Hakone: Pirate Ship Trip across Ashi Lake
After lunch, we boarded the Pirate Ship Cruise on Ashi Lake. On good days, besides the lake and surrounding landscape, the cruise offers views of Mt. Fuji. For us, that was not to be. We still took the cruise as it allows one to complete the Hakone Round Course, rather than doubling back on the ropeway.
The trip itself was interesting (we did not take enough pictures), and lasted about 40 minutes to Hakonemachi-ko (箱根町港) 🗾. You can stay on the boat for another nearby stop, but we opted to get off here and catch a bus back to Gōra Station (強羅駅) 🗾. The Hakone Free Pass covered the fees. The bus stop is very near where you disembark. We had to wait some 20 minutes for a bus to depart.
The Hakone Tozan Bus (H line) from platform 1 then took us up the mountain. Its line ends in Odawara, which was not our destination. We got off at Kowakidani Station (小涌谷駅) 🗾 where we could board the train back to Gōra Station (強羅駅) 🗾. This trip took about 45 minutes.
Inlay woodwork shop at Gōra
Back at Gōra, we took some time to explore the local shops and buy some gifts to take home. The area is quite famous for its inlay woodwork. We also walked around the area some more before returning to our Ryokan.