Hakone is a great addition to your Japan trip. Located a short train ride away from Tokyo, it makes a good day trip. If you have room in your itinerary, spending a couple of days here offers a chance to spend some time in nature away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo or the crowds of Kyoto. But if you are staying in Hakone for a night or two, there are a few things to know that might help you get to the fun a bit faster — and in a better mood!
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
I learned this the hard way. My schedule meant I had to be in Hakone over the weekend, and because I was coming from Kyoto, I couldn’t arrive very early in the morning. I knew there would be a sea of people around – but even I hadn’t expected to go from one queue to another for the first 90 minutes of my visit.
That was the moment this post was born! Read it before your journey to help streamline your arrival in Hakone. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.
Buy Your Hakone Free Pass in Advance
If you plan to do the circuit known as ‘the Loop’ when you’re in Hakone (and most people do), the easiest way to do this is to buy a package pass called the Hakone Free Pass which covers most of the transport you’ll need during your stay (read our longer guide to the Hakone Free Pass after this if you’re not sure how it all works).
This costs 5000 yen for adults (1000 yen for children) for two days if bought in Hakone and 6100 yen (1100 for children) if bought in Shinjuku. You can also purchase a three-day pass for a few hundred yen more.
If you’re coming from Shinjuku, you will buy your Hakone pass before arriving, as the return trip from Tokyo is included. However, if, like me, you’re arriving from elsewhere and need to pick up the Hakone Free Pass at Odawara or in Hakone itself, I would strongly suggest booking this online and using the digital version.
I hadn’t done this partly because I was resisting the idea of doing the famous loop and wasn’t sure I was going to use it. Plus, I never trust my phone to call up QR codes when they are actually needed. But as soon as I saw the queue for the paper ticket, I regretted it.
Don’t make my mistake – book ahead now.
They moved as fast as they could, but, I still missed the next train to my next stop, Hakone Yumato Station – which brings me to tip two.
Check the Timetables
The most frustrating thing about getting around Hakone is that you have to get on all sorts of different transport – trains, cable cars, ropeways, buses, boats – and these can run at ridiculously long intervals for the number of people they’re transporting.
The trains might only come every 20 minutes, as does the cable car, and the famous pirate ship only runs every 40 minutes.
If you don’t time things, you can waste A LOT of time in Hakone, so when you’re making your plans, or if you arrive at a station or the cable car, check the time of the next departing service – and, if it’s in a minute or two, you might want to hurry up a bit to catch it rather than have to stand around for another 20 minutes.
One transport that runs continuously is the ropeway that takes you to and from the volcanic area, so you don’t need to worry about that one, but everything else – know your timetables.
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Avoid Carrying Your Luggage
The trains that run around Hakone are small and busy, with very little space to put your luggage.
I saw someone shove a huge suitcase on the overhead rack where it clearly didn’t fit (that’s it below). Not surprisingly, on a jolty piece of track, it fell and smacked them on the head—they were pretty lucky it didn’t do much damage.
So, if there’s one place where I’d suggest shipping your luggage in advance, it’s here.
Either use the Yamato service to ship your luggage to your Hakone hotel so it’s waiting for you when you arrive, or just pack a small overnight bag of the things you need during your stay and send your luggage to your next destination. This is probably the best choice if you only have one night in Hakone, as it will then be waiting for you when you check into your next hotel.
I usually love using the luggage service, but I didn’t do this on my trip as I had something I wanted to try when I arrived in Hakone.
There is a localised luggage transfer service from Hakone Yumato Station to most of the hotels in the Hakone area. For a small fee, you can leave your luggage here (if you arrive before noon) and it will get to your hotel in the Hakone Area by 3pm.
But, guess what – the queue was enormous!
Everyone gets off the train and goes straight here. I didn’t and I was faffing about taking photos which meant I arrived to 20 people in front of me! Get ahead of the pack by getting off the train fast and heading straight here.
Or, even better, you can also book this service in advance online. There was a dedicated counter for online bookings, but absolutely no one was using it—quite possibly because the instructions take some hunting out online. I’ve done that bit for you, though, so here you go, the explanations in English.
Despite my frustrations with the queue, the service itself is great—by the time I got to my hotel at about 4:00 p.m., my bag was waiting for me.
By the time I’d dealt with all of the above, it had taken me over an hour longer than I thought it would to get from Odawara Station to Hakone Yumato. Thankfully, the day could only improve from here, and it did – but that’s a story for another post. So, don’t make the same mistakes I did – be prepared for your arrival in Hakone. Don’t spend half your day in queues! There are too many other things to do here.
Need Extra Planning Help?
Our Japan trip planners can help. You might like our First-Timers Japan Planner, which will help you plan your trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka step-by-step, including tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing and dining. Or our super-duper Tokyo Disney Planner makes arranging your park trip MUCH easier. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.
