Hakone Shrine is one of the most famous shrine within Hakone. It is located on the South East side of Lake Ashi. It is famous due to having a Torii placed in the water and many tourists love to take a photo with the Torii. To get to Hakone Shrine, you can either take bus, or making several transfers via trains, cable cars, rope ways, and boat to get there. You can also drive to there since there is a large parking lot located beside the temple.
We made our way to Hakone Shrine after we got off the pirate ship cruise boat at the South end of Lake Ashi. It was a short walking distance of about 5 minutes to get to Hakone Shrine. There is a well maintained walking trail along the lake that leads to Hakone Shrine. We first walked up to cleanse our hands and visit the temple.
Many people there were buying the Japanese charms, or Omamoris to get some good luck. Some charms can cost up to 2000 Japanese Yen. There were also luck charms, or Omikuji that you could draw from the boxes. Omikuji ranged from 100 Japanese Yen to 200 Japanese Yen.
We drew an Omikuji from the box and got a golden turtle, which was quite surprising. We were only hoping for a piece of paper that would tell us our future fortune. It was quite interesting.
Afterwards, we walked down to the lake shore to check out the famous Torii built inside the water. There were so many people there and lined up to take photos one by one. We took a look at it but did not wanted to take a photo with it since the line was so long. As you can see from the photo, it would probably take like 30 minutes to get a chance to take a photo with the Torii.
Overall, it was an interesting visit to Hakone Shrine. Unlike other shrines that we have visited, this one was less crowded and felt very cozy. We recommend to visit this place if you have time and you will not disappoint.
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