Hi! I was hoping to get some advice for a trip 2 friends & I are planning for Autumn 2023.
###Context:
The plan for now is 2 weeks in Japan, roughly:
* fly to Osaka via Tokyo
* 4-6 days Kyoto (with 1 or 2 day trips: Nara, Osaka)
* 2-3 days in Hakone
* 5-7 days in Tokyo (with 1 to 3 day trips: Yokohama, Kamakura, Mt Takao, Kawagoe, Nikko)
* leave from Tokyo
We’re not clear on the number of days yet, and I wanted to start with figuring out how many days should be attributed to Hakone.
###What we want to get out of Hakone:
* Onsen
* Ryokan experience (food/futon bed)
* Mt Fuji view (if lucky)
* a bit of nature/”hiking”
* Museums(?)
###Plan for now:
(Note: we are planning to buy the Hakone Freepass)
**Day 1**
* Take Shinkansen from Kyoto to Odawara + train/bus to Hakone/Gora (takes \~3hrs, arrival around lunch time)
* Lunch
* Leave luggage at Ryokan (if possible)
* Explore Gora, possibly go to the Open-Air Museum
* Check-in at Ryokan
* Onsen
* Dinner at Ryokan
(Note: we are planning to send our big luggage pieces from Kyoto to Tokyo and only have smaller luggage items with us for Hakone, so that’s something we wouldn’t need to worry about, though they wouldn’t be small enough for us to lug those around all day)
**Day 2**
* Ryokan breakfast
* bus to Motohakone
* Narukawa Art Museum, early lunch (first opportunity to see Mt Fuji)
* walk to Hakone-En station
* Komagatake ropeway to the top + see Motogu shrine (2nd opportunity to see Mt Fuji) & down again
* walk/bus to Togendai station (possibly visit shrines along the way)
* Hakone ropeway (3rd possibility to see Mt Fuji + possible stop at Owakudani) + Hakone Tozan cable car back to Gora
* Dinner at Ryokan
(Note: for visual representation of this see [here](https://i.imgur.com/A0AWFUN.png) – turquoise line)
**Day 3**
* Ryokan breakfast
* leave for Tokyo (Shinkansen: \~35min, Romance car: \~1.5h)
###Questions
1. **Weekend vs weekday:** We are planning to avoid going to Hakone during the weekend to avoid it being too busy. Would you consider this beneficial indeed or would it be more important to avoid the weekend days in Kyoto for instance? If yes, should we avoid Fridays too?
2. **Day 2 itinerary:** Does Day 2 sound like a good/feasible itinerary to see Mt Fuji and take in the landscape (& be back in time for the Ryokan dinner)? Would you recommend other Mt Fuji viewing spots instead?
3. **1 vs 2 nights:** The Ryokan stay would be the most expensive place we stay at, so I was wondering if it was feasible to somewhat comfortably pack these activities in a 2 days + 1 night stay rather than 2 days + 2 nights stay. My main concern is being completely worn out & sweaty from the activities currently planned for Day 2 and not having the time/energy to go to Tokyo on the same day. Doing this straight after coming from Kyoto as Day 1 seems a bit difficult too. Perhaps doing this whole big loop is overkill though and we could drop Komagatake from the itinerary?
6. **Non-smoking:** I’ve seen it mentioned repeatedly that ryokans don’t usually have proper non-smoking rooms. Is this accurate? On booking.com, there seems to be plenty of options while using the “non-smoking” filter, but I’m not sure if this reflects reality. Any recommendations for Ryokans to stay at or alternatively, which ones to avoid?
5. **Early breakfast:** Are Ryokan breakfasts really as early as 6AM usually? (all 3 of us are not morning people :/)
6. **Rain:** Any specific recommendations for itinerary adjustments if the weather is shitty?
7. **Anything else** you may think of that may be useful to know?
In case it’s relevant: none of us know any Japanese at the moment, though we’ll be studying to know a bit of the basics!
Many thanks in advance!
2 comments
Couple comments on a Ryokan stay:
You’ll want to save enough time in the evening to settle into your Ryokan early (perhaps 5 or 6PM) so you can actually enjoy some of the amenities and get settled in before dinner, especially if they have an onsen bath. It’s quite a unique and fun experience the first time, so make sure you schedule enough time to enjoy it!
Online room filters often don’t work super well, especially for smaller hotels. Though larger ryokans or resort hotels may indeed specify smoking room types. That being said, I haven’t personally encountered a ‘nice’ ryokan where there was a noticeable smoke odor
6AM breakfast probably means they start offering breakfast at 6, you can definitely schedule for a more reasonable time later.
Check out some of the sample itineraries on the Hakone Navi site. They’re pretty well timed out.
– [Hakone Navi (Official Tourism Site)](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/)
– [Hakone Navi: Trip Itineraries](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/course)
Yes, staying in a ryokan on weekday nights will be better as the price can be much cheaper. Kyoto is always crowded and you’re likely just staying in a regular hotel there anyways where the price difference between weekday and weekend may not be so steep. But, at a ryokan, if you can book a stay for Sunday – Thursday nights it is usually much cheaper than Friday/Saturday night stays. Exceptions to this are Japanese holidays that fall on a weekday and vacation weeks such as New Years or Golden week.
– [Public Holidays in Japan](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2062.html)
– [Visiting Japan During New Years](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html)
– [Golden Week in Japan](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2282.html)
We’ve stayed at two places in Hakone. One was a splurge with 4 private outdoor onsen huts (and you can get rooms with in room onsen tubs too). The second was a moderately priced ryokan that had an onsen you could privately reserve for an hour in the evening and an hour in the morning. For the stay, it was walkable to Gora Brewery restaurant so we made dinner reservations there. Lots of options for ryokan at all price points in Hakone.
– [Splurge: Hakone Kowakudani Mizunoto](https://maps.app.goo.gl/cZFYrsXULVCHhLhRA?g_st=ic)
– [Ajisai Onsen Ryokan](https://www.booking.com/Share-ZK1Lxt)
– [Gora Brewery and Grill](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cu4HVzcB2anJsUSu9?g_st=ic)
I haven’t had issues with rooms in ryokan smelling of cigarettes. That’s more likely to happen at old style business hotels. I don’t think you’ll have too big an issue with this. Just book one of the non-smoking rooms specifically. That being said, many hotels do have smoking rooms too and sometimes the smell does permeate to the non-smoking floors. It’s not something that happened too often for me though and more likely in cheap, basic hotels that cater more to business travelers on a budget (spent 3 years living in Japan and 15 years going back and forth for work).
You’ll usually be given a choice of starting time for breakfast upon checkin. Last seating for breakfast is early, usually by 8:30 or 9 am. But that just gives you more of the day to sightsee. Japanese tourists tend to be up super early to get out the door so late hotel breakfasts aren’t really a thing.
In terms of rain, just grab an umbrella from the 7-11 and still head out to your sites. Temples and shrines are beautiful to see in the rain and often have less people too on a rainy day.
Happy Planning!