We made a very quick visit to Hakone in September 2019. We had only just arrived in Japan and We really didn’t know much about the area in advance. It is beautiful. We actually went to within a few hundred metres of the Chekpoint without realising it was there, when we visited the Onshi-Hakone Park, which was the site of an old Imperial Palace, where the emperors took vacations, on a small hill which has a great viewing point overlooking Lake Ashi. It was there that I proposed to my partner, Rosemary, just as Mt Fuji suddenly appeared from the cloud it had been obscured by until that moment. Perfect timing. Great place. We will return!
John thank you for your channel it provides us much entertainment wishing we could be visiting Japan right now with all that beautiful snow everywhere! You love the history of Japan head out to Matsumoto castle sometime my favourite place in Japan! Well wishes and safe travels from Australia!
I hiked along the Tokaido Highway back in 2019 with friends of mine, starting from this checkpoint. This has evoked a lot of good memories, along with the other streams. We stopped for a bit to rest outside the Amazake Tea House, too. A much-needed rest, since it was August, and quite humid outside. 😅 We hiked about 9km from the checkpoint to Tenzan Onsen. By that time, walking along those slippery stones of the old road completely messed up my right knee. Worth it for the memories, since my knee was okay about a week later.
Why especially check women's travel permits? Japan was (and largely remains) a paternalistic/Confucian society. During the Edo Period women were not allowed to travel alone. A male guardian was required to pass any checkpoint. A recent book I read recently illustrates these things wonderfully. The name of the book is Stranger in the Shogun's City. I highly recommend it.
