I’ve seen plenty of posts here about Hakone day trips, and other posts about staying one night there, but didn’t really see any detailed posts about a one-night itinerary in Hakone. I’m planning a trip there this December with my partner, and was wondering how feasible my itinerary is (especially the last part) given that Hakone will be the last stop of our trip before we head to the airport.
Day 1:
* Check out of our Shinjuku hotel and take the Romance Car from Shinjuku station to Hakone-Yumoto station, targeting to arrive at about 5pm.
* Spend the night at a ryokan of our choice.
Day 2:
* Check out of our ryokan, and head to Hakone-Yumoto station to store our luggages.
* Do the Hakone loop using the Hakone Free Pass – see the Peace Shrine Gate, take the boat ride, take the cable car up to Owakudani, visit the Open Air Museum, then head back to Hakone-Yumoto station (hopefully I’m not missing anything).
* Collect our luggages, then take the Romance Car to Shinjuku.
* Take the Narita Express from Shinjuku to Narita Airport, where we’re staying at an airport hotel. We have to do this to catch a 7am flight the next day.
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Given the above plan, I have a few questions / points I’d like to get some input on:
1. Given that I’ll be storing my luggage at Hakone-Yumoto station and the [last timing for pickup for the luggage storage is at 6pm](https://www.odakyu.jp/english/support/center/), would my itinerary be too rushed to make it back in time?
2. Alternatively, I understand that Hakone-Yumoto station has lockers – are any of these big enough to store large luggages? We’ll be in Japan for a 2-week trip.
3. An alternative is to stay two nights in Hakone – but our one-night ryokan stay will likely already blow a huge hole in our budget. I’m considering staying one night in a ryokan and the second night in another (regular) hotel in Hakone but I’m not sure if that’s a feasible option.
Thank you!
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2 comments
This would stress me out personally – but I think it partly depends on how you like to travel and how much time you like taking to do different things. For example, I enjoy spending my last day doing any last minute shopping, packing, fitting in all the last minute things I’ve missed and generally taking it a bit easier while others like to go right up until the end.
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>Given that I’ll be storing my luggage at Hakone-Yumoto station and the last timing for pickup for the luggage storage is at 6pm, would my itinerary be too rushed to make it back in time?
Might be worth considering looking at wherever you stay to see if they can hold your luggage. I know where we stayed held ours (but obviously holding at the station itself would ideally be more convenient in terms of location to collect from). I think how much you can do is also impacted by how early you wake up and – if you’re staying at a traditional ryokan – you will need to be aware if you’re expected to have breakfast, etc., so will need to factor that in.
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I spent a few hours alone (and could’ve spent longer) at Hakone Open Air Museum. I personally think I’d struggle doing the whole loop AND the open air museum in one day while also really enjoying the experience and getting to take it all in vs just going through the motions… What time would your train back be (luggage collection aside)?
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As you mentioned December, I would also hazard a guess that the time it starts getting dark and what that will impact may also mean one night is not the best choice here… Hopefully somebody else who’s attempted to do the same can confirm. You’ll want to check opening hours (I am confident that some of the loop closes at 5 and I *think* the Open Air Museum does too so you may need to get up properly early).
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>Alternatively, I understand that Hakone-Yumoto station has lockers – are any of these big enough to store large luggages? We’ll be in Japan for a 2-week trip.
Again, I’ll suggest asking your accommodation if they can store your bags for you. Check out the lockers when you arrive to see the sizing compared to your bags and – in a worst case scenario – you’ll at least know whether storage at your accommodation will be possible. I didn’t use the lockers there myself (as mentioned) so can’t say their sizing or how busy it might be.
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>An alternative is to stay two nights in Hakone – but our one-night ryokan stay will likely already blow a huge hole in our budget. I’m considering staying one night in a ryokan and the second night in another (regular) hotel in Hakone but I’m not sure if that’s a feasible option.
I personally think 2-nights is the better choice. Obviously if you can make it work to stay in one place for 2 nights, that’s probably easier/less of a faff for the time you’ll be there, **but** if you can’t afford that and want to stay at a ryokan one night, I still would stay the 2 nights. I think you’ll feel too crunched for time doing this in 1 day personally.
I’d say do two nights because I feel like you’d be pretty rushed doing this itinerary in one day and may not enjoy it as much as you deserve to! I live close by so I’ve always driven and because of that, I’m not sure how long public transport takes out there (hopefully someone else can help out) but just remember that things close early there.