For our second day we traveled back to Hakone using all the Free Pass types of transportation.
We started with breakfast at Hotel Tensei-en Odawara with lots of Western and Japanese style food. It was excellent and the chef spoke to me in English. We had a fantastic view of Odawara Castle from our table on the 14th floor of the hotel. It was a great start to our second day.
We used all the forms of the free pass transportation, taking the Odakyu line the to Hakone-Yumoto station, then Hakone Tozan Train, and the Hakone Tozan Cable car stopping at the Hakone Open-Air Museum.
I have probably made 30 plus trips to Hakone over the past nine years and never visited the Open-Air Museum. It was the highlight of this trip. Started in 1969 as Japan`s first open-air museum, it covers over 17 acres with over 120 sculptures and four indoor exhibition halls. The most popular being the Picasso exhibit and the Symphonic Sculpture, an enclosed tower of beautiful stained glass. This museum is well worth the 1600 yen entrance fee, and with the free pass you get a 100 yen discount. You can easily spend a half day exploring the vast exhibits.
After a nice cup of coffee at the museum café we moved on to the ropeway with a stop at Owakudani. At first it was very foggy then coming over the sulfur pits it became clear enough to see the steaming sulfur rising up into the air. The black egg stores were reopened and selling out very quickly. Hiro tried his first black egg and was very impressed. The pits are now open for tours with a guide and a hard hat.
We then transferred to the next cable car and headed to Togendai for a cruise on one of the pirate ships. After arriving at Hakonemachi-Ko port we headed out in search of some good food for a late lunch. Just across the street is Daimasa restaurant. The staff were super nice and the food outstanding. I had the seafood salad with avocado and it was so good. I will be visiting this place again on my next trip to Hakone.
We rode the Tozan bus all the way back to Odawara. Since we had not used our 2000 yen coupons we visited the information center to find some local shops. We ended up back at Minaka shopping center where we used the coupons for several Odawara souvenir items.
All in all, a great two-day trip close to Tokyo.
See link for Day One.
