Curiosities

Today we leave Tokyo heading to Hakone.

After a final breakfast, it's time to pack the bags and visit the Emperor's Gardens. The sun is blazing from the sky - it's 32 degrees. One last look on Google for the route and behold, the Emperor's Gardens are closed on Mondays. That's unfortunate, but it can't be changed. So we set off right away.

We take the metro to Shinjuku station - from there a one-hour express ride on the Odakyu Line (similar to our suburban trains) to Odawara.

Here we switch to the Hakonetozan Line to Hakone-Yumoto Station and continue the last stretch further on the Hakonetozan Line to Gora.

The ride was a bit crazy. We started off, stopped after 5 minutes. The two drivers switch positions. The train goes back again. For context: the track is single-track, only at the stations are there 2 rails. Okay, we think, maybe we need to let a faster train pass. The drivers switch positions again and we head back in the other direction. It's slowly clicking now - the train sways up the mountain over serpentine paths since the track would otherwise be too steep.

In June and July, the line is also called the