A Hakone and Atami itinerary: two or three days from Tokyo

Hakone and Atami sit on either side of the same old volcano, an hour apart, and most visitors to Japan see only one of them. Put together, they make one of the best short trips from Tokyo: mountains, a lake and a ryokan on the first day, the sea and a town of hot springs on the second, and, if you have a third, the Izu coast. Here is how we'd plan two days, or three.

Before you go

Hakone is a ring of mountain transport: a mountain railway, a cable car, a ropeway over a volcanic valley, and a boat across a lake. The Hakone Freepass covers all of them, and the Odakyu line from Shinjuku if you buy it there. It pays for itself if you ride the loop in a day. Send your big luggage ahead with a delivery service (takkyubin) from your Tokyo hotel and travel light; Hakone's trains are small and its stations have stairs.

Atami is simpler: one station at the top of a hill, a town below it, the sea. The two connect through Odawara, at the foot of Hakone, which is one stop from Atami on the shinkansen, about ten minutes.

Day 1: Tokyo to Hakone, and the loop

Take the Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, about an hour and a half, or the shinkansen to Odawara and the Hakone Tozan line up. From Hakone-Yumoto the mountain railway climbs in switchbacks to Gōra; the cable car takes you higher; and the ropeway carries you over Owakudani, the steaming valley where eggs boiled black in the springs are said to add seven years to your life. On a clear day, Fuji stands straight ahead of the gondola.

The ropeway comes down to Lake Ashi. Cross it by boat to Moto-Hakone and walk the old cedar avenue to Hakone Shrine, whose red torii stands in the water. Close by is the Hakone Checkpoint, rebuilt as it stood in the Edo period, where travellers on the Tōkaidō were stopped and searched. If there's time left, the Hakone Open-Air Museum has sculpture on its lawns and is at its best in the late afternoon light.

Sleep in Hakone: a ryokan with its own spring, dinner in your room, a bath before bed. This is the night for that.

Day 2: Hakone to Atami

In the morning, if you like walking, climb the Daimonji trail to Myōjōgatake, the mountain that wears a burning 大 every August. It's a few hours' walk, with Fuji in view on clear days. Otherwise, sleep late and have a second bath.

Then come down the mountain to Odawara and take the shinkansen one stop to Atami. For the scenic way, take the bus over the hills from Moto-Hakone instead: it's slower, and on a clear day the sea and Hatsushima are ahead of you all the way down.

Spend the afternoon in Atami's old town: Kiunkaku, the arcades, a kissaten for coffee and custard pudding, and Sun Beach at dusk. Our guide to things to do in Atami has the whole day. If the date is right, there are fireworks over the bay at 20:20.

Day 3: the Izu coast, if you have it

From Atami, the Izu Peninsula runs south. On the east coast, the lava cliffs and the suspension bridge at Jogasaki are about an hour away. On the west coast, Dougashima has white cliffs, a sea cave open to the sky and one of Japan's great sunsets; it's a long day, and our Dougashima guide explains how to time it to the tide. Or keep it gentle: Izusan Shrine above the town in the morning, the ferry to Hatsushima, and the evening train home from Atami.

Explore Hakone with a guide

Hakone is easy to ride and hard to read. A guide who knows it tells you which side of the gondola to sit on for Fuji, when Owakudani's car parks fill, which ryokan bath takes day visitors, and why the checkpoint mattered. Our guests do Hakone's three classics with their host as a day out from the house, or the Daimonji ridge hike if they're walkers. The fee is for the guiding; the trains, ropeway and boat you pay on the day.

Where to stay

Hakone and Atami suit different nights. Hakone is the place for a ryokan night: mountain air, a spring in the building, dinner served in your room. Atami is the place for a longer stay by the sea, especially with family or friends, because the town and the coast are on your doorstep and the trains to Tokyo are quick.

Our house is on the hill above Atami Bay. We'll pick you up free in Hakone or at Odawara as well as at Atami station, so you can come straight down the mountain with your luggage. Read where to stay in Atami.

Two days, at a glance

• Day 1: the Romancecar to Hakone-Yumoto · the mountain railway · the cable car · the Owakudani ropeway · the boat across Lake Ashi · Hakone Shrine · a ryokan night.
• Day 2: a morning walk or a second bath · down to Odawara · the shinkansen to Atami · the old town · Sun Beach at dusk · fireworks, on a show night.
• Day 3 (optional): Jogasaki, Dougashima, or Izusan and Hatsushima.