- Many years before, I had climbed Mount Fuji in a night full of rain, and without any views at the top at sunrise. When I see the weather forecast, I spontaneously decide to go to Hakone and climb Mount Kintoki for views of the famous Japanese mountain. I take the first Romance Car from Shinjuku station, a comfortable train ride towards the south. Indeed, the day is splendid, and much sooner than I expected, I suddenly see the unmistakeable white triangle of Mount Fuji through the window of the train. It makes me super excited, and when the train pulls in precisely on time at Hakone-Yumoto station, I walk to the street to catch the bus further up the valley. It fills up quickly, stops often, and ends up being very full. I have to struggle to get off at one stop before the trailhead, as I still need to buy some food and drinks. A short walk takes me to the start of the trail up Mount Kintoki, or Ashigara as it is also called. I am surprised that I see only very few other people: I had expected crowds on this beautiful Saturday morning.
- The trail starts through the forest, and although I had prepared for very cold conditions, I need to peel off most layers within ten minutes. The trail gets steeper, and I start seeing frost on the ground. A little higher up, even icicles. Still, sweat is running down my spine while I work myself up the mountain. When I reach some openings in the forest, I start seeing the views into the valley. I see slopes of mountains, I see Lake Ashi, and I think I even see fumes of volcanic activity on the mountain on the other side of the valley. I keep on pushing up, overtake always more people (where did they come from?), and suddenly reach the top at 1213 metres. There she is: Mount Fuji! An unobstructed view of the snowy giant, seemingly floating in the winter air. I tell myself that I have been on top of the mountain, without having any view, and wonder when I will climb her again. For now, I soak in the view. Fires are burning in the plains below, and they create so much smoke that Fuji slowly disappears behind a curtain of smoke. I am happy to have taken the first train, and pushed on hard to reach the top as fast as I could. I have a hot tea in the small restaurant, and when I get out, the mythical mountain has disappeared. She will not be back for the rest of the day.
- I have a short chat with a man who claims to be 86. He is wearing a T-shirt saying that he climbed Mount Kintoki more than 4000 times, and when I point in the direction of Fuji, he raises five fingers. I am deeply impressed. I now descend, and continue my hike towards the south. I can see the trail ahead of me, leading through fields of vegetation. The frost on the ground is melting, making the going always muddier. I start to slide, and am happy when there are rocky sections. Turning around, I get great views of Mount Ashigara (or Kintoki), which is a cone on the Hakone caldera. Sometimes, the vegetation is so high it feels like I am walking in a tunnel. Then, I follow the trail through the forest, and go always higher. I meet only a few other Japanese: they all wear bells to scare off bears. Then, I reach the top of Mount Myojingatake, at 1196 metres just a little lower than Mount Kintoki. It is time to sit down for a bit, enjoy the views, and have something to drink and eat. I can now clearly see the fumes coming out of the volcanic ground across the valley: the Owakudani area. It is time to descend to the village. Instead of going to the fumes, I decide to walk through the village of Miyagino to visit the open-air art museum in Gora. When I see the mountains from below, I feel the satisfaction of having climbed the Hakone caldera and have been rewarded with views of one of the most famous volcanoes of the world - if not the most famous.
