Introduction

Lake Ashi is the scenic centerpiece of the Hakone Loop — a stage that combines a mountain ropeway, a lake cruise on a galleon-style boat, and Hakone Shrine's famous floating torii gate. We reviewed two independent travel vlogs covering this stage and checked the historical claims, since the torii gate in particular has a more specific (and more recent) history than most quick descriptions suggest.

Hakone Shrine & the Floating Torii Gate

Hakone Shrine itself dates back to the Nara period, traditionally founded in 757 — genuinely ancient. The vermilion torii gate that appears to float in Lake Ashi, though, is a much newer addition: it's called Heiwa no Torii ("Peace Torii"), erected in 1952 to commemorate the San Francisco Peace Treaty, with a "peace" character plaque added in 1964 to mark both the shrine's founding anniversary and that year's Tokyo Olympics — its calligraphy was written by the former prime minister who'd signed the treaty himself. So the gate that gets photographed as an ancient, mystical structure is, in historical terms, mid-20th century — worth knowing if you're curious rather than assuming it's original to the shrine's Nara-period founding.

Hakone Ropeway

The Hakone Ropeway, opened in 1960, connects Sounzan and Togendai stations in about 30 minutes and passes directly over the Owakudani volcanic valley on the way, giving aerial views of the steam vents below along with, on a clear day, Mount Fuji in the distance. It's one continuous system, but most itineraries treat the Sounzan–Owakudani and Owakudani–Togendai legs as two stages of the same ride.

The "Pirate Ship" Cruise

The Hakone Sightseeing Cruise across Lake Ashi runs galleon-style vessels between Togendai, Hakone-machi, and Moto-Hakone ports, with the crossing itself taking roughly 25–40 minutes depending on the route. Both source vlogs specifically called out the option to upgrade to a special/first-class cabin for a modest extra fee (around ¥500 per person per segment) — a smaller upgrade than it sounds, and one traveller we reviewed described it as "definitely worth the money" for the quieter upper-deck seating and better photo angles of the Peace Torii and Mount Fuji as you pass.

Practical Tips

• Time your cruise for a clear day if you can — Mount Fuji visibility from the lake is genuinely weather-dependent, and both source vlogs noted the difference a clear sky made to the experience.

• The floating torii gate and Mount Fuji align in the same sightline from the lake on clear days, which is why this specific spot is one of the most-photographed in Hakone.

• If you're doing the full Hakone Loop, most travellers go anticlockwise by default — but going clockwise instead (Hakone Shrine/cruise before the ropeway, rather than after) reportedly means shorter waits at the ropeway and cruise connections, since it runs against the more common flow.

Sources and Verification Notes

The Heiwa no Torii's 1952 construction date and its connection to the San Francisco Peace Treaty — as distinct from the shrine's own 757 founding — were checked against shrine and historical references, since neither source vlog distinguished between the gate's age and the shrine's age. The ropeway and cruise operational details were consistent across both vlogs.