Lake Ashi

Ntendeni’s one beautiful morning at Lake Ashi.

Besides bathing in beverages and a limited budget, another reason why I wanted to visit Hakone was the Hakone shrine gate at Lake Ashi. Living in Japan, shrines and shrine gates are everywhere but this one was different. I was attracted to the shrine gate in the lake.

Hakone shrine

When many people think of  Lake Ashi, the first image that comes to mind is that of the Hakone shrine gate on the lake. Hakone shrine has a couple of shrine gates but the most fascinating is the one at Lake Ashi.

Ntendeni tried to take a centered picture in the middle of the Hakone shrine gate but the waves in the lake made canoeing difficult.

Ntendeni at Lake Ashi

Ntendeni woke up early in the morning to take beautiful pictures of the shrine gate without all the other tourists.

Pirate ships

Lake Ashi is also known for the pirate ships that give people views of Mount Fuji and Hakone shrine from the lake.

One of the pirate ships.

Mount Fuji

I was fortunate to see clear views of Mount Fuji for all the days I was in Hakone.

Lake Ashi

Ntendeni canoed against the waves to take the ultimate picture of Hakone shrine.