15 Days in Kanagawa & Hokkaido – Day 04 – Hakone – Mishima Skywalk and Sightseeing Cruise

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The Mishima Skywalk is a relatively new construction: it was completed just three years ago, and its sole purpose is as a visitor attraction for Hakone: this longest in Japan suspension bridge offers visitors panoramic views of Mt. Fuji and Surugu Bay. Admission isn’t free – it’s ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500/¥200 for children – and by the time we’d reached the area after breakfast at Moto-Hakone, the place was bustling with visitors, both in family vehicles and also tour buses. Fortunately, the bridge is quite long, and I think the number of people who’re permitted to be on the bridge at the same time is also managed. As it turned out, there was also some sort of Minions carnival in the Skywalk park, so lots of visitors were dressed in their best yellows, and continued onto the carnival area that’s past the end of the suspension bridge.

Briefly, you do get a panoramic view of Mt. Fuji and the surrounding area. But for purists out there, it’s not a fully unobstructed view. The foreground is very slightly covered off by rolling hills, and – depending on where you’re at on the bridge – by antenna towers. More oddly though is that as we were departing the Skywalk park, I saw a new highway in construction. And around one highway bend just under a minute out of the Skywalk park, there’s a stunning view of the mountain that’s potentially even better than that on the Skywalk. The area seems closed to the public at the moment, but it’d be interesting to see how this viewing spot would compete with the Skywalk.

The Minions Run event at Mishima Skywalk the very day we visit.
On sunny and clear days like this, taking decent photos of Mt. Fuji reasonably easy.
See the antenna towers? That’s what I mean LOL.
At the end of the bridge is the Minions Run event going on. Check out the dudes in the costumes LOL.
The bridge is sturdy. There is still some gentle swaying about, but nothing that should make you feel queasy at all.

After photo paparazzing Mt. Fuji, it was another hop onto the bus to return to Moto-Hakone to hop up the ferry for a joy ride round Lake Ashi. There were just two minutes between the time the bus dropped off to the ferry departing, so we literally ran the just over hundred meters, and were among the last passengers to board before the ferry departed. The Victory ferry is themed like a pirate ship with mock cannons lining both sides of the ship. The ferry has two fully covered floors of seating that are nice and warm on a cold winter day, a third level that’s covered but with unobstructed views of the outside, and a smaller fourth level that’s open and a sort of elevated viewing deck. Our ride lasted about 35 minutes and took us across Lake Ashi to Togendai

We literally sprinted for the boat gangway!
Gorgeous view of Lake Ashi.
A more intimate look of Mt. Fuji, though also still obstructed by foreground hills.
Making a brief stop at Hakonemachi-ko.
The floating Torii gate, and in the distance.
Twin mast ship, though the rigging is really for show only. There are no sails on the boat, and it’s entirely driven by propellers LOL.
A decorative mock cannon at the ship’s aft to engage kids!
I reckon that there are between three to four of these ships working the lake, each of a different style and design.

Continued in the next post!