Things to do in Hakone
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Hakone
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Winter has the best Fuji odds, best onsen logic, and quietest cheapest midweek days outside New Year.
Spring brings cherry blossom by altitude, then fresh green and azaleas, with Golden Week the worst crush.
Summer is hydrangea season and cooler than Tokyo, but June to early July is rainy, foggy and Fuji shy.
Autumn has susuki from mid September then long foliage into late November, the consensus best season.
What's on
- Hakone Ekiden 2-3 Jan
Famous Tokyo to Hakone university relay that fills roadsides and closes roads.
- Lake Ashi Festival 31 July
Festival at Hakone Shrine honouring the lake's dragon.
- CAT Ladies August
JLPGA golf tournament held each August at Dai Hakone Country Club.
- Sengokuhara Susuki Festival mid-September
Festival marking the susuki pampas grass turning at Sengokuhara.
- Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu 3 November
Yumoto procession of 200 costumed figures recreating an Edo period lord's journey.
Best things to do in Hakone
Hakone Loop
Mountain train, ropeway, lake boat and bus in one scenic circuit, best done slowly with an overnight.
The Hakone Open-Air Museum
Large sculptures, a Picasso pavilion and a hot spring footbath spread across landscaped mountain grounds.
Owakudani
Steaming volcanic crater reached by ropeway, with black eggs and, on clear days, a view toward Fuji.
Hakone Sightseeing Cruise
Pirate style boats cross Lake Ashi between Togendai and Motohakone with the classic Fuji over lake view.
Hakone Shrine
Ancient shrine in dense cedar forest above Lake Ashi, with its red Peace Torii standing in the water.
Tenzan Onsen
Sprawling riverside bathhouse with open air pools at varied temperatures and big tatami rest areas.
Hakone Yuryo
Polished forest onsen near Yumoto with communal baths and bookable private open air baths by the hour.
Yunessun
Swimsuit onsen theme park with wine and coffee baths that families with small children tend to love.
Where to stay in Hakone
Gora
first trip, all-round base
Mid mountain hub for the loop, Open-Air Museum and restaurants, with ryokan at every tier.
Hakone-Yumoto
one night, late arrival, easy exit
Gateway town at the Romancecar terminus with the easiest trains and buses, at the mountain foot.
Miyanoshita and Kowakudani
heritage and families
Old resort village by the Tozan line plus Kowakidani family resorts and Yunessun next door.
Lake Ashi shore
the view
Dawn lake and Fuji chances and evening quiet, at the cost of restaurant choice and transport flexibility.
Sengokuhara
golf, Pola and drivers
High northern plain with wide skies, susuki field, Pola and golf, best with a car and quiet evenings.
Think twice about
- Sengokuhara or far lakeshore without a car
Not a safety issue, but sparse evening buses and near zero walk in dinner options strand evenings on a first loop trip.
- Odawara listings marketed as Hakone
Odawara is 15 plus minutes by train below Hakone-Yumoto, so a cheap bed there turns an onsen trip into commuting.
Best restaurants in Hakone
Tamura Ginkatsutei
Famous for tofu katsuni, silken tofu breaded like tonkatsu and simmered with egg and dashi, plus pork tonkatsu.
Hatsuhana Soba
Heritage Yumoto soba handmade in spring water, served cold with grated natural yam or in hot tempura broths.
Itoh Dining by NOBU
Teppanyaki forest house serving A4 and A5 wagyu and seafood on the iron plate in Nobu associated style.
Japanese Cuisine Kadan
Gora Kadan's benchmark ryokan kaiseki, seasonal and local with lake fish, mountain vegetables and bay seafood.
Takeyabu Hakone
Gallery calm lakeside soba house serving aromatic highland buckwheat as single plates or soba kaiseki, lunch only.
Bakery & Table Hakone
Lakeshore bakery cafe where the terrace lets you soak your feet in a footbath while eating buns and tarts.
Naraya Cafe
Converted station side building serving coffee, pizza and monaka sweets, with a free footbath terrace.
Gora Brewery & Grill
Craft beer brewpub with grill menu and rare evening hours, the default place for a group drink in Hakone.
Outdoor things to do in Hakone
Dai Hakone Country Club
Championship 18 hole course on the Sengokuhara plain, home to the CAT Ladies tournament each August.
Hakone Kohan Golf Course
Lakeside course praised for Fuji views, well kept greens and reasonable rental rates as an easier option.
Hakone Country Club
Older exclusive Sengokuhara golf name, often members and introductions territory rather than bookable play.
Mount Kintoki
Steep half day climb to a summit teahouse and the best close, unobstructed Fuji view in Hakone.
Old Tokaido Hakone Hachiri
Preserved stone paved Edo highway through forest from Hatajuku via Amazake Chaya down to Lake Ashi.
Amazake Chaya
Thatched teahouse serving sweet amazake and rice cakes to Tokaido travellers for roughly 400 years.
Mount Komagatake
Ropeway lifts you to a summit shrine and a 360 degree Fuji, lake and bay panorama for little effort.
Forest Adventure Hakone
Treetop aerial obstacles and ziplines in forest by Yumoto, session based for older children and adults.
Best hotels in Hakone
Gora Kadan
Hakone's most famous luxury ryokan, with kaiseki, tatami suites, private baths, pool and spa.
Gora Kadan Fuji
Newer Gora Kadan sibling opened in 2025 adding guaranteed Fuji views at the ultra luxury tier.
Hakone Gora Karaku
Modern luxury hotel three minutes from Gora station, all rooms with private open air onsen baths.
Hakone Gora Byakudan
Sixteen room sandalwood scented hideaway in woods, every room with a private open air bath and kaiseki.
Hyatt Regency Hakone Resort & Spa
International hotel in Gora with big Western rooms, fireplace lounge, onsen spa and two restaurants.
Gora Tensui Saryo
Well reviewed mid tier ryokan near Gora station with a bar and varied bath types.
Emblem Flow Hakone
Modern hostel guesthouse a short walk from Gora station with its own onsen bath, a rare budget soak.
Hakone Tenseien
Big polished onsen hotel in Yumoto with rooftop open air baths and rooms with private outdoor baths.
Is Hakone expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ¥17,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ¥34,000 a person |
| Splurge | ¥100,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Hakone Yuryo: weeks ahead
- Hakone Craft House: a few days ahead
- Dai Hakone Country Club: weeks ahead
- Hakone Kohan Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Forest Adventure Hakone: a few days ahead
- Fun2Drive: weeks ahead
- Gora Kadan: months ahead
- Gora Kadan Fuji: months ahead
- Top Gora ryokan and private bath rooms sell out two to three months ahead for peak weekends.
- Book Yuryo private onsen, Fun2Drive, Dai Hakone tee times, Itoh counter and Craft House glass blowing early.
- Confirm meal inclusion, dinner start time, check in time and dietary handling at booking, not on arrival.
Is Hakone safe?
- Owakudani volcanic gas can close the area and is a risk for respiratory and heart conditions.
- Watch heat and dehydration on Kintoki, moss slick Tokaido stone after rain, and fog when driving.
- Wash fully before onsen, keep towels and hair out of the water, and take short repeated dips.
- Carry small cash for mountain buses, small eateries, lockers and ticket machines.
Hakone travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Rushing the loop as a Tokyo day trip with queues at every node and no onsen stay.
- The Hakone Shrine torii photo queue, reported at up to two hours on peak days.
- Building the trip around seeing Fuji, which cloud hides on most days outside winter.
- Doing four museums in a day instead of two chosen well, such as Open-Air plus Pola.
- Arriving at Tamura at 12:30 on a Saturday instead of at opening.
Getting around Hakone: public transport and more
- Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto takes about 85 to 90 minutes with reserved seats.
- The Hakone Freepass covers the loop train, funicular, ropeway, lake boats and buses for two or three days.
- Use Hakone Carry Service or takkyubin for big cases and overnight with a daypack.
- Ropeway and boats wind down by late afternoon and buses thin after dinner, so base where you sleep and eat.
Who Hakone suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Hakone your trip
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