Hakone attract many people because of great view of Mt. Fuji, volcanic activity in front of you, various transportation, hot spring, historical site and etc. If you want to enjoy everything, you need to stay in Hakone at least 3 days. But you can enjoy Hakone even one day by taking golden route.
Odawara station or Hakone-Yumoto station. If you are staying in Hakone area, at your hotel
This is the gateway of Hakone. From this station, we will start to take a bus to Hatajuku, the first destination of this tour
We learn how to make a wood combination pattern from real producer. Items he produces are sold only in Hakone area. It is impressive to learn how to make this Hakone Yosegi-zaiku which is listed as a traditional craft item by government.
This is an old tea house found more than 400 years ago and one family succeed this business. Current owner is 13th generation.
Amazake is a non-alcoholic beverage made from Koji( a mold used in fermentation) and rice. This tea house has a small museum related to travel in Hakone in old days. Addition to it, there is an old road used for 400 years. It means you can see how people travelled in old days.
Lake Ashi was created by eruption of volcano about 3100 years ago and is never be frozen even in winter. There are some spots to enjoy very nice view of Mt.Fuji. We will take lunch around this area
This is the oldest shrine in Hakone found about 1300 years ago. Approaching road to the main building was covered by cider trees and you can enjoy nice atmosphere which Japanese love.
This Lake Ashi cruse is very enjoyable one to see Hakone mountains from different angle.
This is one of the hi-lights of Hakone sightseeing. You can see actual volcanic activity in front of you and smell surfur.
Here you can find a very unique item which is an egg with black shell. It is a normal boiled egg but color of shell is black.
It is said that this one egg extends your life by 7 years.
After Owakudani, we will take rope-way (cable car) to Sohunzan station where you can enjoy hotspring for your feet if you wish.
On the way, you can enjoy nice view of Hakone mountains and feel you are flying.
From this station, we will take a train to Hakone Yumoto. Because this train pass very steep slope, train is special and change train direction 3 times (switch back).
End of this tour
At your hotel, Hakone Yumoto station or Odawara station
We will start our tour from Odawara station or Hakone Yumoto or hotel you stay in Hakone area. We will take a bus from Hakone Yumoto to Moto-Hakone. This is the same route of marathon runners run in very new year. You will be surprised by the steep slope. After arriving at Moto-Hakone, we walk to Hakone shrine on a road beside Lake Ashi. Or on the way to Lake Ashi, we can stop at a traditional craft shop where you can see demonstration and hear explanation directly from National certified craft-man who produce Yosegi-zaiku(wood combination pattern)
At Hakone shrine, you may feel Japanese religious atmosphere. After Hakone shrine, pirate ship takes us to the other side of Lake Ashi. If the weather is good, you can see Mt.Fuji from the boat. But please remember, during summer time, visibility is very low. It means possibility to see Mt.Fuji is not high. After cruising Lake Ashi, rope-way is the next ride. This rope-way gives great view of Mt.Fuji and Lake Ashi. You may feel as if you are walking in the air. At Owakudani which was called "Big Hell" in old days and you can see volcanic activity. Here you eat lunch and famous "black egg" which is made in hot spring, to extend your life for 7 years. After Owakudani, we will take rope-way, cable cars towards Gohra where we take mountain train. If we have time, I take you to Open air museum where sculptures are displayed in outside. Then again, we take mountain train back to Hakone Yumoto.
guide fee only
transportation cost from my home to the meeting point
all transportation, lunch, entrance fee for you and guide.
My recommendation is to purchase Hakone free ticket for 2 days. It cost ¥5000 for an adult and ¥1000 for a kid (under 12 years old). This ticket covers all transportation from Odawara to Hakone area including bus, train, pirate ship, cable car and rope-way.
This is one typical route to enjoy Hakone. But there are many other places which is unique in Hakone for example many museums and historical sites.
For example, there is a famous "Open Air museum" where all sculptures are displayed in open air. If you wish to visit any specific place, please advice me. I will arrange this tour to meet your request.
If you can see Mt.Fuji depends on the weather condition. And please note that during summer, visibility is low and in winter it is high. It means chancesis to see Mt.Fuji in summer is low and in winter is high
Also, transportation in Hakone is affected by weather condition, especially cruise ship and rope-way ( cable car)
Hiro is an excellent tour guide! He designed a fantastic day trip visit to Hakone for our family of 8 and was highly communicative and organized both leading up to our tour date, as well as during our visit to Hakone. We got very lucky with stunning views of Mt. Fuji and appreciated Hiro's historical knowledge and Japanese cultural insights. I highly recommend booking your private tour with Hiro.
We loved our day with Hiroshi! He allowed us to plan a very specific itinerary of the 2 things we wanted to do in Hakone: Hike Mt. Kintoki and visit the Hakone Open Air museum. This required navigating and timing the trains and buses perfectly, which he easily did for us. Hiking with him was safe and fun and he shared great stories. Lunch at the top was a treat and resting our tired feet in the hot springs at the museum was an unexpected highlight. It was a stress free day in Hakone and we would love to travel with Hiroshi again.
Thank you for your comment and I had great time with your family. I am waiting for another chance to guide you.
My wife and I had a great time wish Hiroshi. We did not have much time in Tokyo and having Hiroshi as a guide was a must. We had a chance to visit many places and most important learn about the culture and Japan history. Hiroshi was a 5 star guide! Also fun and great companion.
Dear Andre Thank you for your evaluation of my tour. I enjoyed being with you and your wife. I am glad to find you had fun with me and explanation about Japanese history and culture. I think you have many reasons to visit Japan again and I wish to show you many other places in Japan. Hiroshi
We had the best day trekking through Hakone with Hiroshi! He was funny, engaging, and very knowledgeable. He was well-prepared and we appreciated the time he spent customizing our day to meet our needs. We were sad to say our goodbyes! We highly recommend booking a tour with Hiroshi, you will not be disappointed!
Dear Anne Thank you for your good review about our tour in Hakone and I am glad by knowing you satisfied with me. I hope I can be your guide again. And next time, let go to Kintoki-san.