The Hakone Loop — the whole circuit in one day
Cog railway · sulphur steam · a pirate ship · a torii standing in the lake — this is the Hakone everyone talks about.
Leave Shinjuku station on the Romancecar (or an Odakyu express) before 8 am — any later and the Loop gets uncomfortably tight by mid-afternoon. The Romancecar reaches Hakone-Yumoto around 9:20 am. Change straight onto the Hakone Tozan Railway, the little cog train that climbs the mountain. It runs slowly, zigzagging up the slope and switching sides as it goes; in June and July hydrangeas line both sides of the track the whole way. It is about 35 minutes up to Chokoku-no-Mori.
Get off at Chokoku-no-Mori and it is a 5-minute walk to the Hakone Open Air Museum — an open-air gallery that sets 120 sculptures across a hillside, with works by Henry Moore, Rodin and Picasso sharing the same garden and the mountains as a backdrop. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours to wander before catching the train on up to Gora.
From Gora, take the cable car up to Sounzan, then board the long ropeway that crosses the ridge over Owakudani — a still-active volcanic valley where white sulphur steam pours constantly out of fissures in the ground. Above all that steam, on a clear day, you will see the summit of Mt Fuji floating behind. This stretch of ropeway is one of the most photogenic rides in Japan.
At the Owakudani station, try a kuro-tamago (black egg) — an egg boiled in the sulphur pools until its shell turns jet black. It tastes like an ordinary boiled egg, but the setting is like nowhere else; local lore says each one adds seven years to your life. A pack of five costs ¥500.
The ropeway drops you at Togendai on the shore of Lake Ashi. From there, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise pirate ship crosses the lake to Moto-Hakone in about 30 minutes. On a good day you will see Mt Fuji mirrored clearly in the water; some days it is misty, some days sharp — that uncertainty is part of the charm.
Step off at Moto-Hakone and walk to Hakone Shrine (箱根神社), whose vermilion torii gate stands in the water of Lake Ashi. The path from the pier leads through a forest of towering cedar trees, lined with stone lanterns, before reaching the lake torii — the symbol of Hakone you see on every postcard. The shrine grounds are a place of quiet reverence, so move gently and keep noise down; entry to the grounds is free. Allow 45–60 minutes to walk and photograph it.
If you are here on a day trip and heading back to Tokyo, take a bus from Moto-Hakone back to Hakone-Yumoto, then the Romancecar to Shinjuku, arriving around 8–9 pm. If you still have the energy, stop at a Yumoto onsen for half an hour before your train — see the day-use onsen options around Hakone-Yumoto.
If you are staying the night, head back to your hotel or ryokan, sink into a private onsen, then enjoy dinner at your lodging. The day trip ends here — but the real Hakone is only just beginning.
