HAKONE, JAPAN

OVERVIEW

• When: Total trip August 1-18, 2024. Hakone day trip from Tokyo on August 5, 2024
• Where (accommodations): The Prince Park Tower Tokyo
• Transportation: Air Canada from Boston (BOS) to Montreal (YUL) to Tokyo Narita (NRT). Romance train to Hakone with Hakone Freepass
• Sights/attractions: Lake Ashi, Hakone Shrine/ Torii gate in the water, Hakone Pirate Ship, Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani Volcanic Valley, Black Eggs of Owakudani, Hakone Open Air Museum
• Food/drinks: Woody’s, Coffee Camp

Hakone is a beautiful town that’s part of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and is famous for it’s onsens or natural hot springs. There is a lot to see and do, so if your itinerary allows for it, spending a night or two here could be worth the stay. We already had a jam packed trip and did not want to add yet another transfer to a new hotel, so we planned a day trip from Tokyo. After two busy days in the huge city it was nice to enjoy the countryside and to swap shiny buildings and flashy billboards to the lake and mountain views. But don’t get me wrong- it is not a slow pace day. If you are planning a trip to Hakone for one day, you need to start early and move around fairly quickly in order to make the most of it. For a well rounded experience I’d suggest doing something called Hakone Loop or Hakone Circle. You can do this in either direction- clockwise or counter clock wise and I don’t think it matters very much which way you travel. It will involve traveling by bus, boat, ropeway, cable car and train. Basically every mode of transportation except for the plane 🙂 . I told you it will be a busy day, so let’s start from the beginning. How to prepare and have an awesome day in Hakone step by step guide!

Getting to Hakone from Tokyo

I am sure there are other ways, but for us, traveling from Tokyo, the most convenient way was the train. We did not want to rent a car and drive in Japan. Nor did we want go with a bus full of people on a guided tour (zero regrets). Before we even landed in Japan we prepared in advance by purchasing tickets for the morning train. This allowed us plan out the day and to make sure we’ll get back to Tokyo for dinner.

Step 1– purchase Hakone Free Pass here. This will give you discounted round trip fare from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo to Hakone-Yumoto Station on Odakyu Railway Line. Hakone Free Pass also allows you to move around freely by bus, ropeway, cable car and even the scenic Pirate Ship across the Lake Ashi. Even if you are going to Hakone for one day (just like we did), Hakone 2-3 Day pass is the easiest, most convenient way to travel around and not have to worry about where to buy the tickets, stand in lines etc. You WILL need to have a working internet on your phone though. Once you activate the Free Pass, it will need to be showing a moving train with the bar code. After some time the site needs to be refreshed, so make sure you have data on your phone (we used Holafly eSIM and had unlimited data for $62 USD for over two weeks).

Step 2 for a small cost (less than $10 USD pp) upgrade your train to a Limited Express Romance Car. This will get you from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto Station in only 80 min. You will also be able to pick and reserve your seats in advance. The seats will be very nice and comfortable, trust me, this is the way to go! To book Limited Express Romance car tickets and reserve the seats go here. Remember, you STILL need the ticket, this alone does not give you access to the train. So first do step 1, get Hakone Free Pass, then Step 2 to upgrade and select your seats.

To enter the train station you still also need to scan your Travel card. How to add Suica on your phone, read my Tokyo blog post.

Seats- you WANT to be near the window, because there is a chance you might see Mt Fuji on the way over. We did not see it from the train, despite the seemingly sunny day. This mountain hides very well behind the clouds, so it’s pure luck when it might show itself. But to have your best chance, book the seats on the RIGHT side of the train leaving Tokyo. I reserved 4 seats for us on the Romance car and those were 3C and 3D, as well as 4C and 4D . We were in Carriage number 2, but unless you book the very first carriage with the viewing platform (those tickets sell out super early and super fast), it does not matter which carriage you are on. There are windows everywhere, so as long as you are on the right side, if the mountain is visible, you will be able to see it.

Check the timetable when booking, but we left on a 07:37 train from Shinjuku, arrival to Hakone-Yumoto at 09:22 am.

Everything is precisely organized in Japan. When you come to the platform, you will see it clearly marked on the floor where to form a queue to board your carriage. Everyone literally stands within the marked lines, I’ve never seen people this organized and polite in any other country.

Once we got off the train, we went straight to the bus stop that was marked as destination Moto-hakone. You cannot miss it, but if you can’t find it, just ask for bus to Moto-hakone/ Lake Ashi.

The bus ride is about 40 minutes and they run often, so if one is full, just wait for the next one. This bus is covered by Hakone Free Pass, so refresh your ticket page, show that to the driver and you are good to go. No eating is allowed on the bus, we tried snacking and were told quite quickly that it’s not permitted. Make sure to have your breakfast either at the hotel or on the Romance Car train- eating on this train is allowed.

Lake Ashi and Hakone Shrine Torri Gate

Step off the bus and stretch your legs- Hakone Loop has begun! Hakone Lake or Lake Ashinoko, also known as Lake Ashi will be on your left, so continue walking and enjoy the view.

On the clear day you should see Mt Fuji across the lake. By the time we arrived there were clouds on that side of the lake and the famous mountain was completely hidden. I was a bit disappointed, because the day was clearly sunny, but one thing even the best planning cannot predict is weather. We are here and we’ll enjoy the day regardless- Mt Fuji or not!

Hakone Shrine is a bit of a walk into the forest. We started towards the path to go up, but it was a super hot day and we knew we will see many more shrines on this trip, so we changed directions. Instead of walking to see the actual shrine, we went on a path along the water towards the Torii gate. This walk was easy and the view of the gate in the water was very pretty.

There was a long line of people waiting to take a photo right in front of this gate. We decided that it’s not worth our time. I simply went to the side, took the picture and we left. We know we were there. Who needs a photo of us standing under the gate to prove it? We saved probably at least 45min to an hour of time by skipping this line of tourists.

Pirate Cruise

From there, we returned back to Moto- Hakone Port– basically back the same way we came – via the path along the lake. We saw that the Pirate Ship (Hakone Sightseeing Cruise) is approaching, and we knew we will be taking it, so we (and by we, I mean ME) started running. Cosimo followed. Sean and Agne were walking. We shouted for them to hurry up and run. They ran. Then cursed, then ran more.

We arrived as the ship was literally detaching from the port, and left us dripping in sweat to wait for the next one. Nobody liked me at that moment very much. I still think had everyone ran faster, we would’ve made it. But I guess running in a 100 degree day is not our forté. Here is your lesson – start training before going to Japan! You never know when you might have to sprint. Kidding. This was really not necessary. The next Hakone Sightseeing Cruise arrived in about 30 min, it’s also part of Hakone Free Pass, so no new tickets were needed. We successfully boarded the boat, happy to report, not containing any pirates. There are a few places were you could start this cruise and depending on where you get on board, your trip across the lake will be 25 to 45 min. From Moto- Hakone Port to Tōgendai Port it was a smooth 30 min ride on the beautiful lake and surrounded by mountains views.

Black eggs and Owakudani Valley

Ok, that sounds weird, I know. But when in Rome…I mean in Hakone. Ok, I said step by step, so let’s go back to the ship and we’ll get to the eggs, I promise.

After being “released” from the non existent pirates and successfully crossing Lake Ashi, we got off at Tōgendai Port and went straight to the Hakone Ropeway Station. It goes without saying- Hakone Free Pass covers this mode of transportation as well, so we boarded without having to stand in line for tickets.

We took the ropeway to Owakudani Station and got off there, so that we could see the volcanic zone and have the black eggs I mentioned earlier!

Owakudani Valley is an an active volcanic zone, so you will see (and smell) sulfur steam coming out from the ground. Basically you can fart freely here- nobody will know it was you, because the air is full of sulfur anyway!

As soon as you get off at the Owakudani Station, you will not miss the signs for the famous black eggs. They really are regular chicken eggs, but cooked differently. First they are simmered in natural spring water for 60 minutes at a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. Then steamed at 100 degrees for 15 minutes in steel baskets. The water that they are boiled in contains sulfur and iron, which gives the shells their black color.

There is a belief that eating these eggs will give you extra years of life- some say 7 extra years! Truth or not, we all wish for long and happy lives, so we each had an egg. They were actually a perfect snack as we were getting hungry by this time anyway 🙂 !

We did not linger much more in Owakudani, but you could take a guided tour if you have time. Depending if the trails are open or closed due to the volcanic activity, there is a way to explore this valley on foot. We went back to the Hakone Ropeway and took in the scenic views from above.

Sulfur steam and greenish ground below was a pretty cool sight to see. We got off at Sōunzan station and, before transferring to a funicular, walked though cu―mo Hakon– a nice observation area. There we saw a kid having this cool drink, so of course we wanted to try it. It’s called “New Bell”and basically is a smoothie/milkshake with cotton candy on top.

It was sweet and delicious!

Hakone loop continues with yet another mode of transportation- Hakone Tozan Cable Car. It’s essentially a funicular which you board in Sōunzan to Gora. 11 min ride and you are in Gora station.

Lastly, you get on a Hakone Tozan Train for a less than 5 min ride to Chokoku-no-mori station. This train runs every 30 min, so if you miss one, it will be a bit of a wait.

Again, it’s also covered by Hakone Free Pass, so no special tickets were needed.

So now we traveled on train, bus, ropeway, cable car and another train! Time to walk around for a bit.

Woody and Hakone Open Air Museum

One black egg each and a sweet drink did not do much, so before going to the Open Air Museum we decided to grab lunch at Woody. It’s a small restaurant on the side of the road with an interesting Toy Story themed decor.

There is not much space, and when we walked in it was full with only one person working. She kind of sternly told us to wait outside (we read online reviews, some saying the person was rude). There were not many options around, so we decided to wait. It was an OK meal, not very gourmet, but not bad either. Sean’s order got mixed up, so he did not get the burger he was expecting, but we all left full, so we can’t complain.

Hakone Open Air Museum opened in 1969 and is Japan’s first Open Air Museum. There are a lot of interesting sculptures outside, some activities for the kids and a few indoor exhibits.

It is located in a beautiful area surrounded by mountains, so I would say it’s worth a visit while in Hakone.

We did not expect to see Picasso exhibit here, that’s for sure!

No photos are allowed inside that one though.

There is an interesting tower exhibit and we climbed to the top despite being hot and tired.

Nice views from the top, but we were running low on energy at this point. We saw there is a foot spa, so walked over there and took a few minutes to just sit and relax. Heat (even though less oppressing than in the city) can be very draining.

Last few sculptures on the way out and we are done sightseeing for the day!

Tenzan Onsen

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post- Hakone is famous for it’s natural hot springs or onsens. There are many to choose from- some are private, where you could book a stay for the night. Some public, like Tenzan. Many don’t allow guests with tattoos. We all wanted to experience traditional Japanese baths, but both Sean and I have tattoos, so our options were limited. I specifically searched for the traditional onsens that are tattoo friendly and Tenzan came up with amazing reviews.

Info on their board mentioned that if you have tattoos, they are OK with it, but you should be a ‘solitary visitor’. I am not sure what that was about, because once you enter, all baths are shared. They are separated by gender, so men go to men’s side, women to women’s. From there on, everyone showers and no clothes or any kind of bathing suits are allowed. There was no single person hot springs- there were a lot of women and we all went from hot to cold water, some relaxed outside of the water- everyone was naked, but nobody said anything about my tattoos (luckily).

No photos are allowed for obvious reasons and the place was very calm and relaxing. If you have any issues of being naked with other women (or men in the men’s side), then this experience might not be for you. My sister and I are from Europe where even mixed gender bath houses are pretty common (especially in Germany), so this did not bother us at all. It was very nice to just relax and soak in the water that’s suppose to have health benefits after a long day of sightseeing.

There is a restaurant on premises, but we still needed to return to Tokyo, so we did not want to stay in Hakone until very late. From the onsen we took a taxi to the Hakone-Yumoto Station and then we totally confused ourselves 🙂 . Sean was the one that said we should just take the train back. But after so many trains, busses and ropeways, we convinced him that we still need to take a bus 🙂 . That was not a good idea- we ended up taking a pretty long bus to Odawara station, where we finally took a train to Shinjuku, Tokyo. The correct way would have been to board the train straight from Hakone-Yumoto Station, so don’t make the same mistake.

We did not book a Limited Express Romance Car train back, so the journey to Tokyo was longer than on the way down. We did not want to have a set time to leave Hakone and regular trains run often (while Romance is a limited and less frequent schedule). I would say if we spent the night in Hakone, then return back would be on Romance train- the seats on that train were much more comfortable than the regular commuter train ones.

CONCLUSION

We did a clockwise Hakone Loop, which is the opposite of what most tourists do. I’ve read somewhere that going counter clock wise is a lot busier, so we decided to go this way (bus to the ship, cruise across the lake, then ropeway, cable car, train). Rather than starting with the train, followed by cable car, ropeway and ending with the cruise and then bus.

It was somewhat busy, but we never had to stand in any long lines, so I think this method worked. For sure Hakone 2 day Pass is a must for this trip. And yes, it’s a very timed and scheduled day, but it was still worth it. We got to see another side of Japan without having to pack our bags and check out of Tokyo hotel, which was definitely convenient. One more night in Tokyo and we are off to Kyoto! Stay tuned for more Japan adventures ahead!