokubara, 250-0521 Hakone-machi