The Best of Hakone in 48 Hours: A Complete Guide
Hakone, Japan, is a popular destination known for its natural beauty, hot springs, cultural attractions, and stunning views of Mount Fuji. You could spend a relaxing week just enjoying the sites and sounds of this beautiful onsen town. If you are like us and only gave yourself 48 hours to spend here, this is how to do it.
First, what are all the things Hakone is known for?
- Scenic Landscapes: The town is surrounded by picturesque landscapes, including mountains, forests, and lakes. The views of Mount Fuji from various vantage points in Hakone are particularly breathtaking.
- Hakone Open-Air Museum: This outdoor art museum features many sculptures and artwork set against the Hakone mountains.
- Lake Ashi: A serene crater lake, Lake Ashi offers boat cruises with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and the iconic Hakone Shrine Torii gate floating on the water.
- Hakone Ropeway: The Hakone Ropeway provides panoramic views of the Owakudani Valley, volcanic vents, and hot springs.
- Owakudani Valley: This volcanic valley is known for its active sulfur vents and hot springs. Enjoy black eggs, boiled in the hot springs, believed to add seven years to one’s life.
- Historical Sites: Hakone is home to historical sites like the Hakone Checkpoint, a reconstructed Edo-period checkpoint that provides insights into Japan’s feudal history.
- Hakone Shrine: Located on the shores of Lake Ashi, Hakone Shrine is a picturesque Shinto shrine with a red torii gate standing in the water.
- Art Galleries and Museums: Apart from the Open-Air Museum, Hakone boasts various art galleries and museums, such as the Hakone Museum of Art and the Pola Museum of Art, showcasing both traditional and contemporary Japanese art.
This was our route:
This is likely the map you’ll get when visiting Hakone, especially if you use the Hakone Free Pass. If you are following this day plan then that's highly recommended just for ease of use. We mapped everything out so we were going in a loop, this loop can always be done in reverse. Now let's dive into the timeline of it.
First, the summarized version:
Day 1:
- Arrive in Hakone (2–3 PM)
- Relax in Hotel & get dinner either in the hotel or around town
Day 2:
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Head to Hakone-Yumoto station
- Take a train to the Hakone Open-Air Museum and explore the museum
- Take a train to Gora station where you’ll take a cable car to the ropeway to visit the sulfur mines at the top of the mountain
- Get a black egg
- Take the ropeway down on the opposite side of the mountain and get on the Hakone sightseeing cruise
- Exit the cruise at Motohakone-ko, and explore the Hakone shrine and the infamous floating torii gate.
- Take a bus back to your hotel, or back to Hakone-Yumoto station then back to your hotel.
Day 3:
- Relax Relax Relax
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Check out (11 am-ish)
- Head back to Hakone-Yumoto station. You can explore the town for a bit and put your luggage in lockers or hop on a train to Odawara station and make your way back to Tokyo.
Now here's a more detailed breakdown:
Arrive in Hakone 2–3 PM
Most hotel check-in is at 3 PM in Hakone, you will take a train to the Hakone-Yumoto station, and from there you will more than likely end up taking a bus to your hotel. It's nice to give yourself time here to get to the hotel, and also let yourself check into the hotel as soon as you can. We got a room with an ensuite onsen with breakfast and dinner included (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!). After check-in, we just relaxed and enjoyed the amenities of the hotel. Hakone after all is an onsen town and all about relaxation.
Full Day in Hakone
Now here is where we get a little crazy. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then hopped on a bus back to the Hakone-Yumoto station. We walked around the town a little bit, grabbed some snacks, and then headed to the station. We caught a train to the Hakone Open-Air Museum. I recommend trying to get a seat on the train, or waiting for the next train if it's full, the ride is a bunch of switchbacks and does take a while. It's a lot more comfortable sitting and I found you get to enjoy the view much more. The museum is right outside the train station so it was a short walk there, and it was a beautiful place. We grabbed some lunch at the cafe in the museum. It was expensive but it was worth it to just hang out with some snacks, and drinks and enjoy the beauty of it.
After the Museum we hopped back on that same train to Gora station. If you choose not to eat lunch in the museum you could also get lunch in Gora. Since we had already eaten we hopped on the cable car to take us up to the ropeway. The stations in Hakone are pretty small compared to Tokyo or Osaka, so you would just exit the train portion of the station and then the entrance to the cable car is right next to it. The Hakone Free Pass comes in handy for this part of the day. You don’t have to worry about buying a ticket at Gora station, you just flash your pass and get on the cable car and ropeway. I really enjoyed the experience of taking the cable car to the ropeway, and the view from the ropeway is spectacular.
Once you are at the top of the sulfur mine, you have to go into the gift shop. It's a mixture of fun Japanese gifts and then every gift you could ever want just black egg themed. Of course, you have to get the black eggs. It's only the black shell, and truthfully mine gave me a stomach ache but it apparently adds 7 years onto your life so that might be worth it. There were some food places up there along with gift shops and places to relax but the whole place smelled like sulfur (shocking I know) so we didn't hang around for a while. We took the cable car down on the opposite side towards Lake Ashi. Another beautiful view, from there we hopped on the Hakone sightseeing cruise that was also covered by the Hakone Free Pass and made our way to Motohakone-ko.
The cruise was beautiful, try to get on the upper levels if you can, and if you sit on the left side. That way you can see the floating torii gate as you pass it. Once in Motohakone-ko, we walked about 5–10 minutes to the Hakone Shrine. The area around the shrine was beautiful, there was a line to take photos in front of the iconic floating torii gate but it was worth it. By this time the sun was starting to set so we headed back to the main bus station right by the doc. From there, depending on where you are staying you can hop on a bus back to your hotel, or back to Hakone-Yumoto station. We spoke to someone there who recommended we just take the bus back to the station, and take another bus to our hotel, it would be faster that way.
Safe to say jamming all of this in one day was exhausting, but it was one of the best days of our whole 2 week Japan trip. After getting back to the hotel, we took a quick soak in the onsen to relax then it was time for dinner. After dinner, we took another soak in the onsen (because why not?) and just relaxed for the rest of the night.
Leave Hakone 12–1 PM
Our checkout was around 11 am. We got up, packed up all our stuff, got our last fancy breakfast, and then just relaxed till checkout time. After checkout, we hopped on a bus back to Hakone-Yumoto station. There are luggage lockers at the station, so you could spend some time exploring a little more of Hakone-Yumoto but we were so tired that we just hopped on the train and headed back to Tokyo.
It's a lot to pack into 48 hours, but if that's all the time your trip allows just know it’s still worth it.
Happy Travels!
