Hakone, Go Deeper
Tokyo's mountain escape — a caldera of hot springs, a lake with Mount Fuji floating above it, and open-air art among the cedars. For centuries the great checkpoint on the road to Edo, Hakone still runs on steam and sulphur, best explored by its loop of little trains, ropeways and boats.
- Tap Open in Google Maps on any place for live directions, transit, hours & reviews.
- Get an ICOCA / Suica IC card — tap on/off trains, subways & buses, no ticket needed.
- Carry some cash (¥) — many small shops, shrines & old streets are cash-only.
- Go early: the famous spots are calm and beautiful before ~9am.
Ōwakudani
A raw volcanic valley of hissing steam vents and sulphur, reached by ropeway across the crater. Buy a 'black egg,' hard-boiled in the grey springs and turned coal-black — each one said to add seven years to your life.
Hakone Shrine & Lake Torii
A shrine deep in cedar forest whose vermilion 'Torii of Peace' stands right in Lake Ashi, seeming to float on the water. The queue to be photographed beneath it is long — come at dawn and have it to yourself.
Lake Ashi
A caldera lake crossed by mock pirate ships, with Mount Fuji rising beyond the far shore on a clear day. The postcard view of Hakone — Fuji, the red torii and the water in one frame.
Hakone Open-Air Museum
A hillside of lawns dotted with Moore and Miró sculptures, a stained-glass tower to climb, and a Picasso pavilion — plus a foot bath fed by a hot spring. Art, mountains and steam in one afternoon.
Hakone-Yumoto Onsen
The gateway hot-spring town, its main street lined with steaming bathhouses, sweet-shop samples and craft stores. Soak in a riverside rotenburo, then browse for yosegi marquetry — Hakone's own woodwork.
Sengokuhara Pampas Grass
A whole hillside of silver susuki pampas grass that turns gold in autumn and ripples like the sea in the wind. A path cuts straight through it — Hakone at its most quietly cinematic.
Amazake-chaya Teahouse
A thatched tea house on the old Tōkaidō road that has served travellers sweet amazake and grilled mochi for 400 years — same recipe, same family. Rest here as the samurai and pilgrims once did.
Old Tōkaidō Cedar Avenue
A shaded corridor of 400-year-old cedars planted to shelter travellers on the Edo highway, running beside Lake Ashi. Walk a stretch of the original stone-paved road the whole country once used.
Hakone Checkpoint
The reconstructed Edo-era barrier where every traveller to and from the capital was searched — infamous for watching that no 'women out, guns in' slipped past. A vivid window on the shogunate's grip on movement.
Plan this trip
Curated experiences (tea ceremonies, guided walks) and places to stay for this route.
Coming soon