Lake Ashi fills the old crater of Hakone volcano, a long, narrow sheet of blue water ringed by forested mountains and watched over, on clear days, by the cone of Mount Fuji. The lake was formed when the volcano collapsed and a river was dammed, a few thousand years ago, and the surrounding hills still steam and bubble with volcanic heat. The whole area is a popular getaway from Tokyo, about a hundred kilometres to the east, and has been since the days of the shoguns, when travellers on the Tokaido road between Edo and Kyoto passed through on foot and horseback.
That history is still visible. At the southern end of the lake, near Moto-Hakone, stands a reconstruction of the Hakone checkpoint, the barrier where travellers had to show their papers during the Edo period, when the government kept tight control of people moving between the capital and the west. Close by, an avenue of ancient cedar trees, planted along the old road in the seventeenth century, still shades a stretch of the original paving stones. On the shore itself is the Hakone Shrine, with a red torii gate standing in the water, which is the most photographed spot on the lake. Sightseeing boats shaped like pirate ships cross the water, which adds a note of the absurd to the scene.
For riders, the lake is a stopping point rather than a destination, since the roads around it are busy and slow, and the crowds in summer and autumn can be heavy. The best riding is on the roads that climb away from it, the Hakone Turnpike and the Skyline, which lead to the viewpoints and the ridges above. The roads around the lake are narrow, winding and often shaded by trees, and the surface is generally good. Early morning is the best time, when mist floats on the water and the crowds are not yet awake. In the cooler months, the air is clear and Fuji is more likely to show herself.
There are restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops around the main landing stages, and the local specialty is black eggs, boiled in the sulphurous waters of Owakudani, the volcanic valley nearby, and said to add years to your life. Fuel is available in Hakone and in the lowland towns of Odawara and Yugawara, so it is best to fill before you climb, and parking can be tight in the high season.
Walk a little way along the shore at the end of the day. The light on the water and the quiet of the cedar trees are the best of Hakone.