Ultimate Guide on Hakone Tour
1. How to Get to Hakone？
Direct to Hakone: Romancecar (Starts from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo)
Transfer at Odawara Station:
You can take JR and transfer at Odawara Station and below are some lines you can take:
① Ueno-Tokyo Line (starting from Ueno Station and passing through Tokyo Station and Shimbashi Station)② Shonan-Shinjuku Line (starting from Ikebukuro Station and passing through Shinjuku Station and Shibuya Station)
③ Tōkaidō Line (starting from Tokyo Station and passing through Shinagawa Station)
④ Odakyu Line (starting from Shinjuku Station)
After getting off at Odawara Station, you can take Hakone Tozan Train to Hakone-Yumoto Station.
2. How to Take the Best Advantage of Hakone 2-Day Pass
Benefits of Hakone 2-Day Pass
Take 8 kinds of public transportation tools for free
With Hakone 2-Day Pass, you can take Hakone Tozan Train, Hakone Tozan Bus, Hakone Tozan Cable Car, “Kanko Shisetsy-Meguri” Bus, Hakone Ropeway, Odakyu Highway Bus, Hakone Pirate Ship, Tokai Bus.
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Discounts of taking Romancecar
With a 2-Day Pass with Shinjuku as the departure station, you only need to pay extra 1,200 yen to take Romancecar from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station, but please note that the return trip is not included.Discount on ticket prices of some tourist attractions:
You can get 100 yen ticket discount of Hakone Open Air Museum and 200 yen for Narukawa Art Museum.The Price of Hakone 2-Day Pass
The prices of Hakone 2-Day Passes differ based on which station of Odakyu Line you depart. For example, if you start from Odawara Station – the nearest station from Hakone, then the price is 5,000 yen, while Shinshuku Station 6,100 yen. You can buy the Pass at any station on Odakyu Line.3. What to see for a Hakone trip?
If you plan to visit Hakone in a day, then you can choose the below 4 attractions.Hakone Open Air Museum
The Museum displays authentic works of different forms like paintings, sculptures, and pottery works, by famous masters including Picasso. It is also like an amusement park due to its numerous entertainment facilities, such as a maze and a foot bathing pool.Lake Ashi
Go to Lake Ashi and have a cruising trip on the Pirate Ship, while appreciating the luxuriant green forests on the Hakone Mountains dotted with the red torii gate, the clear water, and the Mount Fuji further on clear days.
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Hakone Shrine
The red Peace Torii Gate at the entrance of the Shrine has always been the spot for visitors to commentate on their journey by taking photos. The dragon motifs appearing in legends and valuable antiques displayed in the Treasure House wouldn’t disappoint you.Owakudani Valley
Owakudani Valley enables visitors to learn about volcanic activities at a close distance. Watching the rising yellow sulfur gas, steeping on the rough volcanic rocks, and tasting unique boiled eggs cooked in spring water, all of these would satisfy your curiosity about volcanos.4. Recommended Travelling Route
Anticlockwise direction is recommended: Hakone-Yumoto Station – Hakone Open Air Museum – Owakudani Valley – Lake Ashi – Hakone Shrine. The reversed route is also admissible, and there may be fewer tourists along the route.5. Public Transportation Routes in Hakone
① Hakone-Yumoto Station – Hakone Open Air Museum: Hakone Tozan Train/ Hakone Tozan Bus ( Hakone-Yumoto/Outlets Line or Togendai Line)② Hakone Open Air Museum – Owakudani Valley: Tozan Train (from Chokokunomori Station to Gora Station) + Cable Car (from Gora Station to Sōunzan Station) + Ropeway ( from Sōunzan Station to Ōwakudani Station)
③ Owakudani Valley – Lake Ashi: Ropeway (from Ōwakudani Station to Togendai station) + Pirate Ship (from Hakone Pirate Ship Tōgendai Port to either Motohakone-ko or Hakonemachi-ko)
④ Lake Ashi – Hakone Shrine: Hakone Pirate Ship (from Togendai to Motohakone-ko)
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Togendai Station in Hakone
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6. Travelling Tip
The Last entry time of most attractions is from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and it is the same with Hakone Ropeway and Pirate Ship. In addition, given the changeable weather in Hakone, which may influence whether the Mount Fuji can be seen, so it is recommended to stay in Hakone for at least 2 days if you want to visit most local attractions. Also, spending more time in Hakone will help you better feel Hakone’s hot springs – the main feature of Hakone.7. More Minor Attractions along the Route:
If your traveling plan is 2 or more days, add some of the below sites. To guarantee your smooth journey, the order of the below attractions are arranged in one direction, you do not need to bother wasting time.Between Hakone-Yumoto Station – Hakone Open Air Museum
① Hakone Yuryo: 1 station from Hakone-Yumoto Station② Okada Museum of Art: three stations from Hakone-Yumoto Station
Between Hakone Open Air Museum and Owakudani Valley
① Hakone Craft House: Near Gora Station② Hakone Gōra Park: Near Gora Station
Another route from Hakone Open Air Museum to Lake Ashi
You can choose skip Owakudani Valley if you are sensitive to the sulfur gas there. This route can only be visited by taking Hakone Tozan Bus.① Pola Museum of Art: Take “Kanko Shisetsy-Meguri” Bus” from Gora Station and get off at Pola bijutsukan Station.
② Hakone Venetian Glass Museum: Take the Bus at Pola bijutsukan Station and get off at Hakone Garasu-no-mori Station.
③ Hakone "Rene Lalique" Museum: Take the Bus at Hakone Garasu-no-mori Station and get off at Hakone Lalique bijutsukan Station.
Note : To arrive at Lake Ashi after visiting “Rene Lalique” Museum, you need to take the reversed line of “Kanko Shisetsy-Meguri” Bus”, get off at Sengoku Station, and then transfer to Odakyu Highway Bus or Hakone Tozan Bus (Togendai Gora Line/ Togendai Line)
Between Hakonemachi-ko to Hakone Shrine
① Hakone Checkpoint② Narukawa Art Museum
These 2 places can be arrived by taking Hakone Tozan Bus (Hakone Shindo Line) and geting off at Hakone-sekisho-ato station and Motohakone-ko station separately.
8. The Best Sites to Appreciate Mount Fuji
① The Ropeway journey between Ōwakudani Station and Ubako Station② The Pirate Ship Journey approaching Hakonemachi-ko
③ Onshi-Hakone Park (You would pass by it if you get off the sightseeing ship at Hakonemachi-ko)
9. Where to stay in Hakone?
The main accommodation sites scatter around four areas: Hakone-Yumoto Station, Gora Station, Lake Ashi, and Sengokuhara.Around Hakone-Yumoto Station
It is the entrance of Hakone and often tourists gather here, so it is comparatively more prosperous. There are many restaurants, convenience stores, and hotels of different prices for you to choose from.Around Gora Station
The main railways of Hakone are here – Tozan Train, Cable Car, and Ropeway, so the transportation is very convenient here.It is surrounded by many mountains, such as Myojogatake and Sounzan, so you can appreciate natural beauty and enjoy the silence of mountains at night.
Around Lake Ashi (including Ashinoyu)
The advantage of living near Lake Ashi is that it is easy to see Mount Fuji, along with the senic Mount Hakone and Lake Ashi.Around Sengokuhara
Sengokuhara is close to Hakone’s many art museums including Hakone Venetian Glass Museum and Pola Museum of Art. Please note that Sengokuhara locates remotely and almost only buses are available there.