Hakone 2019: Cruising Lake Ashinoko

When I got back to Togendai Station I went down to the pier to catch one of the sightseeing boats that cruises around Lake Ashinoko. The are two different companies that have sightseeing boats at the lake and my Hakone Free Pass was valid for the company whose boats look like old sailing ships.

Another sightseeing boat pulled up to the pier as I was walking out towards the ship I would be boarding. There are three of these types of boats cruising around Lake Ashinoko and each one is a different color. I would be boarding the golden ship on the right.

The rain and the wind hadn’t died down but I stayed up on the deck for almost the entire ride to Hakone-machi at the southern end of the lake. There would be no scenic views of Mt Fuji that day but I enjoyed the cruise in spite of the bad weather. Many of the trees along the lake still had their autumn leaves, which added a bit of color to the gray scenery. A sunny day would have been ideal but you can’t control the weather so sometimes you just have to make do with the day you’re given.