Hakone Hiking Trail―Hakone-jinja Shrine and Old Tokaido (東海道)

The following trip is designed for a one-day hiking around Lake Ashinoko area with the following itinerary:

Hakone Visitor Center ― (15 min.0.8 km) →
Togendai Port ― (50 min.8 km) →
Moto-Hakone Port ― (10 min.0.7 km) →
Hakone-jinja Shrine ― (35 min.1.8 km) →
AMASAKE-CHAYA (Tea House)

In this article, we assume you will use Hakone Freepass and all transportation fees should be covered.

Click to Enlarge (North points to Up)^[4]

Hakone Visitor Center

Before you proceed to Togendai Port, you may want to consider spending some time on the walking course around Hakone Visitor Center. Around the course, visitors can enjoy bird watching and strolling as far as the lake shore.

Click to Enlarge (North points to Left, not Up)^[1]

Lake Ashinoko

The best views of the lake in combination with Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from:^[3]

Moto-Hakone (a few steps south from the sightseeing boat pier)
Hakone Detached Palace Garden
Sightseeing boats cruising the lake

Old Tokaido (東海道) Hiking

From Moto-Hakone Port, you walk along lake shore to Hakone-Jinja Shrine (roughly 10 mins). Then take the paved Old Tokaido (東海道) to arrive Amasake-Chaya, which is a tea house with a 400-year history:^[1]

With its distinctive thatched roof, it has been known since the times of old for its amazake (sweet fermented rice drink) and mochi (Japanese rice cake). There used to be four tea houses in this vicinity, where a great many travelers are said to have found rest and refreshment. As a reward for the long walk, why not have a drink of amazake, and while enjoying it, take a rest and let yourself slip back in time to the Edo period.

After enjoying your stay at Amasake-Chaya, you can either leave with bus Line K or keep on hiking down to Yumoto (1h 55m).