Tokaido Walk (10) Hakone-Mishima (off Tokyo): May 4, 2011

I walked down the Hakone mountains to Mishima, the 11th shukuba station. It was more than 15 kilometers. The walk was rough like yesterday’s (Odawara-Hakone climbing).


I had a short climb from Hakone shukuba station to Hakone point. The point is the border between Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefectures (Sagami and Izu counties in old names). It is also the highest point in all Tokaido.

I walked up an old street which had cider trees in both sides. Unlike the lakeside cider street which was well trimmed, the street was not cleaned up and was covered with bushes.

The Hakone point is 846 meter high. I enjoyed a beautiful scene of Lake Ashi from a viewing spot nearby. I also saw a group of motorbike riders at the point.

The condition of the road was different by parts. It was surrounded by small bamboo bush in one part. I felt that I was walking in among walls made by bamboos.

The road was surrounded by young cider trees in other parts. Woodpeckers made sounds there.

Old cover stones remain in many parts. It was like an ordinal mountain trail in other parts. Butterflies flied and many unknown flowers were open in the ground.

It was cloudy again today. I could not see Mt. Fuji. (Pity!)

There appeared vegetable fields and farm houses when I moved around five kilometers. The villages in the mountain were developed in the Edo period.







I finally came down to Mishima city. TPine-tree street as well as mile stones remain in Mishima.
It is about 32 kilometers from Odawara through Hakone to Mishima. I was tired but felt good.