Hiking in Hakone

[Haley R]

Have any of you ever been hiking on your own in Hakone? I found two different websites with trails and we were planning on hiking on our own, but Dh just said yesterday that there might be monkeys that will try to steal our stuff lol. I don't want to be in the woods in danger.

Here are the two blogs I found:
https://www.natashathenomad.com/hike-hakone
https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/hakone-hiking-trails/

We aren't huge hikers, but like to walk on scenic trails. We thought this would be a fun thing, but now I'm wondering if we should book a tour and go in a group.

 

[MKTokyo]

I’m cracking up at the thought of you walking along when suddenly a monkey runs out of the woods wearing a ski mask & indicates that this is a stick-up.

You are highly unlikely to be mugged by a rogue monkey & you are also probably not going to encounter any bears, or whatever the perpetrator of the freak animal attack of the month will be by the time you arrive.

We do hike on our own but we are not very experienced outdoors people & some of the trails have actually been pretty challenging. I don’t remember anything bad about Hakone specifically but the last “it’s so easy!” trail we did was way more challenging than we anticipated & we almost got lost fleeing a mukade. I might have preferred a bear.

If you are used to uphill scenic trails & you like to be outdoors, you should be fine on your own. The monkeys can be a nuisance but generally are not dangerous. A wild monkey that lives in the woods and has no contact with humans won’t bother you at all because it hasn’t yet learned that humans will feed it instead of kill it. The ones that roam in the cities or live in tourist parks are way more likely to approach you.

So, bottom line, I wouldn’t hike a new trail all alone, but as a couple we don’t worry at all

 

[Haley R]

I’m cracking up at the thought of you walking along when suddenly a monkey runs out of the woods wearing a ski mask & indicates that this is a stick-up.

You are highly unlikely to be mugged by a rogue monkey & you are also probably not going to encounter any bears, or whatever the perpetrator of the freak animal attack of the month will be by the time you arrive.

We do hike on our own but we are not very experienced outdoors people & some of the trails have actually been pretty challenging. I don’t remember anything bad about Hakone specifically but the last “it’s so easy!” trail we did was way more challenging than we anticipated & we almost got lost fleeing a mukade. I might have preferred a bear.

If you are used to uphill scenic trails & you like to be outdoors, you should be fine on your own. The monkeys can be a nuisance but generally are not dangerous. A wild monkey that lives in the woods and has no contact with humans won’t bother you at all because it hasn’t yet learned that humans will feed it instead of kill it. The ones that roam in the cities or live in tourist parks are way more likely to approach you.

So, bottom line, I wouldn’t hike a new trail all alone, but as a couple we don’t worry at all

Haha thank you this makes me feel a lot better. Idk where Dh read about that but he looked generally concerned about a monkey taking his hat or something. Like his hat is equivalent to a mugger taking his wallet.

I had to look up what a mukade is. That’s disgusting! If I saw that I’d crap my pants. Are those common?

I’m kind of thinking we might still do a tour instead. Then we know we have less to worry about and hopefully will be taken to the more scenic routes

 

[3monkeys4me]

We didn't hike in Hakone but might if we go back through that way end of May/early June. So I don't know anything about monkeys there but when we were in Thailand in Lopburi monkeys did steal a water bottle from my backpack and my daughter's hair tie from out of her hair. It was crazy! I was so careful not to have any food on us as I had heard they will steal food but I hadn't thought about water or about hair ties. The monkeys there were very aggressive though and my youngest was terrified. So that is something I will have to look into more if we decide to stop in Hakone. I haven't heard of them being aggressive there in the tiny bit of research I did before so hopefully it isn't a factor.

 

[Haley R]

We didn't hike in Hakone but might if we go back through that way end of May/early June. So I don't know anything about monkeys there but when we were in Thailand in Lopburi monkeys did steal a water bottle from my backpack and my daughter's hair tie from out of her hair. It was crazy! I was so careful not to have any food on us as I had heard they will steal food but I hadn't thought about water or about hair ties. The monkeys there were very aggressive though and my youngest was terrified. So that is something I will have to look into more if we decide to stop in Hakone. I haven't heard of them being aggressive there in the tiny bit of research I did before so hopefully it isn't a factor.

Dh and I decided we are gonna do a tour instead. We’re only there for one day and then we move on to Kyoto. We’ll feel more comfortable with a group and a guide that knows where they’re going.

Are you going this may/June?

 

[3monkeys4me]

Dh and I decided we are gonna do a tour instead. We’re only there for one day and then we move on to Kyoto. We’ll feel more comfortable with a group and a guide that knows where they’re going.

Are you going this may/June?

As much as I dislike doing tours sometimes it just makes life so much easier when you are short on time. It is a very effective way to see a lot in a short amount of time.

And yes, possibly this May/June. It is a long story but we are moving from Guam back to the US mainland and one of my husband's closest friends is moving from the US to Japan right around the same time. IF all the dates match we will stop in Japan for a few days to visit with them since we wont likely get another chance to see them for 3-4 years. If the dates don't match then we are headed back to Seoul like we originally planned.

 

[Haley R]

As much as I dislike doing tours sometimes it just makes life so much easier when you are short on time. It is a very effective way to see a lot in a short amount of time.

And yes, possibly this May/June. It is a long story but we are moving from Guam back to the US mainland and one of my husband's closest friends is moving from the US to Japan right around the same time. IF all the dates match we will stop in Japan for a few days to visit with them since we wont likely get another chance to see them for 3-4 years. If the dates don't match then we are headed back to Seoul like we originally planned.

We don’t have a lot of chase points left but I saw you can book quite a few hakone tours through their portal.

We’re going to Japan May 28-June 15. This will be our first trip there so we are really excited

 

[MKTokyo]

Haha thank you this makes me feel a lot better. Idk where Dh read about that but he looked generally concerned about a monkey taking his hat or something. Like his hat is equivalent to a mugger taking his wallet.

I had to look up what a mukade is. That’s disgusting! If I saw that I’d crap my pants. Are those common?

I’m kind of thinking we might still do a tour instead. Then we know we have less to worry about and hopefully will be taken to the more scenic routes

They are so nasty & I hate them. They are more common than I would like to think about, by which I really just mean I see them 0-2x per year & anything above 0 is outside my comfort zone.

Anyone who sees one in public gets to yell "mukade!" & watch a scene much like the "squirrel!" scene in Christmas Vacation unfold.

They are basically impossible to kill and it's a bad idea to kill them anyway because the scent of a dying one can attract more. You just get out of its way or sweep it outside & try to forget they exist.

 

[Haley R]

They are so nasty & I hate them. They are more common than I would like to think about, by which I really just mean I see them 0-2x per year & anything above 0 is outside my comfort zone.

Anyone who sees one in public gets to yell "mukade!" & watch a scene much like the "squirrel!" scene in Christmas Vacation unfold.

They are basically impossible to kill and it's a bad idea to kill them anyway because the scent of a dying one can attract more. You just get out of its way or sweep it outside & try to forget they exist.

It is giving me heebie jeebies just thinking about it lol. They look disgusting.

 

[3monkeys4me]

We’re going to Japan May 28-June 15. This will be our first trip there so we are really excited

I'm sure you'll have a great trip! We have only done the one trip to Japan last October and it was a good trip despite some mishaps along the way. Our oldest daughter had been to Japan once before and will be going again with school in March. She loves it there.

 

[Haley R]

I'm sure you'll have a great trip! We have only done the one trip to Japan last October and it was a good trip despite some mishaps along the way. Our oldest daughter had been to Japan once before and will be going again with school in March. She loves it there.

I’ve read such good things about Japan that I’m thinking it’ll be an amazing trip. We wanted to travel somewhere clean and relatively safe and Japan fit perfectly. Of course it helps that they have two amazing Disney parks and the ghibli museum

 

[3monkeys4me]

I’ve read such good things about Japan that I’m thinking it’ll be an amazing trip. We wanted to travel somewhere clean and relatively safe and Japan fit perfectly. Of course it helps that they have two amazing Disney parks and the ghibli museum

DisneySea is my favorite Disney park and I have been to all but Shanghai. Honestly I have felt very safe traveling everywhere we have been to in Asia, even when I have been on my own with the kids. Wherever we end up stopping will be our last Asia trip for the next few years so it will be bittersweet for sure.

 

[robinb]

I loved Hakone. We did the Hakone circle route on our own but I don’t remember a lot of hiking. Only up to the sulpher pits where they boiled eggs. I do remember coming back on the boat pretty late. It was already dark in August.

 

[Haley R]

DisneySea is my favorite Disney park and I have been to all but Shanghai. Honestly I have felt very safe traveling everywhere we have been to in Asia, even when I have been on my own with the kids. Wherever we end up stopping will be our last Asia trip for the next few years so it will be bittersweet for sure.

We’ve only been to Orlando so I’m excited to try out some new Disney parks! We would try to fit in Disneyland since are flying out of LA but we’re already gonna be gone for 3 weeks

 

[Haley R]

I loved Hakone. We did the Hakone circle route on our own but I don’t remember a lot of hiking. Only up to the sulpher pits where they boiled eggs. I do remember coming back on the boat pretty late. It was already dark in August.

Did you have some pretty good views of mt Fuji?

 

[Haley R]

So I think we're gonna get the Hakone Free Pass that takes you from Shinjuku Station into Hakone and includes your transportation in Hakone. Does anyone have any experience with this? Looks like we will want to pay the extra $ to take the Romance Car

 

[jujubiee4]

DisneySea is my favorite Disney park and I have been to all but Shanghai. Honestly I have felt very safe traveling everywhere we have been to in Asia, even when I have been on my own with the kids. Wherever we end up stopping will be our last Asia trip for the next few years so it will be bittersweet for sure.

Hi curious if you did a Trip Report.

 

[Haley R]

We bought our hakone free passes today from the Japan rail pass website. It ended up being $98 for the two of us.