Hakone / Odawara - LIVE JAPAN

Hakone / Odawara:Overview & History

Known for the many unique and authentically Japanese pleasures it has to offer – hot springs and hydrangeas being only two of those – Hakone is abundant with historical sites and breathtakingly beautiful nature. There’s much to discover not just in Hakone itself, but around the city – ride the mountain railway called Hakone Tozan, climb in the Hakone ropeway, and explore the pirate ships on the waters of Lake Ashi!
Not far from Hakone lies the historic city of Odawara, which flourished as an important lodging town in the Edo period and thus offers many a remnant of the time of samurai to explore. The heart of the city is Odawara Castle, a particularly beautiful sight in spring when it is colored by Japan’s symbolic cherry blossoms, and crowned one of Japan’s 100 Remarkable Cherry Blossom Sights.