Hakone 2019: Sengokuhara Pampas Grass Field (仙石原すすき草原)

Having come down from Owakudani, I next caught a bus that took me a few minutes down the road to the Sengokuhara Pampas Grass Field. This large field of pampas grass is on the western slope of Mt Hakone and a walking trail cuts right through the middle of it. Fields of pampas grass are particularly scenic in the summer and autumn when the grass is in bloom and turns various shades of gold and silver, but I was unfortunately in Hakone too close to winter and all the grass was brown and dying. The rain was still coming down as I strolled along the walking trail and when I got to an area that had been closed off I turned around and headed back towards the bus stop. At some point I’ll need to come back to Hakone at a different time of year to see this field in all its glory.