Hi!
I am planning to travel from Tokyo to Hakone and would like to spend a night at a ryokan in Gora.
I received the itinerary below from Chat GPT – for those that traveled to Hakone for one night, does this itinerary seem feasible (weather permitting and assuming cable cars and ropeway are fully operational)?
Morning: Depart from Tokyo
Start around 7:00 AM.
Take the Romancecar Limited Express from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto Station.
Travel Time: Approximately 1.5 to 2 hours.
Cost: Around 2,000 to 3,000 yen for a one-way ticket.
Late Morning: Hakone Open Air Museum
Arrive at Hakone-Yumoto Station around 9:00 AM.
Take a bus or taxi to the Hakone Open Air Museum.
Travel Time: Approximately 20-30 minutes.
Cost: Bus fare is around 1,000 yen, taxi fare is around 3,000 yen.
Afternoon: Cable Car
Return to Hakone-Yumoto Station by early afternoon.
Take the Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Gora Station.
Travel Time: Approximately 40 minutes.
Cost: Included in the Hakone Free Pass.
Early Afternoon: Explore Gora
Spend some time exploring Gora and have lunch.
Consider trying a local onsen for a relaxing break.
Late Afternoon: Lake Ashi
Take the Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Sounzan.
Transfer to the Hakone Ropeway for the scenic ride to Togendai near Lake Ashi.
Travel Time: Approximately 1 hour.
Cost: Included in the Hakone Free Pass.
Early Evening: Tokaido Route
Take a cruise on Lake Ashi to Moto-Hakone.
Walk along the historic Tokaido route.
Travel Time: Approximately 30-40 minutes for the cruise.
Cost: Included in the Hakone Free Pass.
Evening: Check-in at Gora
Take a taxi to Gora and check-in at your ryokan.
Relax in the onsen and enjoy a kaiseki dinner.
Travel Time: The taxi ride would take approximately 30 minutes, depending on traffic conditions.
Cost: The taxi fare is estimated to be around 8,000 to 10,000 yen, but prices may vary.
3 comments
Get a 2 Day Hakone Pass with trip from Shinjuku included. This will cover round trip base fare from Shinjuku to Hakone and all transportation and a discount of 200 yen to open air museum. You will still need to reserve the romance car tickets (which is like a surcharge)
When you arrive at Hokone- Yumoto station you can take the train to open air museum. Let says you take the 730 am train you will reach Hokone yumoto by 9am. My recommendation to get to Gora by train and do the loop all the way to Moto Hakone.
When we did this last week with a toddler we were done by the 3pm. We had time to do the open air museum but decided to check into our Ryokan. We spent few hours next day at the open air museum after checking out and then returning to Tokyo. We took a bus from Moto-Hakone back to owakudani station to be picked up by our Ryokan and it was packed and didn’t make for a pleasant trip especially with a tired toddler. An alternative would have been after the lake cruise return to Gora back through ropeway and cable car.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
If your ryokan is in Gora I would potentially consider doing your route in reverse. From hakone-yumoto station bus directly to Moto-hakone and catch the boat up to Togendai. Ropeway up to top and poke around the summit then head down to Gora. Hit the open air museum and then check into your ryokan.
Nothing wrong with how you have it laid out now but reversing would save you a bus ride from Moto-hakone back to Gora (which obv isn’t the end of the world!)
Also this assumes you have forwarded any luggage directly to the ryokan from the romancecar as my understanding is you can’t take luggage on the ropeway.
When my wife and I did our night in Hakone a couple weeks ago, we ended up just doing lunch at Gyoza Center and the Owakudani section of the ropeway before checking into our ryokan and going full spa mode. We both really needed the break after seven days in Tokyo and the area nearby. Between that and the lengthy trip up to Gora, we just didn’t have a lot in the tank for braving the rain and exploring much.
That said, Hakone was still a massive highlight of the trip. Hours in the onsen, the best meal of our trip, in room massage, incredibly restful night’s sleep. We’re going to do two nights next time.