Hi everyone,
Just putting together an itinerary for my 2 week trip to Japan with my partner. We have booked 5 nights in Tokyo, followed by 1 night in a Hakone ryokan, and then continuing the trip in Osaka and Kyoto. However, I am now worrying that it will be too difficult to fit in all of the activities in Hakone, and would appreciate any advice from people who have done this trip before.
So far this is my plan
**Days 1-5:**
Tokyo (hotel in Shinjuku)
**Day 6:**
Breakfast and check out of Tokyo hotel (8am), send luggage ahead to Osaka hotel
Buy Hakone free pass from Shinjuku station
Take 08:31 Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto (arrive 10:17) (not pre-booked yet)
Do Hakone Round Course (https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html):
– train to Gora
– quick lunch and open air museum
– Hakone Tozan cable car
– Hakone ropeway including geo museum at Owakudani
– Pirate ship ending In Hakone-machi or Moto Hakone
Travel (via bus?) to hotel (Mount View Hakone in Sengokuhara) – note we must arrive before 6pm due to dinner booking
Dinner, onsen etc. in hotel
**Day 7:**
Breakfast and check out of hotel (around 9am)
Bus to Odawara station
Shinkansen to Osaka and check in to hotel
So the key question is, will there be enough time between checking out of our hotel in Tokyo (Shinjuku) in the morning, travelling to Hakone and then doing the whole loop, while then also making it to our hotel in Sengokuhara for 6pm? I don’t know if it’s really feasible to get a train earlier than 08:31 with checking out of our hotel, having breakfast and arranging our luggage to be sent to Osaka. It’s difficult to find out how long this route takes on average. I am also worried about how easy/quick it is to get to Sengokuhara.
I am wondering if it makes more sense to do the loop ‘backwards’ i.e. starting with the pirate ship and ending in Gora? I haven’t seen much about this online so not even sure if that’s possible. We could also leave some of the activities in Gora to the following day and arrive a bit later in Osaka (I wasn’t planning to do too much on the first day in Osaka anyway).
Many thanks!
by PurpleRainOnTPlain