What to do in Hakone · the loop, in the right order
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All 13 places on this map are pinned at their exact location. Each one comes with a short note on what it is and why it is worth your time. Browsing is free, and with an Ikuzo account you can copy the whole map and reshape it into your own trip.
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Hakone-Yumoto Station
The gateway to the caldera. Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku: 75 minutes, 2,470 yen. The loop starts and ends here.
Hakone Yuryō
A modern public onsen a short walk from Yumoto, lovely gardens, beautiful in autumn. The answer for those not staying in a ryokan. Tattoos accepted with advance notice.
Hakone Open-Air Museum
70 sculptures by Picasso, Henry Moore, Niki de Saint Phalle and Rodin scattered over 7 hectares with mountain views. Allow 2 to 3 hours. The Picasso pavilion alone is worth it.
Gora
The end of the switchback railway and the start of the cable car. The most charming place to stay, between the two halves of the loop.
Pola Museum of Art
One of Japan's finest Impressionist collections (Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh) in a glass building tucked under the forest canopy. The architecture is worth as much as the paintings.
Owakudani
The great boiling valley: sulfur vents and eggs cooked at 80 °C until their shells turn black. 500 yen for five. The ropeway regularly closes for volcanic activity, check on the day.
Tōgendai
The ropeway's end and the northern pier of the pirate ships. This is where you switch from the mountain to the lake.
Kuzuryū Shrine
On the west shore of the lake, a 30-minute walk from Moto-Hakone. It has a torii in the water too, without the queue. Dedicated to the nine-headed dragon converted by the monk Mangan in the 8th century.
Moto-Hakone
The southern pier, at the foot of the shrine. The best place to stay if you want the lake when you wake up.
The floating torii of Lake Ashi
The great red torii standing in the water, one of the most reproduced photos of central Japan. Before 8 a.m. or late in the evening; otherwise the queue tops 40 minutes in high season.
Hakone-jinja
A 9th-century shrine, where samurai prayed on their way to Kyoto. The staircase under the cedars is worth as much as the torii.
Hakone Sekisho checkpoint
The Tōkaidō checkpoint between Edo and Kyoto, rebuilt exactly as it was. It explains the region's polished post-town soul.
The old Tōkaidō road
4 km of 17th-century paved paths through the forest between Moto-Hakone and Hatajuku, original stone markers still in place. Probably the best-preserved stretch of the old Tōkaidō.