I am planning an overnight trip in Hakone en route to Okayama from Tokyo:
**Tuesday 5/30**
* Take the 8:31am Romancecar from Shinjuku Station > Hakone-Yumoto (arrive at 10:17am)
* Lunch at Gyunabe Ukon at 11am on the terrace – has anyone dined here before and have any suggestions?
* Start Hakone Loop in reverse: take the bus down to Hakone Peace Shrine, hike Old Tokaido Highway to the pirate cruise, ropeway to Owakudani
* Sightseeing in Owakudani and then continue to Gora where we will check into a ryokan for the night
**Wednesday 5/31**
* Breakfast at ryokan
* Hakone Open Air Museum
* Grab some lunch to go and head to Odawara station where we will catch a train to Okayama around 2pm
* Since we will arrive in Okayama around dinner time, any suggestions where to go? It seems like this city shuts down pretty early so perhaps just check in and dinner will be enough to close out this day
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Does this schedule seem doable? I’m worried that the lunch might push our schedule too late – I think the last cable car ends at 5pm and might not give us enough time in Owakudani?
Also, I’m conflicted if I should purchase the Hakone Free Pass as I’m only taking the romancecar one way – maybe better to purchase a Hakone pass only and just buy the 1 way a la carte? Thoughts?
Thanks!
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5 comments
If you have the jr pass just take the shinkansen to odawara and go from there with the cheaper Hakone pass. Also I would recommend starting earlier than lunch – that’s going to be a bit stressful imo.
Edit: why not go to the Ryokan first to drop your bags and start the loop from there?
Freepass “from Odawara” is what you want.
I would also not call it reverse, just clockwise.
Related question: is it possible to finish the Hakone loop (clockwise) in under 4 hours?
That sounds stressful, especially with the lunch. You may not make it, especially if they close the ropeway early because of bad weather or strong winds. My suggestion would be:
Day 1, afternoon, check in to ryokan and enjoy the area.
Day 2, do the loop, go to your next destination (or stay another night, it is really lovely).
Bonus tip: make use of the coin lockers that are at every station. For example, if you wish to stay in Gora and would like to do the loop “in reverse”, first go to Hakone-Yumoto with your bags and place them in a locker there. Do the loop and pick up your bags when you return to Hakone-Yumoto.
I did hakone yumoto, amazake chaya, tokaido road to peace shrine, pÃrate boat, owakudani, open air museum in one day