Hakone
Hakone is a popular tourist destination famous for hot springs, views of Mount Fuji and the Hakone Shrine with its iconic Tori gate. If you love nature then this is a great side trip from Tokyo with plenty to keep you occupied.
| The Good | The Not-So Good |
| Stunning Natural Beauty | Quite touristy |
| Easy access from Tokyo | Expensive |
Hakone is an obvious choice for those eager to experience the unique aspects of Japan without the hassle of traveling to far flung places unfamiliar with tourists. Hakone is very tourist friendly and a popular destination for Japanese (so never go here during the public holidays) and there is plenty to do so an overnight stay at a Hot Spring resort is well worth your time.
For details of how crowded Hakone gets, check out this page. There is also a detailed congestion calendar that covered April to December (avoid red and orange days – January to March is off season so there are few tourists).
How to get to Hakone
This is actually more complicated that simply “take a train to x” because the major train company that serves Hakone is not JR, so the JR pass will not get you directly to where you need to go. You may also need to change at Odawara Station, then again at Hakone-Yumoto Station for a local train or bus into the heart of Hakone and places you actually want to visit.
There are two routes into Hakone from Tokyo; The JR route using the Shinkansen, and the Odakyu route express trains (JR Pass is not valid for travel).
For JR Pass holders
Take the Kodama Shinkansen from Tokyo Station and change at Odawara Station for Hakone-Yumoto station. You can buy a Hakone Free pass at Odawara Station which will cover the costs from there on.
For non JR Pass holders
Buy an Hakone Free pass at the Odakyu station in Shinjuku and take the direct Odakyu Express from Shinjuku bound for Hakone-Yumoto. You can also take other express trains and change at Odawara. Don’t bother with the Romance Car (Shinjuku to Hakome-Yumoto) unless you want the comfort of reclining seats (or have a load of luggage) as they are not that frequent and are barely quicker that the regular express train (plus you pay extra).
Travel around Hakone
This pamphlet gives you everything you could possible want to know about travel around Hakone and is pretty indecipherable due to the sheer amount of information. Basically, the classic tour is on page 6 of the pamphlet and is your best bet for a day’s activities, except you won’t get the Romancecar as it is a waste of money (just take a regular express train or use the Shinkansen with your JR pass).
Basically you do Hakone in a big anti-clockwise circle starting and finishing in Hakone-Yumoto station. Clockwise is also fine.
Hakone-Yumoto Station to Gora Station
Once at Hakone-Yumoto station the Hakone Free pass will get you unlimited travel around the area on all transportation. There are buses from Hakone-Yumoto station to nearby(ish) Gora station (you walk the last 20 minutes up a slope). The Odakyu Hakone tourist website has its own route finder for travel around the Hakone area, so use that (or use Google Maps, the data is the same).
Things to do in Hakone
Closure of Rope-way and Owakudani?
As Hakone is an active volcanic area sometimes the ground becomes a bit too dangerous for people to enter close to active vents. Check here for the latest alerts. If the rope-way is closed then your plans may be ruined, so check ahead.
Some locations have their own article and some are listed below
Owakudani
As part of a Hakone tour, Owakunidani is a popular stop to enjoy the sulfurous fumes (is enjoy the correct word?) from an active volcanic vent. Plenty of tourists chomp on the black eggs, boiled in the hot pools.When JapanTweet The GoodThe Not-So GoodActive volcanic vent?Stinky and often crowdedEasy accessSometimes…
- Hakone Ropeway – Great views of the area including Mount Fuji
- Komagatake Ropeway (map) – a private rope-way with almost zero English information available and is not covered by the Hakone Free Pass.
- Hakone Shrine
- Lake Ashinoko sightseeing cruise
Other plans for your time at Hakone
Do stay the night in Hakone if you can afford the price of the hotels but don’t expect anything under ¥10,000 a night (for a basic hotel room). If you can afford it, by all means have your hot spring resort experience in Hakone. However, there are cheaper options elsewhere in Japan. Staying overnight does allow you to fully utilize the Hakone Free pass and there are example itineraries on the Odakyu website.
Close by are the Gotenba Outlet park and Kawaguchiko Lake, which are covered by the Fuji-Hakone free pass. While travel between all these places is not the easiest, buses are available and could be part of a 2 or 3 day tour.
You can also travel from or to the Izu Peninsula from here. You will find the hot spring reports and hotels a bit cheaper, at least around the perimeter of the peninsula, which is less easy to get to The center area tends to get very expensive due to the ease of access.
