Gathering the gems worth your time…
Destination guide
Hakone
Japan
Hakone (箱根) is a mountainous area west of Tokyo in Japan. The Hakone checkpoint on the historical Tokaido road marks the beginning of the Kanto region.
Introduction quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Sources gathered & checked 5 days ago
At a glance
- Best time to go
- November
- Getting around
- Accessibility
- Vetted picks
- 21 places to see, do, eat, and stay
- Real coverage
- 9 vetted creator sources
AI insights
Computed from the Wikivoyage listings, transport section and YouTube view counts on this page
The most-viewed guide here is "神奈川【箱根】絶対に外せない観光スポットを30ヶ所一気に紹介します！" by ゆめたび全国版【観るガイドブック】 (170K views) — a solid first watch.
ゆめたび全国版【観るガイドブック】 and 箱根ナビ【公式】 are creators from here, not a visiting channel — worth watching for what the guidebooks skip.
Getting around: accessibility — the section below has the details straight from Wikivoyage.
6 of the places below list a real price from their own source — worth a scan before you budget the trip.
How these 21 picks are sourced
3 of 21 are named by a second, independent source — Lonely Planet, Japan Guide and PiQtour Japan — and each card names its own. The remaining 18 rest on the reference article alone: we list them because Wikivoyage or Wikipedia documents them, not because anyone else vouched for them. We also watched 9 creator videos, 3 of them from local channels rather than visiting ones. 18 of the 21 descriptions are quoted word for word from Wikivoyage under CC BY-SA rather than written by us, as is the introduction above — each of those cards says so. What we add is the checking, the corroboration above, and the choice of which places are worth your time at all.What we can't promise is that it's still true. Venues close, hours and prices change, and we don't re-check them — a place here closed for good and sat on this page for a year before anyone noticed. The insights are AI-written from these sources and can be wrong too. Confirm anything you'd be sorry to be wrong about before you set out. Terms.
Watch first
Ranked by views and how well each landed with the people who watched it, judged against the other coverage of this place — plus a local creator where we found one.
神奈川【箱根】絶対に外せない観光スポットを30ヶ所一気に紹介します！
ゆめたび全国版【観るガイドブック】 · 170K viewsLocalja
A Classic Day Trip To Hakone from Tokyo
Japan Guide · 704K views
【箱根】2024年最新！箱根旅行の定番&穴場スポット10選
箱根ナビ【公式】 · 43K viewsLocalja
THE Hakone Guide: Everything to Do in One Day! ♨️
PiQtour Japan · 133K views
【箱根観光】絶対外さない！定番観光スポット17選│歴史ある神社から絶景スポットまで│箱根温泉│神奈川│大涌谷│黒たまご
じゃらん · 7K viewsLocalja
Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo: Mt. Fuji Views, Hot Springs & Museums!
Tokyo Cheapo · 157K views
HAKONE 🇯🇵 TOKYO'S PERFECT DAY TRIP (JAPAN)
Jumping Places · 30K views
Hakone Travel Guide | A Perfect Day Trip From Tokyo
LOST IN JAPAN · 32K views
How to Spend 2 Days in Hakone: Our Itinerary
Japan Guide · 22K views
Best time to go
Best window: November
June, July, September and October are the months to avoid — very heavy rain. The window below is when it is genuinely pleasant.
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IdealGoodOkayOff-season
Rated from ten years of daily temperature and rainfall recorded at this destination, via Open-Meteo's ERA5 reanalysis. Hover a month for its real numbers.
Getting around
Accessibility
Despite the mountainous location and numerous transfers, travelers with disabilities can enjoy the entire Hakone Round Course. Unfortunately, getting to the many hot springs and art galleries is a different matter altogether as many mid-route stations are…
Transport notes from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What to see
Places are listed from Wikivoyage and our own sourced research. Worth it means a second, independent source names the place too; “3 sources agree” means three or more do — and each card names them, so you can check. Single source means the opposite, said plainly: the reference article lists it and nothing else we checked does.
Hakone Jinja Shrine
Worth itAlso recommended by Japan Guide
Nestled on the south shore of the lake, close to Moto-Hakone, is a picturesque Shinto shrine with torii gates in water.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hakone Open-Air Museum
Worth itAlso recommended by Lonely Planet
Stopped here on camera: Japan Guide
Sculptures by Henry Moore and Picasso dot hillside grounds with mountain views.
Vetted sources
Pola Museum of Art
Single source1285 Kozukayama, Sengokuhara
The Pola Museum of Art's permanent collection is centered on works gathered over a 40-year period by Suzuki Tsuneshi, the son of the founder of Pola, a Japanese health and beauty company.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hakone Open Air Museum
Single source1121 Ninotaira
One of the top attractions in Hakone. Displays a wide variety of sculptures and artwork from celebrated Western and Japanese artists within a beautiful parkland setting. Also includes a dedicated Picasso pavilion (paintings and…
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hakone Museum of Photography
Single source1300-432 Gora
Small museum with nice pictures of Hakone and Mount Fuji.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Great Boiling Valley
Single sourceHakone Ropeway Owakudani Station
Volcanic hot spot full of sulphurous springs.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to do
Lake Ashi
Worth itAlso recommended by Lonely Planet and 1 other
Sightseeing cruises offer views of Mount Fuji framed by the torii of Hakone Shrine.
Vetted sources
Tenzan Tōjigō
Single source(天山湯治郷), Hakone-Yumoto, Chaya 208. Large, popular hot spring operation with indoor and outdoor baths, sauna, etc. Free shuttle bus from outside the bus station. Open 11:00-20:00 daily. ¥1000/630 adult/child.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun
Single sourceHakone-machi, 1297 Ninotaira
Indoor complex featuring rapids, Dead Sea-style salt baths and jacuzzis, while the outdoor area offers waterfalls, rocks and a water slide.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hiking (Hakone)
Single sourceThe area has some nice hiking trails. The visitors' center in Togendai has a model of the area including many of the hikes around the Lake Ashi. For example there is a hike from…
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to eat
Tamura Ginkatsu-Tei
Single sourceRestaurant specialising in tofu katsuni, a dish containing tofu and pork, however they are able to make a vegetarian version on request.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Sagamiya
Single sourceright in front of the bus stops besides Hakoneyumoto station
If you miss the taste of a warm brownie, try the mountain brownies at this shop. You can't miss the smell, as they are made on site! Also has a branch in Ginza, Tokyo.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
PUBSTOP Pizza & Bar
Single sourceSmall bar serving draught beers from the Gora Brewery, and pizzas including vegetarian and vegan options. Accepts card payments.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Nukafuku
Single sourceopposite Gora station
Vegan and gluten-free bakery inside the souvenir shop, selling rice bran sweets, including doughnuts.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Black eggs
Single sourcenear the fumes at Owakudani
Boiled on site, their shells are a mottled black due to a chemical reaction with the sulphurous water, but the inside is quite tasty.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Where to stay
Fuji Hakone Guest House
Single sourcetake the "T" bus in the direction of Togendai from either Odawara or Hakone-Yumoto to the Senkyouro-Mae stop, about 50/40 minutes respectively
Very well located guest house popular with Japanese and foreigners. Comfortable Japanese style rooms and breakfast are available. There are two natural hot baths available for guests' use - the indoors one is free, and the outdoors per…
Vetted sources
Hotel Suimeisou
Single source702 Yumoto
This delightful Japanese style hotel is well-run. The main branch has 31 Japanese-style rooms. 12 Western-style single rooms with private bath are available at the annex across the street.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Kappa-tengoku
Single source777 Yumoto, Hakone-machi
A well-located if slowly crumbling cheap inn, featuring large open-air baths on the roof.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hotel Okuyumoto
Single source211 Yumoto Chaya
Featuring open-air baths beside a mountain stream, offers mostly Japanese-style tatami rooms but also has some Western-style rooms.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hotel Nanpuso
Single sourceYumoto Chaya 179
Popular for its spa and ladies esthetic salon, Nanpuso offers mainly Japanese style 'tatami' rooms.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Hotel Okada
Single source191 Yumoto Chaya
With 117 rooms, and 5 natural spring sources, Hotel Okada offers Western, Fusion and Japanese-style 'tatami' rooms.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Build your day
Pick the places you want in Hakone, Japan and we will put them on a map in an order that does not cross the city twice.
Where to next
Nearby cities in Japan we’ve vetted too.
- KamakuraA seaside former capital centred on the Great Buddha of Kotoku-in.
- YokohamaJapan's largest Chinatown sits beside the modern Minato Mirai harbour skyline.
- TokyoThe world's most Michelin-starred city, from Tsukiji Outer Market breakfasts to the neon Shibuya crossing.
- MatsumotoOne of Japan's original wooden castles, the black 'Crow Castle', rises against the Alps.
- NikkoToshogu Shrine's gilded mausoleum sits deep in cedar-forested mountains.
- TakayamaAn Edo-period old town of dark-wood merchant houses in the Japanese Alps, famed for Hida beef.
Travel content from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Encyclopedic context from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Videos via the YouTube Data API.