Getting There & Getting Around
Getting to and around Hakone is half the fun! An easy loop tour you can follow through Hakone includes various forms of unique transportation: Starting out by train from Tokyo, you switch to a small two-car tram that zigzags up the mountain, then change to a cable car, and then to a smaller ropeway, and end your trip with a boat ride across Lake Ashi, stopping to see major attractions along the way. From Lake Ashi (that is, from the villages of Togendai, Hakone-machi, or Moto-Hakone), you can then board a bus bound for Odawara Station (an hour's ride), where you board the train back to Tokyo. These same buses also pass by all the recommendations listed below, which is useful if you wish to complete most of your sightseeing the first day before going to your hotel for the evening. A bus runs directly between Togendai and Shinjuku in about 2 hours (fare: ¥1,960/$16/£8.25).
Odakyu operates the most convenient network of trains, buses, trams, cable cars, and boats to and around Hakone. The most economical and by far easiest way to see Hakone is with Odakyu's Hakone Free Pass which, despite its name, isn't free but does give you a round-trip ticket on the express train from Shinjuku Station to Odawara or Hakone Yumoto and includes all modes of transportation in Hakone listed above and described below. The pass lets you avoid the hassle of buying individual tickets and gives nominal discounts on most Hakone attractions. Several variations of the pass are available; the most common, valid for 3 days, costs ¥5,500 ($46/£23) for adults, half-fare for children. You'll save money, however, by traveling on a weekday. The Hakone Weekday Pass, which is good Monday through Thursday, is valid for 2 days and costs ¥4,700 ($39/£20) for adults, half-price for children. Not only are weekdays less crowded, but some hotels also offer cheaper weekday rates, which means you'll save all around. Note, however, that the Weekday Pass is not available during peak times, including Golden Week, summer school vacation (mid-July to Aug), and New Year's.
The trip from Shinjuku to Hakone Yumoto, where you can then board the mountain tram, takes 2 hours (if you want to see Odawara Castle, you'll want to disembark in Odawara, before Hakone Yumoto), with departures approximately every 30 minutes. If time is of the essence or if you want to ensure a seat during peak season, reserve a seat on the faster and more luxurious Odakyu Romance Car, which travels from Shinjuku all the way to Hakone Yumoto in 1 1/2 hours and costs an extra ¥870 ($7.20/£3.65) one-way with a Hakone Pass.
All these passes can be purchased at any station of the Odakyu Railway. In Tokyo, the best place to purchase Hakone Free Pass tickets is Shinjuku Station, at the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center (located on the ground floor near the west exit of Odakyu Shinjuku Station; tel. 03/5321-7887; www.odakyu.jp/english; daily 8am-6pm), where you can obtain sightseeing information in English in addition to purchasing tickets. If you wish, you can also buy 1- or 2-day do-it-yourself package tours that include round-trip transportation to Hakone, meals, sightseeing, and hotel stays.
Visitor Information
Before leaving Tokyo, pick up the "Hakone and Kamakura" leaflet available from the Tourist Information Center; it provides transportation information for throughout the Hakone area. A color brochure called "Hakone National Park" includes sightseeing information and contains a map of the Hakone area.
In Odawara, the Odawara Tourist Information Center (tel. 0465/22-2339; daily 9am-5pm) is inside Odawara Station. In Hakone Yumoto, the Yumoto Tourist Office (tel. 0460/85-8911; daily 9:30am-6pm Apr-Nov, to 5:30pm Dec-Mar) is a 2-minute walk from the Hakone Yumoto Station. Take a right out of the station onto the town's main street; the office is on the left. If you want to leave luggage, you can do so at a counter inside the Hakone Yumoto train station, which is open daily 6am to 10pm.
