Chapter 03 · Experiences
No. 32
Hakone days
Hakone's three classics
箱根の3つの名所
Owakudani's steaming valley and black eggs, the red torii of Hakone Shrine standing in Lake Ashi, and the Open-Air Museum, all on Hakone's own trains, ropeway and boat.
時刻表Timetable
- 所要Duration
- About 8 hours
- 季節Season
- All year; Owakudani can close when the volcanic gas is strong.
- 人数Group
- 1–12 guests
- 移動Getting there
- By trainTransportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arrangedThe hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.We travel on Hakone's trains, ropeway, boats and buses (the Hakone Freepass covers most of them), or in your own car. If you'd rather be driven, we book a licensed hire car, and the hire company bills you directly.
- 集合Meeting point
- Hakone-Yumoto or Odawara Station; staying guests can also start from Atami Station.
- 料金Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
Add a paid tour and the stay is 10% less; discounts don't combine
Reserve
Choose a day, and book it
Finding the open days…
The story
Owakudani's steaming valley and its black eggs, Lake Ashi with the red torii of Hakone Shrine standing in the water, and the Open-Air Museum's sculptures on the lawns. You ride Hakone's own mountain train, ropeway and boat, with the 1619 checkpoint if you like.
Hakone's best-known sights in one easy loop. Ride the ropeway over the steaming valley of Owakudani and try a black egg, cross Lake Ashi by sightseeing boat to Hakone Shrine and its torii in the water, then slow down among the sculptures of the Hakone Open-Air Museum. Mt. Fuji appears on clear days. Choose two or all three; we plan the order around the weather and the crowds.
Meet in Hakone with your luggage handled, ride Hakone's own trains, ropeway and boat, and add the 1619 checkpoint if you like.
路線図
The route
Times are a guide; the day bends to the weather.
Start
Owakudani
大涌谷
1 h
A volcanic valley formed about 3,000 years ago and still steaming. Eggs boiled in its hot springs come out black. People with asthma or heart conditions shouldn't visit, and access can be restricted when the volcanic gas is strong, so we check that morning.
+1:00
Lake Ashi by boat
芦ノ湖の遊覧船
40 min
From Togendai across the lake to Moto-Hakone, with Fuji over the water on clear days.
+1:40
Hakone Shrine
箱根神社
45 min
Founded in 757, about ten minutes' walk from the Moto-Hakone pier, with its Torii of Peace standing in the lake. Yoritomo began the shoguns' pilgrimage here.
+2:25Finish
Hakone Open-Air Museum
彫刻の森美術館
1 h 30 min
Opened in 1969: sculpture across lawns and hillsides, and a pavilion devoted to Picasso.
Good to know
Included
- Your host as guide, in English or Japanese
- A route planned around your group and the weather
- Help booking tickets and restaurant tables
Not included
- Hakone Freepass or fares, ropeway and boat tickets
- Museum admission, paid on the day
- Meals and drinks
- Price
- Guide fee per person, tax included. With your stay: ¥10,000 for one guest, ¥7,500 each for two, ¥5,000 each for three to twelve. Tour only: ¥10,000 each, for two guests or more. Admissions, partner fees, meals and travel are paid on the day. Book a paid tour with your stay and the stay itself is 10% less (you always get the single best discount). Groups of seven or more, please book 10 days ahead.
- Meeting point
- Hakone-Yumoto or Odawara Station; staying guests can also start from Atami Station.
- Ages
- People with asthma or heart conditions are advised not to visit Owakudani; we route round it.
- Weather
- Fuji, the stars and the fireworks depend on the sky; we tell you the evening before if it's worth going.
- Cancellation
- Guide fees follow the stay's cancellation tiers. Partners' own terms apply to theirs.
On the mapG2
Hakone: Owakudani, Lake Ashi, Chōkoku-no-Mori · About 14 km from the house
Sources
- 01
Owakudani was formed about 3,000 years ago, when an eruption brought down part of Mount Kami.
Source: hakone.or.jp (opens in a new tab) - 02
Visits to Owakudani can be restricted when the volcanic gas is especially strong, and people with asthma or heart conditions are advised not to visit.
Source: hakone.or.jp (opens in a new tab) - 03
Eggs boiled in Owakudani's spring water get a pure-black shell; Hakone Shrine is about ten minutes' walk from Motohakone-ko.
Source: hakonenavi.jp (opens in a new tab) - 04
Hakone Shrine was founded in 757; Minamoto no Yoritomo revered it and began the shoguns' Nisho-mōde pilgrimage to Hakone and Izusan.
Source: hakonejinja.or.jp (opens in a new tab) - 05
The Hakone Open-Air Museum opened in 1969.
Source: hakone-oam.or.jp (opens in a new tab) - 06
The museum's Picasso Pavilion opened in 1984.
Source: hakone-oam.or.jp (opens in a new tab) - 07
The Hakone checkpoint was set up in 1619 and rebuilt in 2007 with Edo-period carpentry and stonework.
Source: hakonenavi.jp (opens in a new tab)
Ask us about a date.
Tell us the day, who's coming and what you'd like to see. Your host replies within a few hours, in English or Japanese.
More like this
All 41 experiences
No. 335–6 hours
The Daimonji ridge hike
No. 33The Daimonji ridge hike
- Duration
- 5–6 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- By train
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- G2
No. 08About 8 hours
Yoritomo's three shrines
No. 08Yoritomo's three shrines
- Duration
- About 8 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- Transportation by car and a bilingual guide will be arranged · Come in your own car
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- G2
The hire company bills you directly; our fee is for the guiding.
No. 24About 3.5 hours
Onsen hopping in old Atami
No. 24Onsen hopping in old Atami
- Duration
- About 3.5 hours
- Season
- Getting there
- On foot · By train
- Price
- Guide fee, from ¥5,000 each with your stay
- Map
- G3
