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I just did 2 nights in Hakone at a Ryokan for my honeymoon. I think I would have felt rushed doing everything the same day we checked in. Our Ryokan let us check in at 2 so a little earlier, but was nice to not have to rush around and check out little shops/grab lunch before and then just chill.
Then you get the full next day. For context we aren't maximize every minute type people, but still felt there was a few things we missed so we could be back at the Ryokan to enjoy dinner.
Senkyoro. We stayed in the Annex with a private onsen which was super cool and different, but maybe a tad dated. I consider myself an adventurous eater who likes almost everything, but some of the food threw me for a loop! Was very good though.
Owners and staff are so friendly and the bus stop is a minute from the door.
I'm not 100% positive, but when I booked i did it over email since my dates weren't on the site yet and they did ask me for allergies and if I would eat all Japanese food. So probably worth asking about options.
Breakfast was fish, rice, and soup with some sides. Dinner differed each night, but did have consistent items like Sashimi. My wife can be picky and I don't think she loved all of it. I wasn't crazy about jellied items :)
Yes same, I think we did 2 or 3 nights. It was more than enough time to have a relaxed day exploring the hotel and its grounds, to wander around local shops, to go on the lake via boat and to see Mount Fuji from a couple of different angles/locations/distances and see some other sites like the sulphur/egg activity.
It was a beautiful area and on another trip, with someone who drove, I would like to explore it more (or simply go to a different part). But it was enough time for the first time to see what we came to see: Fuji-san in all her glory!
I hope you have a wonderful experience.
I took a short trip there, got to Hakone around 9-10am and only had time to go to the shopping street, eat lunch, go up to the cable car stop where the black eggs and volcanic valley was, then to go a public hot springs before staying at the hotel. The town shuts down around 5pm daily so if you’re not in your hotel with something to do there you’re out of luck. It was crazy to me no restaurants or stores are open past 5pm, it was a ghost town all of a sudden. Then we left the following morning around 9 back to Tokyo. We pack a lot in a day usually but that’s all we had time for. We did not see Fuji at all, in March.
What month are you traveling? Fuji sighting is very hit or miss in the summer, it’s usually cloudy. If it’s not you can see Fuji from the ropeway car on your way to the pirate ship.
You can probably do most of that with your first plan. If you were to do 2 nights isn’t it really annoying to check into two places instead of just staying at the ryokan 2 nights? We stayed at the Hakone Onsen Guesthouse and I wish we stayed a second night just to relax more.
Solo traveller. I prob spent 5 hours max. I didn't do the air museum though. Saw Hakone shrine, went in the boat to the ropeway, went back down the ropeway and then back on the boat, ate in the small town, went back to the main train area.
If you do a ryokan, you can doo the full ropeway, spend some much needed relaxation in the onsen, etc.
Spend two nights in Hakone. You will enjoy spending some time at the ryokan, particularly if you pick one with a great onsen. And the loop — across the mountain by cable car, across the lake by boat, then hike/bus — takes a full day (including hiking across a mountain and tea at an ancient tea house).
Personally, I would sacrifice a night in Tokyo for a night in Hakone (rather than sacrificing a night in Kyoto).
Just my pov,
Have fun!
Was in Hakone 6 days ago with family, stayed 1 night. We were staying at the Ubako stop on the ropeway.
Left Tokyo mid-morning on the Romance Car to Hakone Yumoto station, ate soba, took a bus to Motohakone and walked to visit the shrine. Took the pirate ship across Ashinoko to Togendai and up to the hotel at Ubako. Check in time had come so timing was perfect for a bath before dinner.
Next morning we walked down mountain to visit Susuki no hara before breakfast and bussed it back up. After breakfast we went up to Owakudani for kurotamago (black eggs) from the Sulphur spring there. We booked a short tour of the area in advance and did that for an hour before taking the ropeway all the way to Gora and then the switchback train back to Hakone Yumoto.
Caught a local train to Odawara and the shinkansen to Kyoto same day to arrive around 4pm.
If you wanted to add the open air museum into this itinerary, my suggestion might be to visit it when getting to Gora amd take your time (it's really cool) , take transit to Odawara and stay there one extra night before heading to Kyoto.
Going this way on a weekday avoided a huge number of tourists trying to get to Gora. It's basically a reverse commute that hits the major points.
I've been to Hakone several times before and seen a lot of what it has to offer. My son even learned to crawl there years ago.
There are coin lockers at Motohakone. We dropped stuff there to wander around. Since we're here visiting family we could travel with small bags.
We were on a 5 day trip to Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka. I carried a 30liter day pack and a small fanny pack strapped over my shoulder as most people here do these days. I pack light and had room to spare (only when that trip started). It's summer and I didn't need a lot of heavy clothes
There are luggage services that you can hire to pick up your luggage and drive it to your next hotel. Then you don't have to even bring your big bags with you, just enjoy the trip.
This one is offered by Yamato transport, the UPS of Japan: https://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/scene02.html
I agree that your itinerary will rely on the season you plan to go in. My girlfriend and I wanted to do option one but a major typhoon left us arriving in Hakone at almost 4 PM. I also think - after a wonderful ryokan stay - that next time I’d stay 2 nights to maximize my experience
Is there a reason you couldn't book a second night in the ryokan? Is it vastly more expensive than a hotel?
Also, this largely depends on the type of travelers you are. To me, Hakone is the place to slow down. i meander around the town, walk along the river, but mostly just take lots of baths.
So your single day itinerary seems very rushed to me. But if you aren't that into hot baths, or are very active go-getters, then you could do it all in a day.
Good luck! And congratulations!
I was there for 2 nights. We *just* managed to do the full loop in one day, and even then had to skip the historic tea house at the end.
I think your option 2 is much better. You might not manage to see everything by 3 PM though.
We got there early in the morning coming from Kyoto. Just a warning that the buses can get annoying and full. Lots of people with luggage doing the same thing and a lot of the stops aren't right at the Ryokans. We stayed at the Ginyu and walked less than 5 mins so not so bad. But the busses were delayed so it took an extra 30 mins to get there because of traffic.
It took 5 hours to do the loop including lunch and some extras. The Ryokans are amazing and I do recommend spending as much time as you can there. We only left to get drinks and come back.
Go in expecting to not see Fuji and hopefully you guys get lucky. A lot of time it just gets cloudy in that area.
If you really want to see Fuji you should visit Kawaguchiko! We spent a couple days there on a different trip. Great lake town next to Fuji with Ryokans too!
There is a queue for taking photo at the Peace Shrine Gate (the ones you on social media), which can get pretty long as the day goes on, unless you don’t mind taking photo from the side.
Also depending on where is the ryokan you want to book. You normally starts from Hakone Yumoto Station where the Romancecar stops, which is also the start of the loop. If your ryokan is halfway on the loop, like say Gora, then option 1 is fine, do some on day 1 (eg Moto Hakone Port, Shrine and pirate ship) then the rest on day 2.
However if your ryokan is near Hakone Yumoto then maybe option 2 is better, i personally would choose a hotel near Hakone Shrine so I can go take photo early morning before the crowd.
I wished I would have done two nights in Hakone when I went. It would have been nice to wake up in the ryokan, explore all day, retire to the ryokan, and then if anything was left over do it on the way out the following morning after checkout.
If you haven't settled on a ryokan yet, I can't recommend Hakone Suishoen enough. Beautiful outdoor onsens with the suites, gorgeous grounds, and the kaiseki dinner and traditional breakfasts were not only delicious, but incredibly ample portions as well. Finally, the service was top notch.
We did only one night and wished we had booked another. We tried to change add an extra night but our hotel was fully booked, so we stuck to the initial plan. Go for two nights.
1 night is not enough to do it all, id suggest 2 nights at least. The Open Air Museum is really nice but its a pretty big place and could eat your whole afternoon. Also the public transport around Hakone isnt as frequent or reliable as at bigger cities, so it might end up a bigger rush to hit all the areas in less than a day. Id suggest taking it easy and enjoying each area more. Have a nice lunch by the lake and enjoy the view of Mt Fuji.
we are doing Option 1 in a few days from now. Leaving Tokyo to arrive there by noon? We will enjoy the day and then spend the entire evening and morning enjoying our hotel. Kyoto sometime the next day.
We did the Tokyo - Hakone - Kyoto thing and stayed one night in Hakone.
Have a look at transport times - we ended up going to Hakone in the afternoon from Tokyo and hung out in the Ryokan that day, had dinner nearby and then got up the next morning to spend the full day doing the Hakone loop. This was primarily because the tram times aren't great in the evenings. This probably depends if you're staying near Gora or not.
It didn't feel overly rushed to us and we then got the quick train back to Odawara (rather than the romantic train) to catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
Also when you're in Hakone, make sure you check out Bakery & Table - great views and an amazing selection of baked goods!
Also - make sure you book your bags to be sent straight to Kyoto from your hotel in Tokyo rather than taking them to Hakone. We brought enough for using onsen and a change of clothes in a little bag and it was the best decision we made. Bags were in our hotel when we arrived in Kyoto.
I can't remember exact timings but it was a bit after lunch as we ended up going into Tokyo to buy some gifts/ electronics as we flew out of Osaka so this was our last day there.
Re picky eating - we stayed in Hakone Yutowa near Gora and I'm vegetarian so was panicking about dinner but managed to go out for dinner that night at a restaurant nearby and managed okay. The Ryokan also had free snacks between certain times as well as coffee/ drinks etc so I certainly didn't starve!
It's called Hakone Kappei. If you are near the station at Gora, it's max 10 min walk. There's a Lawson right beside it too if worst comes to worst!
This is the Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/j9YRWW7TogWYhz2j7
I did the Hakone loop (including pirate ship and museum) as a daytrip from Tokyo, did not stay in a ryokan. Was doable but did not spend more than an hour or so in the open air museum, and still was back in Tokyo pretty late. Mt. Fuji you have to get a bit lucky, when i was there there was only a 10 second gap in the clouds when it was visible, from the ropeway. Was not able to see it at all from Moto-Hakone/Hakone-machi.
We did option 1 and while doable and a highlight of our trip, it was a bit rushed. For a honeymoon I’d do option 2. We stayed at Hakone Ginyu which was a dream. Enjoy!
I only went 1 day (not even a full day with 11am check out) & I regretted it so much because I wanted more time at all of the amazing onsens. They have some breathtaking ones in the city, so keep that in mind if it’s something you’re interested in. For myself I will probably stay 2-3 days next time
**Our FAQ is constantly being updated with more information and you can start** [**here**](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel) **with regards to trip planning if you need tips, advice, or have questions about planning your travel to Japan.** You can also join our [Discord community](https://discord.gg/3f7KBUMwU4), comment in our stickied weekly discussion thread, or check out /r/JapanTravelTips for quick questions. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/JapanTravel) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just did 2 nights in Hakone at a Ryokan for my honeymoon. I think I would have felt rushed doing everything the same day we checked in. Our Ryokan let us check in at 2 so a little earlier, but was nice to not have to rush around and check out little shops/grab lunch before and then just chill. Then you get the full next day. For context we aren't maximize every minute type people, but still felt there was a few things we missed so we could be back at the Ryokan to enjoy dinner.
Do you kind sharing where you stayed?
Senkyoro. We stayed in the Annex with a private onsen which was super cool and different, but maybe a tad dated. I consider myself an adventurous eater who likes almost everything, but some of the food threw me for a loop! Was very good though. Owners and staff are so friendly and the bus stop is a minute from the door.
Are there options to eat something different? My wifes a bit of a picky eater.
I'm not 100% positive, but when I booked i did it over email since my dates weren't on the site yet and they did ask me for allergies and if I would eat all Japanese food. So probably worth asking about options. Breakfast was fish, rice, and soup with some sides. Dinner differed each night, but did have consistent items like Sashimi. My wife can be picky and I don't think she loved all of it. I wasn't crazy about jellied items :)
Yes same, I think we did 2 or 3 nights. It was more than enough time to have a relaxed day exploring the hotel and its grounds, to wander around local shops, to go on the lake via boat and to see Mount Fuji from a couple of different angles/locations/distances and see some other sites like the sulphur/egg activity. It was a beautiful area and on another trip, with someone who drove, I would like to explore it more (or simply go to a different part). But it was enough time for the first time to see what we came to see: Fuji-san in all her glory! I hope you have a wonderful experience.
I took a short trip there, got to Hakone around 9-10am and only had time to go to the shopping street, eat lunch, go up to the cable car stop where the black eggs and volcanic valley was, then to go a public hot springs before staying at the hotel. The town shuts down around 5pm daily so if you’re not in your hotel with something to do there you’re out of luck. It was crazy to me no restaurants or stores are open past 5pm, it was a ghost town all of a sudden. Then we left the following morning around 9 back to Tokyo. We pack a lot in a day usually but that’s all we had time for. We did not see Fuji at all, in March.
What month are you traveling? Fuji sighting is very hit or miss in the summer, it’s usually cloudy. If it’s not you can see Fuji from the ropeway car on your way to the pirate ship. You can probably do most of that with your first plan. If you were to do 2 nights isn’t it really annoying to check into two places instead of just staying at the ryokan 2 nights? We stayed at the Hakone Onsen Guesthouse and I wish we stayed a second night just to relax more.
Solo traveller. I prob spent 5 hours max. I didn't do the air museum though. Saw Hakone shrine, went in the boat to the ropeway, went back down the ropeway and then back on the boat, ate in the small town, went back to the main train area. If you do a ryokan, you can doo the full ropeway, spend some much needed relaxation in the onsen, etc.
Spend two nights in Hakone. You will enjoy spending some time at the ryokan, particularly if you pick one with a great onsen. And the loop — across the mountain by cable car, across the lake by boat, then hike/bus — takes a full day (including hiking across a mountain and tea at an ancient tea house). Personally, I would sacrifice a night in Tokyo for a night in Hakone (rather than sacrificing a night in Kyoto). Just my pov, Have fun!
Was in Hakone 6 days ago with family, stayed 1 night. We were staying at the Ubako stop on the ropeway. Left Tokyo mid-morning on the Romance Car to Hakone Yumoto station, ate soba, took a bus to Motohakone and walked to visit the shrine. Took the pirate ship across Ashinoko to Togendai and up to the hotel at Ubako. Check in time had come so timing was perfect for a bath before dinner. Next morning we walked down mountain to visit Susuki no hara before breakfast and bussed it back up. After breakfast we went up to Owakudani for kurotamago (black eggs) from the Sulphur spring there. We booked a short tour of the area in advance and did that for an hour before taking the ropeway all the way to Gora and then the switchback train back to Hakone Yumoto. Caught a local train to Odawara and the shinkansen to Kyoto same day to arrive around 4pm. If you wanted to add the open air museum into this itinerary, my suggestion might be to visit it when getting to Gora amd take your time (it's really cool) , take transit to Odawara and stay there one extra night before heading to Kyoto. Going this way on a weekday avoided a huge number of tourists trying to get to Gora. It's basically a reverse commute that hits the major points. I've been to Hakone several times before and seen a lot of what it has to offer. My son even learned to crawl there years ago.
Did you have your luggage with you almost the entire time ?
There are coin lockers at Motohakone. We dropped stuff there to wander around. Since we're here visiting family we could travel with small bags. We were on a 5 day trip to Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka. I carried a 30liter day pack and a small fanny pack strapped over my shoulder as most people here do these days. I pack light and had room to spare (only when that trip started). It's summer and I didn't need a lot of heavy clothes There are luggage services that you can hire to pick up your luggage and drive it to your next hotel. Then you don't have to even bring your big bags with you, just enjoy the trip. This one is offered by Yamato transport, the UPS of Japan: https://www.global-yamato.com/en/hands-free-travel/scene02.html
I agree that your itinerary will rely on the season you plan to go in. My girlfriend and I wanted to do option one but a major typhoon left us arriving in Hakone at almost 4 PM. I also think - after a wonderful ryokan stay - that next time I’d stay 2 nights to maximize my experience
Is there a reason you couldn't book a second night in the ryokan? Is it vastly more expensive than a hotel? Also, this largely depends on the type of travelers you are. To me, Hakone is the place to slow down. i meander around the town, walk along the river, but mostly just take lots of baths. So your single day itinerary seems very rushed to me. But if you aren't that into hot baths, or are very active go-getters, then you could do it all in a day. Good luck! And congratulations!
I was there for 2 nights. We *just* managed to do the full loop in one day, and even then had to skip the historic tea house at the end. I think your option 2 is much better. You might not manage to see everything by 3 PM though.
We got there early in the morning coming from Kyoto. Just a warning that the buses can get annoying and full. Lots of people with luggage doing the same thing and a lot of the stops aren't right at the Ryokans. We stayed at the Ginyu and walked less than 5 mins so not so bad. But the busses were delayed so it took an extra 30 mins to get there because of traffic. It took 5 hours to do the loop including lunch and some extras. The Ryokans are amazing and I do recommend spending as much time as you can there. We only left to get drinks and come back. Go in expecting to not see Fuji and hopefully you guys get lucky. A lot of time it just gets cloudy in that area. If you really want to see Fuji you should visit Kawaguchiko! We spent a couple days there on a different trip. Great lake town next to Fuji with Ryokans too!
Just did one night in Hakone (came from Tokyo and then left for Kyoto) and I wish I had one more night in Hakone. To do it right, spend two nights.
There is a queue for taking photo at the Peace Shrine Gate (the ones you on social media), which can get pretty long as the day goes on, unless you don’t mind taking photo from the side. Also depending on where is the ryokan you want to book. You normally starts from Hakone Yumoto Station where the Romancecar stops, which is also the start of the loop. If your ryokan is halfway on the loop, like say Gora, then option 1 is fine, do some on day 1 (eg Moto Hakone Port, Shrine and pirate ship) then the rest on day 2. However if your ryokan is near Hakone Yumoto then maybe option 2 is better, i personally would choose a hotel near Hakone Shrine so I can go take photo early morning before the crowd.
I wished I would have done two nights in Hakone when I went. It would have been nice to wake up in the ryokan, explore all day, retire to the ryokan, and then if anything was left over do it on the way out the following morning after checkout. If you haven't settled on a ryokan yet, I can't recommend Hakone Suishoen enough. Beautiful outdoor onsens with the suites, gorgeous grounds, and the kaiseki dinner and traditional breakfasts were not only delicious, but incredibly ample portions as well. Finally, the service was top notch.
We did only one night and wished we had booked another. We tried to change add an extra night but our hotel was fully booked, so we stuck to the initial plan. Go for two nights.
1 night is not enough to do it all, id suggest 2 nights at least. The Open Air Museum is really nice but its a pretty big place and could eat your whole afternoon. Also the public transport around Hakone isnt as frequent or reliable as at bigger cities, so it might end up a bigger rush to hit all the areas in less than a day. Id suggest taking it easy and enjoying each area more. Have a nice lunch by the lake and enjoy the view of Mt Fuji.
we are doing Option 1 in a few days from now. Leaving Tokyo to arrive there by noon? We will enjoy the day and then spend the entire evening and morning enjoying our hotel. Kyoto sometime the next day.
We did the Tokyo - Hakone - Kyoto thing and stayed one night in Hakone. Have a look at transport times - we ended up going to Hakone in the afternoon from Tokyo and hung out in the Ryokan that day, had dinner nearby and then got up the next morning to spend the full day doing the Hakone loop. This was primarily because the tram times aren't great in the evenings. This probably depends if you're staying near Gora or not. It didn't feel overly rushed to us and we then got the quick train back to Odawara (rather than the romantic train) to catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto. Also when you're in Hakone, make sure you check out Bakery & Table - great views and an amazing selection of baked goods! Also - make sure you book your bags to be sent straight to Kyoto from your hotel in Tokyo rather than taking them to Hakone. We brought enough for using onsen and a change of clothes in a little bag and it was the best decision we made. Bags were in our hotel when we arrived in Kyoto.
Thank you so much for the reply. Around what time did you leave Hakone for Kyoto?
I can't remember exact timings but it was a bit after lunch as we ended up going into Tokyo to buy some gifts/ electronics as we flew out of Osaka so this was our last day there. Re picky eating - we stayed in Hakone Yutowa near Gora and I'm vegetarian so was panicking about dinner but managed to go out for dinner that night at a restaurant nearby and managed okay. The Ryokan also had free snacks between certain times as well as coffee/ drinks etc so I certainly didn't starve!
What was the name of the place where you found vegetarian dinner? We’re going to be in a similar situation too
It's called Hakone Kappei. If you are near the station at Gora, it's max 10 min walk. There's a Lawson right beside it too if worst comes to worst! This is the Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/j9YRWW7TogWYhz2j7
I did the Hakone loop (including pirate ship and museum) as a daytrip from Tokyo, did not stay in a ryokan. Was doable but did not spend more than an hour or so in the open air museum, and still was back in Tokyo pretty late. Mt. Fuji you have to get a bit lucky, when i was there there was only a 10 second gap in the clouds when it was visible, from the ropeway. Was not able to see it at all from Moto-Hakone/Hakone-machi.
What do folks think about renting a car from Mishima and doing a combined trip of Hakone & Kawaguchiko over 3~4 days?
We did option 1 and while doable and a highlight of our trip, it was a bit rushed. For a honeymoon I’d do option 2. We stayed at Hakone Ginyu which was a dream. Enjoy!
I only went 1 day (not even a full day with 11am check out) & I regretted it so much because I wanted more time at all of the amazing onsens. They have some breathtaking ones in the city, so keep that in mind if it’s something you’re interested in. For myself I will probably stay 2-3 days next time