📍 Destination Overview
Hakone, a mountain town and hot-spring resort between Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi, is the classic Tokyo-suburb stop for sacred peak, lake and volcanoes at once. Its springs grace ryokan inns with open-air baths; Lake Ashi's pirate cruises and Hakone Shrine's red torii mirror Mount Fuji, and Ōwakudani's fumaroles add wonder. It is a year-round delight.
📍 Location
Kanagawa, ~90 min south-west of Tokyo
🗓️ Best season
Spring & autumn for foliage; winter for onsen
🕐 Time difference
1 hour behind Beijing
💰 Currency / Language
Yen (JPY) / Japanese
✈️ Transport
Odakyu/romance-car from Tokyo to Hakone-Yumoto, then the mountain line
🗓️ Suggested stay
1-2 nights of onsen
☀️ Best Time to Visit & Climate
🌸 Spring (Mar–May)
Blossom and fresh green set off the mountains.
🍁 Autumn (Sep–Nov)
Fiery foliage and clear air make this prime.
January
❄️
9°/-1°
February
❄️
9°/-1°
March
🌷
12°/2°
Good
April
🌸
17°/6°
Best
May
🌤️
21°/11°
Best
June
🌧️
24°/16°
July
☀️
28°/20°
August
☀️
29°/21°
September
🍁
26°/18°
Best
October
🍂
20°/12°
Best
November
❄️
15°/6°
Good
December
❄️
10°/1°
📷 Top Attractions
More Attractions →No.1 Hakone
Hakone Museum of Photography
The Hakone Museum of Photography is a small private museum opened on April 7, 2002 by Kei Endo, a photographer born in Hakone. It permanently shows his Mount Fuji series and hosts planned exhibitions by emerging photographers from Japan and abroad. A café overlooks the garden, and the museum opens early at 8:00 on Sundays.
Museum
No.2 Hakone
Hakone Toy Museum
The Hakone Kitahara Toy Museum in Hakone-Yumoto displayed some 3,000 Meiji-to-Shōwa toys gathered over 30 years by the collector Teruhisa Kitahara — tinplate fire engines, train models, wind-up animals and toys from around the world — with timed puppet shows. The museum has closed; its former building now houses HAKONATURE BASE, a nature-experience facility opened in April 2023 by Odakyu Electric Railway and partners.
Museum
No.3 Hakone
Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands
The Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands at 817 Sengokuhara, Hakone, specialises in marsh flora: about 1,700 plants grow here — some 200 wetland species plus 1,100 grassland, woodland and alpine kinds — flowering through the seasons. Boardwalks circle the bog in about 40 minutes; spring Asian skunk cabbage and autumn grasses are the highlights of this highland nature spot.
Park & Garden
No.4 Hakone
Hakone Musha no Sato Museum
The Hakone Bushi no Sato Museum is a private museum in Sengokuhara, Hakone, with over 500 samurai arts and crafts from the late Muromachi to the late Edo period: armour, weapons, ukiyo-e prints and tea utensils that show how the warrior class lived. Armour try-on experiences (from 1,500 yen) make it a specialist venue for samurai culture.
Museum
No.5 Hakone
Kintoki Shrine
Kintoki Shrine sits at the trailhead of Mount Kintoki (1,213 m), the highest peak of Hakone's outer rim, in Sengokuhara, Hakone. Legend says the supernaturally strong boy Kintaro (Sakata no Kintoki) grew up on this mountain; the shrine holds a great axe like his weapon, and climbers pray here before entering the hills — a faith spot on Hakone's western foothills.
Church & Religious Site
No.6 Hakone
Lalique Museum, Hakone
In Hakone's Sengokuhara, the Lalique Museum Hakone is devoted to René Lalique, the French jeweller and glass artist of the 19th-20th centuries. Over 200 works are on display, including the signature 'Sylphide' brooch and the 'Orient Express' carriage he decorated — visitors can enter the car to admire the glasswork and enjoy a dessert. Surrounded by greenery with a garden and cafe, it is a refined stop among Hakone's art museums.
Museum
🎯 Hakone Experiences
Shrine torii on water
Join the early queue at the lake torii for Fuji frames.
Open-Air Museum
Stroll sculpture gardens and the Picasso pavilion outdoors.
Owakudani black eggs
Crack a local boiled-ash egg among the steaming vents.
This destination has four distinct seasons with cold winters and hot summers; the best time to visit is Mar–May, with temperatures around 2–21°C. January is coldest (down to -1°C), so bring warm layers.
🚌 Transport & Stays
City Transport
Odakyu railway
From Shinjuku via Odakyu or the Romancecar in ~90 minutes.
Mountain line
Change at Yumoto for the rack-rail into the valleys.
Lake boats
Pirate-ship ferries cross Lake Ashi between resorts.
Recommended Stay Areas
Ryokan (Yumoto/Gora)
Half-board stays with open-air baths — the classic choice.
Lake Ashi area
Lakeside rooms and shrine views of Fuji.
Free Consultation
Plan your Hakone escape
Ride the mountain train to Gora, the ropeway over Owakudani, sail Lake Ashi past the torii and Fuji — then finish in an onsen.