Moto-Hakone (元箱根)

Moto-Hakone (元箱根) is the area on the southern shore of Lake Ashi in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, around the lakeside approach to Hakone Shrine. It has a sightseeing boat port and a short stretch of the Edo-period Tokaido highway lined with old cedars. On clear days you can see Mount Fuji across the water.

Moto-Hakone has no train station. The Hakone Tozan Railway serves the valley town of Hakone-Yumoto and the stations above it, so you reach the lake by bus or by boat.

Hakone Shrine and the lakeside torii

Hakone Shrine has stood on the shore of Lake Ashi for more than 1,260 years and is known as a guardian shrine of the Kanto region. Its Heiwa-no-Torii (Peace Torii) stands in the lake itself and is the most photographed spot in Moto-Hakone.

The shrine buildings sit up stone steps among tall cedars. Samurai leaders Minamoto no Yoritomo and Tokugawa Ieyasu both worshiped here. Entry to the grounds is free, and the Treasure Hall costs 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. The shrine is about 10 minutes on foot from the Motohakone bus stop.

The old Tokaido cedar avenue

A row of giant cedars lines the old Tokaido road for about 500 meters between Moto-Hakone and Onshi Hakone Park. Kanagawa Prefecture's tourism site says the trees were planted in 1618 on the shogunate's orders, and the biggest are about 350 years old and 30 to 40 meters tall. Most roadside trees on the old highway were pines, and cedars like these grow only along this part of Lake Ashi.

A guided private Hakone day with the old road walks this stretch of the Tokaido after a visit to Hakone Shrine.

Hakone Checkpoint

The Hakone Checkpoint (Hakone Sekisho), a short walk from Hakone-machi-ko port, is a reconstruction of one of the largest barriers the shogunate set up on the roads to Edo. It stood here from 1619 until 1868. Its task is often summed up as controlling "incoming guns and outgoing women," and in practice the guards checked women leaving Edo most strictly.

• Admission: 500 yen for adults, 250 yen for elementary school children

• Time needed: about 45 minutes

• Access: 2 minutes on foot from the Hakone Sekisho-ato bus stop, or 5 minutes from Hakone-machi-ko port

The Hakone Checkpoint visitor guide (in Japanese) lists group and Hakone Freepass discounts.

Lake Ashi cruises from Moto-Hakone port

Motohakone-ko is a stop for the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, with boats to Togendai-ko at the north end of the lake and to Hakone-machi-ko. The port building has the ticket counter, a waiting area and a shop. The Odakyu group's Hakone Navi notes that Mount Fuji can be seen from Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi-ko on clear days.

Moto-Hakone and Hakone Shrine are on the Hakone days of a 10-day Golden Route through Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka, along with Onshi Hakone Park.

How to get to Moto-Hakone

• From Hakone-Yumoto or Odawara: Hakone Tozan buses run to Motohakone-ko. One route goes via Kowakien and Miyanoshita, the other via Hakone-machi-ko and the Hakone-shindo road.

• To the cedar avenue: the bus from Hakone-Yumoto takes about 43 minutes to the Hakone Shisho-mae stop.

• From Mishima: Tokai Bus runs from Mishima Station via the Mishima Skywalk.

• From Togendai: take the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise across the lake.

Staying in Moto-Hakone

Moto-Hakone has lakeside hotels, among them Hotel de Yama and The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko, both close to the shrine. If you would rather stay on the railway, look at the Hakone Tozan railway terminus at Gora instead.