The lake torii
Red, in the water.
663highland — CC BY 2.5 · Daderot — CC0 · Bgabel — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0 · KΛNΛTΛ — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0 · Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France — CC BY 2.0
A crater lake in Hakone, along the southwestern wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano. It is known for views of Mount Fuji across the water on clear days, for its hot springs and traditional inns, and it lies on the historic Tōkaidō road between Kyoto and Tokyo. A sightseeing cruise has run on the lake since 1950, its boats styled as pirate ships, linking Togendai in the north with the Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi ports in the south; at Togendai visitors transfer to the Hakone Ropeway up to Ōwakudani. On its shore stands Hakone Shrine, said to have been founded in 757 on a mountain summit and later moved to the lakeside, its present form dating from 1667. Its best-known feature is a red torii standing in the water at the lake's edge, where visitors queue for photos, and a stone stairway climbs to it through giant cedars. Walking the lakeshore and visiting the shrine are free; a one-way cruise between Togendai and a southern port costs about 1,200 yen, per visitor guides. Mount Fuji shows most clearly on clear winter mornings.
Red, in the water.
Cruises across the lake.
On clear days.
Hakone area, Kanagawa Prefecture
Yes on clear days, most clearly on winter mornings; on cloudy, humid days it is usually hidden.