10 Briliant Things to do in Hakone – That Aren’t The Loop

Helen Foster

Every single person I met in Hakone was doing one thing on their trip – the circuit known as The Loop – which is a shame as, of all the things I did in Hakone on my recent visit, the Loop was not the most interesting or fun.

So, if you’re visiting Hakone for more than one day or want to expand your horizons outside of the Loop, here’s what else you might want to do on your trip.

Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.

The Open Air Art Museum

This was the thing I was most looking forward to in Hakone. Over 100 huge sculptures sit in 70,000 square metres of parkland, and you’ll find everything from classic sculptures by Henry Moore to more avant-garde displays like the above head with living hair—this one of the person face down in the grass felt a bit like me by this point in the trip! If you are interested in modern art, do not miss it.

The Open Air Art Museum is open seven days a week, 365 days a year, from 9 to 5.00.

You can easily get there from Chokoku-no-Mori station, which makes it a good first stop from Hakone Yamote station—especially if you’ve sent your bags ahead via the Yamato luggage service or the local luggage delivery service at Hakone Yamato station, which will deliver to hotels in Hakone by 4pm.

I spent about 90 minutes at the museum as I was on quite a tight schedule and running late after it took me so long to get from Odawara Station to the museum (see why here), but you could easily spend much longer here. Especially, if you will enjoy the Picasso exhibit which holds 300 examples of his work. I’m not a fan so I skipped that after a cursory glance but, Picasso lovers will be enthralled.

Soak Your Feet With a Shibu

Hakone is an onsen town full of hot water springs, which feed the hot water baths in the area’s many hotels. You’ll also find springs on private property – and one of these, just around the corner from the Open Air Museum, is open to both humans and canines!

The footbath is marked on Google Maps as the Hakonenomori Footbath. If you follow the map, don’t worry that it looks as if you are going into a residential area – you are! The footbath is in the garden of someone’s home, and when you arrive, you’ll pay a small fee to use it and will be given a towel to dry your feet when you’re finished. 

It’s a nice way to experience Hakone’s famous waters if you’re less sure about the idea of soaking naked in an onsen.

If you’re very lucky, someone will have brought their dog for a soak in the dog-friendly onsen pool next door. I arrived at the perfect time; this adorable pupper, Monaka, was here for her bath—although no one had broken that news to her, as she was NOT going in!

Her humans would pick her up, she’d put her back or front paws in and that was that. Seeing her and chatting to her owners made my entire day! They have kindly allowed me to put Monaka’s picture on here so you can all see how cute she is!

Relax in an Onsen

You can easily cover the sights on the Loop in Hakone on a day trip from Tokyo, but if you do, you miss out on one of the special things about Hakone – soaking in an onsen.

While it’s tempting to cram every minute of your Japan trip with things to do, this is one time when you’re going to build in time for what the Japanese call Ma – and take a break for a few hours to enjoy the Hakone waters. If you’re staying overnight there is likely to be one in your hotel, or, there public onsens like Kappa Tengoku dotted around the area.

I was staying in the Mount View Hakone, which didn’t have the price tag of many of the Hakone hotels I had seen, but it didn’t skimp on soaking facilities. It had public indoor and outdoor onsen, which were perfect for alleviating the aches of my first day, and then three private onsens with a pretty bamboo overlook that you could book to soak on your own or with your traveling partner once you checked in.

Remember that tattoos are still frowned upon in many onsens in Japan, so if you have ink, check whether you can use the public one in your hotel. If not, you may have to book a private one.

One public onsen in Hakone that allows tattoos is Tenzan in Hakone Yumoto, but even here, the rules are strict. While solo travelers with tattoos are okay, if you’re in a couple or a group, only one person in the group can be inked. See the full set of rules here.

Do Some Crafts

Hakone Gora Park, located near Gora station, isn’t just a relaxing place to sit away from the crowds of the Loop, it also hides two tearooms – one traditional, one more like something you’d find in a grand seaside town in Britain, alongside pretty fountains and gardens.

But the most interesting thing here are the craft workshops that they run. 

They have everything from jewellery making to glass blowing. You can book on the day, but, it’s better to plan in advance as some of the classes get busy and the groups are small.

Visit the Hakone Crafthouse website to see what’s on offer and to make a booking.

Wash Some Money

The Hakone Shrine with its giant red torii gate in the water might get all the attention in Hakone, but some of the smaller shrines in Hakone are interesting – and one of them might even make you rich.

I’m talking about the Fukazawa Zeniaria Benzaiten shrine, located right on the southbound platform of the Tonosawa station, one of the stops on the Hakone Tozan railway.

It’s a very small shrine, you probably wouldn’t even notice it unless someone points it out, but it’s famous for money washing. The idea is that you put some cash in one of the ladles located by the mini waterfall at the back of the shrine, give it a rinse in the water and then spend it – the theory is it should come back to you in greater quantities.

Admittedly, this hasn’t happened for me yet (but if you’d like to go and check out my Japan Planners shop after this, maybe we can change that).

Visit the Tiny Statues

Another reason to stay at Mount View Hakone is that it’s very close to the most favorite thing I found to do in in Hakone on this trip – Choan-ji Shrine.

I have never seen this in any guide to Hakone, but I spent an hour here open-mouthed because it’s just incredible. I could have spent longer if my onsen wasn’t waiting for me!

It’s home to hundreds of statues of monks – each with a different face. I’ve written a whole post on Choan-ji as, it needs more pictures than I have space for here so, if the idea of this place fills you with as much glee as it does me, head over to there where you can see why I loved it so much and learn about the history of this fun temple.

This really is a hidden gem in Hakone. When I arrived at about 5 p.m., there were only two other people there. However, if you do visit then wear insect repellent because there are mosquitoes around.

Choan-ji is within walking distance of Mount View Hakone and other hotels in the Sengokuhara area, but it can also be reached by bus from other areas in Hakone. The buses are easy to use, have information in English, and are included in the Hakone Pass, so don’t be afraid to get on them. In fact, it’s essential for this next idea. 

Ride a Bus

This was one of the top three things I did in Hakone, which is weird as it’s not even an attraction.

I had gone to explore the town of Hakone Yumoto, but while I was there, the sun came out. The sky hadn’t been clear during my trip, so I didn’t have the chance to see Mount Fuji, so I decided to go back on the ropeway to see if I could get a better view. I didn’t want to get the train again; the trains around Hakone are slow, busy, and crowded, so I decided to get a bus.

I spent the next 30 minutes winding around the area looking out of the window – and it was just fantastic. There’s so much beautiful scenery around here that it’s hard to experience without hiking or having a car, but the bus at least allowed me to see what I was missing. It was such a simple experience, yet it made it onto the list of weekend highlights for me.

And I didn’t even get back to the cable car because, some shiny things caught my eye from the bus seat – and took me to another amazing thing to do in Hakone that I would have missed otherwise.

The Venetian Glass Museum

The shiny things were a row of twinkling trees, strung with tiny pieces of glass that were reflecting in the sunlight. I realised I was outside the Venetian Glass Museum. I hadn’t been convinced about visiting this as, I thought it might be a bit dull, but the trees drew me in – thank you, oh spakly leafed ones!

If Disney made museums, this is what they would look like.

Yes, there are many exhibits that reminded me of my nan’s glass collection, but there are also entire bushes full of glass flowers, twinkly backdrops, glass art by Dale Chihuly, and more. I loved it here.

The museum is easily accessed by bus – there’s a stop right outside. It’s open 7 days a week from 10-5.30. I’d suggest reading the brief explanation of the artists and exhibits on their website before you go to understand a little bit more about the history of the glass and the artisans on show.

Hakone has several other art and glass museums. You might also want to check out the Pola Museum of Art and the Lalique Museum if you have time.

I really wanted to get to the Narukawa Art Museum, which is near the Pirate Ship stop on The Loop. The window in its cafe has an amazing view over the lake, and they sell blue beer in a Mount Fuji-shaped glass. But because I did The Loop backwards (the best way to beat the crowds), I was here too early for both beer and the museum. Next time.

Visit the Evangelion Sights

If you’re an Evangelion fan, you’ll probably know that Hakone is the site of Tokyo-3 – and there are a few sights from the series that you might want to check out.

My original plan was to go to all of these, but a combination of the wrong season for the grass fields and lack of time just did not let that happen, so I only got to the EVA-Ya store in Hakone Yumoto.

If you’re a fan, some of the sights with an Evangelion link are Lake Ashi, the Sengokuhara Susuki Grass Fields, Kintoki Shrine, which has an Evangelion-themed bathroom, Sengokuhara Elementary School, and the Togendai Cable Car station. You might also find some Evangelion-themed vending machines around as 14 were added to the area in 2011.

Bath in Some Wine

It hurts me to write this last entry. I have always wanted to go to this place, but I skipped it on this trip because I think it’s somewhere you need to go with friends, and I was traveling solo. I’m still upset I missed it.

I’m talking about Yunessen.

Yunessen is a hot-springs theme park. It’s divided into two areas: Mori no Yu has hot pools in which you can soak in a traditional naked style, while the Yunessun side is aimed as much at fun as relaxation. On this side, you’ll find water slides and pools filled with wine and coffee (the reason I’m so desperate to go) alongside more traditional pools – and you can wear swimsuits, which is good if you’re not sure about the whole naked onsen experience.

Yunessun is located in Gora. The Yunessun area is open from 9 to 7 on weekends (slightly shorter hours during the week), while the Mori no Yu area is open until 8 p.m. The Yunessun website has more information, including pricing and details of their tattoo policy.

Need Extra Planning Help?

Our Japan trip planners can help. Choose from our 62-page Japan Super Planner, which includes tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing. Or, try a specific planner like Tokyo Tips, Kyoto Tips, or the Rail Pass Planner. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.

Yunessen was just one of the other fun things I didn’t quite have time to visit in Hakone – there’s also a meet-a-geisha event twice a month that I was very interested in, some other museums and, a lot of beautiful scenery – alongside a few breweries!

I wasn’t looking forward to visiting here, but now I’ve realised that there’s so much more to do here than just the Loop, I’ll definitely come back and add to this list.

To save yourself from making the same mistake, and not spending enough time here to do all the cool things, check out our guide to how long you should stay in Hakone to help you decide the perfect amount of time to spend here for you.

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