12 hours in Hakone: How to visit Japan’s most picture-perfect destination in a day

A fierce contender for the most picture-perfect area in Japan, it’s not hard to see why Hakone consistently ranks high on “Best of Japan” destination lists.

Glory-hallelujah mountain scenery, hot springs in every forested nook and cranny, an extraordinarily efficient transport network (featuring a ropeway, cable car, buses and a scenic railway) as well as a wide range of outdoor activities make Hakone a destination that can pretty much market itself. Tourists usually stop by on a tour of the Kanto region, for which the town is the ancient entry point, soaking away several nights in a traditional onsen ryokan for a classic Japan experience.

Now, though, Hakone is hoping to attract those travelers who might not have as much time to spend in the region with an inspired travel package called the “One Day Tour.” It’s a sort of tourists’ toolkit that presents three model travel itineraries to follow (self-guided) and includes round-trip tickets to and from Tokyo, plus free use of all Odakyu transport while you’re there; discounts on entrance tickets to various attractions, and coupons for food and shopping in both Tokyo, at the Odakyu Department Store, and various shops in and around Hakone.

It means that you can see all of the best parts of Hakone in a short time (less than 12 hours to be precise), without spending tons of money, and with zero stress involved. The catch? You’ll only wish you could stay longer.

Getting There

8:15 a.m.

Pick up your package at the Hakone Tabi Ichiba Exchange Counter next to the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center in Shinjuku Station. The staff will go over everything that’s inside: first, the return train tickets which will take you to Hakone-Yumoto station; next, the Hakone Freepass, covering transportation within the area, as well as various discounts on 55 selected tourist attractions.

The package’s unique selling point is its detailed one-day tour guidebook featuring three sample itineraries: the Hakone Shrine Course, the Hakone Checkpoint Course, and the Hakone Open-Air Museum Course. I was bound for the fast and furious “Japan Today” press tour - an amalgamation of all three. This is the nice thing about the One Day Tour’s self-guided routes; you can mix and match, and choose exactly what you want to do.

8:50 a.m.

It’s time to board the Romancecar train. This luxury piece of railroad technology is an attraction in itself, with expansive windows and super comfy seats that you can turn around. The journey flew by in a blur of beautiful rural scenery, and in just over 90 minutes I had reached my destination.

Getting Around

10:45 a.m.

Hakone-Yumoto station is the eastern starting point of an impressive bus and rail network that spans westwards, providing convenient access to Hakone’s attractions. It’s also the terminal station on the remarkable Hakone Tozan Railway - where you can travel in “switchbacks” during which the train reverses directions to zigzag its way down the mountain. Flashing my Hakone Freepass, I hopped on the Hakone Tozan Bus bound for Moto-Hakone on the shores of Lake Ashi.

11:15 a.m.

At Moto Hakone you’ll find one of the main ports for the Lake Ashi Sightseeing Cruise. Before my boat trip, I walked over to Hakone Shrine to snap a picture of the iconic red “Heiwa no Torii” or “Gate of Peace” which floats on the surface of Lake Ashi. It’s about 15 minutes through a tranquil cedar-covered path along the lake back to Moto-Hakone Port.

There are different options for boat cruises but the most popular are the galleon lines modeled after European battleships. We set sail for Togendai - a leisurely 30-minute drift across the lake - its edges tinged red and brown with the approaching colors of autumn.

Where to Eat

12:30 p.m.

Docking at Togendai-ko Port leads you straight into Togendai Station. In the One Day Tour package, you’ll get a coupon that you can exchange for lunch and a drink at Togendai View Restaurant, providing gorgeous vistas of the lake and its Alpine-esque backdrop.

Exploring Hakone’s Highlights

1 p.m.

From Togendai I got on the Hakone Ropeway which stops at Owakudani. Here, the barren landscape contradicts everything you’ve experienced so far; the stark, silvery slopes around a 3,000-year-old crater created by Mount Hakone coming into view whenever the clouds of sulphurous fumes pass. While hiking trails in the immediate area remain closed off due to volcanic activity (the ropeway only just reopened in July of this year), you can still get up close from the viewing platform outside the station. On the way to Sounzan, the ropeway glides right over the bubbling mud holes and yellow-stained rocks. And it smells like Sunday morning eggs.

2 p.m.

From Sounzan, I free-passed my way again onto the Hakone Tozan Cablecar - actually more of a mountainside funicular - down to Koen-Kami Station from where you can access Gora Park. A lovely French landscape garden, I wish I’d had more time to wander the winding slopes, but after a quick tea break at Hakuun-do Chaen teahouse, it was on the road again.

3 p.m.

Departing from outside Gora Station, I took a bus bound for Gotemba Premium Outlets, a popular outlet mall near Mount Fuji (it takes about 50 minutes to get there from Hakone), and got off at Sengoku. It’s a short walk to little-known Choan-ji Temple; for me, a real highlight. Stepping through the wooden gate into what feels like a forest clearing, suddenly all of these stone faces appear - rakan statues. More than 500 of these stone disciples of Buddha are dotted throughout the temple grounds, each bearing a unique expression as if they were posing for purikura.

4 p.m.

You can either take the bus all the way back to Hakone Yumoto, or travel back to Gora Station to try out the Hakone Tozan Train. The sun set as we chugged our way through the valley to Tonosawa. From here, I scrambled my way up a small set of steps leading down and around and up again to the final stop on my One Day Tour: Hakone Yuryo Onsen Resort.

A Recommended Hot Spring

5:30 p.m.

This place was cinematically beautiful; lantern-lit hinoki wood and the sound of a quietly bubbling stream guides you to the entrance. Inside, the small reception was busy with tourists; Yuryo Onsen is popular with foreigners as they offer English-speaking services, as well as, notably, day use of their private and public baths - so you don’t have to stay overnight to experience Hakone’s healing hot spring waters.

I tried out one of the private open-air baths, available for one hour or more. You get given a wooden key to a personal room that opens out onto your very own hot spring, steaming under a canopy of fragrant trees. It was, in a word, glorious. Afterwards, I headed to the traditional restaurant to sample their “irori” dinner, where you cook fresh fish and vegetables over a charcoal grill in the center of the table.

Time to Wake Up

7:30 p.m.

A 3-minute free shuttle bus takes you back to Hakone Yumoto. The One Day Tour pack comes with a discount coupon for souvenirs at the station, so I got a bargain deal on the customary omiyage which I had to try not to eat on the journey home. By 9.30 p.m. I was hustling my way through Shinjuku as if my day trip to Hakone was all a wonderful dream.

More information:

To book a One Day Tour you have to be traveling from overseas. Australia Japan Holidays and America Iace Travel both sell the package online, which you’ll exchange for the real thing once you arrive in Japan.

The Hakone Freepass is available to those living in Japan, and lasts for two or three consecutive days.

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