Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo: How to Spend the Day

The Sample Plan, Start to Finish

Buy a 2-day Hakone Freepass from Shinjuku for 7,100 yen before you go, or the digital version through Odakyu's EMot service. The pass covers the Tozan train, Tozan cable car, Hakone Ropeway, Hakone Sightseeing Cruise and designated buses, so almost every leg below needs no extra ticket. It does not cover the Romancecar, which needs a separate surcharge of 1,200 yen for adults.

This plan runs in one direction: train up the mountain, ropeway across it, boat down the lake, then bus or train back. Note that the ropeway stops in winds of 30 m/s or more, so keep the plan loose in bad weather.

• Leave Shinjuku on the Odakyu Romancecar. It reaches Hakone-Yumoto in about 80 minutes and all seats are reserved. Add the 1,200 yen surcharge to the pass or buy a regular fare ticket plus the surcharge.
• Ride the Hakone Tozan train from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora. The climb takes 35 minutes, is covered by the Freepass, runs every 15 to 20 minutes, and the train reverses direction at three switchbacks on the way up.
• Change at Gora to the Tozan cable car up to Sounzan, covered by the Freepass.
• Take the Hakone Ropeway from Sounzan over Owakudani to Togendai. The full one-way fare is 2,000 yen for adults without a pass. Stop at Owakudani if you want to see the volcanic valley before continuing.
• Board the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise at Togendai. The crossing to Hakone-machi or Moto-Hakone takes 25 to 35 minutes and costs 1,700 yen one way without a pass.
• Walk 5 to 10 minutes from Moto-Hakone pier to Hakone Shrine and its lakeside torii gate on the water.
• Optional late stop: the Hakone Checkpoint museum near the lake shore costs 500 yen, or 400 yen with the Freepass, and opens 9:00 to 17:00.
• Return by Tozan bus line H from Moto-Hakone to Hakone-Yumoto, 35 minutes, 1,210 yen without a pass, then the Romancecar back to Shinjuku. On a coach tour the bus does this for you, and the Mt Fuji, Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani and Lake Ashi tour warns the return can be after 8 PM.

What to Skip When Time Is Short

The Open-Air Museum is the first thing to drop from a one-day plan unless you start very early, because it adds a long stop to a loop that is already full. The Hakone Checkpoint and the old Tokaido walking trail, which takes 75 to 100 minutes from Moto-Hakone to Hatajuku, are the next things to cut. An onsen soak at the end is possible because Tenzan stays open until 23:00 with entry until 22:00, but only if the loop has run on time.

Keep the ropeway and the cruise, since Owakudani and Lake Ashi are the reasons most people make this trip.

Hakone-Yumoto

Hakone-Yumoto is the gateway town where the Romancecar from Shinjuku arrives after about 80 minutes. It is the bottom station of the Hakone Tozan train, so nearly every visitor passes through it twice in a day. Several day-use onsen sit here, including Kappa Tengoku, the cheapest at 900 yen and five minutes on foot from the station and Hakone Yuryo, a short free shuttle ride from the station.

Check the bath's own site for its current price. A free shuttle bus runs the 3 minutes from the station to Hakone Yuryo.

The Hakone Tozan Train

The Tozan train is the first leg of the loop. It climbs from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora in 35 minutes, is covered by the Freepass and runs every 15 to 20 minutes. The line is famous for its three switchbacks, where the train reverses up the slope, and for the hydrangeas along the track in early summer.

From mid June to mid July illuminated hydrangea trains run in the evening, twice in each direction, and these need a seat reservation. The ride is short, so treat it as a sight in itself rather than a place to linger.

Owakudani and the Hakone Ropeway

The Hakone Ropeway carries you from Sounzan over the volcanic valley of Owakudani down to Togendai on Lake Ashi. The full Sounzan to Togendai one-way fare is 2,000 yen for adults and 3,000 yen round trip, with children at 700 yen and 1,000 yen, since the price rise. The Freepass covers it.

Owakudani is the volcanic valley the ropeway crosses, and it has a stop of its own. The ropeway stops running in winds of 30 m/s or more, in extreme weather, for mechanical trouble and for scheduled maintenance, with substitute buses about every 15 minutes for pass holders during closures.

Lake Ashi Cruise

The Hakone Sightseeing Cruise crosses Lake Ashi between Togendai, Hakone-machi and Moto-Hakone in 25 to 35 minutes one way. The fare is 1,700 yen one way or 3,000 yen round trip for adults since the price rise, with children at 850 yen and 1,300 yen, and the short hop between Hakone-machi and Moto-Hakone costs 600 yen. The Freepass covers the cruise.

Check conditions before planning the afternoon around it. Moto-Hakone is the pier for Hakone Shrine.

Hakone Shrine and the Lakeside Torii

Hakone Shrine is a 5 to 10 minute walk from Moto-Hakone pier, and its red torii gate stands at the lake edge. A Tozan bus line H from Hakone-Yumoto reaches Moto-Hakone in 35 minutes for 1,210 yen without a pass.

Hakone Open-Air Museum

The Hakone Open-Air Museum shows about 120 sculptures spread across a garden of roughly 70,000 square metres. Admission is 2,000 yen for adults, 1,900 yen with the Hakone Freepass and 1,800 yen when bought online. The museum opens 9:00 to 17:00 all year, with last admission 30 minutes before closing.

Skip it on a tight one-day schedule and save it for a second visit or an overnight stay.

Day-Use Onsen

You do not need an overnight stay to bathe in Hakone. Tenzan costs 1,450 yen and opens 9:00 to 23:00 with entry until 22:00. Hakone Yuryo, three minutes by free shuttle from the station, bans tattoos in its shared baths and sells towels for 250 to 450 yen.

Kappa Tengoku is the cheapest at 900 yen, five minutes on foot from Hakone-Yumoto Station.

The Old Tokaido Trail and Hakone Checkpoint

The old Tokaido highway, the Edo-period road between Tokyo and Kyoto, crosses Hakone, and a section runs from Moto-Hakone toward Hatajuku. Walking it takes 75 to 100 minutes, and the continuation from Hatajuku down to Hakone-Yumoto takes 90 to 120 minutes more. The Amasake Chaya tea house on the trail opens 7:00 to 17:30.

Near the lake shore, the reconstructed Hakone Checkpoint, the Edo-period inspection barrier, costs 500 yen, or 400 yen with the Freepass, and opens 9:00 to 17:00, closing at 16:30 from December to February. Both fit the loop only if you arrive at Moto-Hakone by early afternoon.

Side by Side

The table compares the bookable coach and private tours from this site's catalog with the do-it-yourself route by Romancecar and Hakone Freepass. Tour prices are the listed US dollar prices and rail figures come from Odakyu and Hakone Navi. Check each option's own page through the links, because inclusions differ sharply: some tours include the ropeway fare, some the cruise, some neither.

The Verdict by Traveler Type

Book the $76 coach tour if you travel alone or as a couple, want a guide and a fixed plan, and do not mind extra tickets for lunch and the cruise. Book the $83.48 tour if you want both the ropeway and the cruise already paid. Pay $159.54 for the bullet train return if you want to ride the bullet train home.

Take the private car day from $508.76 for a group that wants hotel pickup, since the price is per vehicle and not per person. Go by train if you hate fixed schedules, want the Open-Air Museum or an onsen in the plan, and are comfortable with transfers. The 8,300 yen combined Romancecar and Freepass deal is the figure to beat, and full rail detail is in Tokyo to Hakone by train.

The Route in Brief

The journey starts at Shinjuku Station on the Odakyu line. The Romancecar limited express covers Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in about 80 minutes, with every seat reserved and a 1,200 yen surcharge for adults on top of the fare. The Shinkansen to Odawara, 27 to 40 minutes from Tokyo Station, is another way in.

Step-by-step timetables, fares and ticket buying are all in Tokyo to Hakone by train.