Ryokan recommendations Hakone

5 comments

1. I stayed in a sweet little guest house called irori guesthouse tenmaku. Not a ryokan exactly but still tradtional Japanese house. Walking distance to the open air museum. Communal dinner where we all grilled our own food and a small bar in the downstairs.

2. The general area around Gora, so all the places you named, are a good choice.

   Just do not expect too much to be open in the evening as most shops close around 5 or 6 pm, so after that it will be a bit more walking in the streets with closed shops. And you usually have to check-in at ryokan around that time anyway.

   So I would just suggest to do whatever you want during the day, do your walk around Gora area for shopping then just go to the ryokan. Then you can go soak in the onsen before dinner, or you can go for a small walk, but here regardless of the area, shops will likely be close.

   So more than a nice area to walk in, I would select the ryokan that have the most appealing offering for you, can be for the the price, the room, the onsen, there is different aspect that can come into play.

   The place where I stayed was just along what look like a countryside road in the forest and there was so much fog that I could see nothing. Literally next morning I took the same road and was wondering if I made a mistake as I could spot any landmark to confirm that I was on the right way (appart from the map on my phone).

3. If you’re a bit of an introvert, I recommend “Yutorelo-an”. It’s up the ways from Gora Station, about a 7ish minutes walk from the Naka-Gora cable rail station, which is the 3rd station up from Gora.

   My fiancee and I went there in June 2019 which I believe was the start of the rainy season. I booked the “Twin Room with the Tatami Area and Private Bathroom”– 2 twin beds, a tatami sitting area, and a private bathroom with an in-ground bathtub, hot water is the same as the ones feeding the onsen. Booked directly on their website and paid a bit more to add on their seasonal breakfast and dinner *kaiseki*– definitely an experience worth doing. Upon checking in, they led us to a shelf full of colorful yukatas and encouraged us to wear them during our stay.

   Also got to use their outdoor private onsens for 45 minutes per day, I think it was a perk from booking directly. They gave us 2 laminated colored tickets, the color corresponding to the time block that we could go to the private outdoor baths. All we had to do was go to the front desk and exchange the tickets for the keys to the private outdoor baths. The private baths had a barrier fence separating each outdoor baths and a little shack to change out of your clothes. Entry was from a door on one side shack to the changing area and then through another door to the outdoor baths. There’s a showerhead to rinse yourself just right after you enter the outdoor bath area.

   There is also 2 big separated onsen for men and women, but we didn’t look since we had a private bath in our room and had the usage of the private outdoor onsen for both nights. There’s also a communal footbath a little ways from the lobby to cool your feet after hiking.

   Paid roundabouts of JPY 82080 for 2 nights, that was about USD 800 back in 2019.

   Immediate area around the onsen ryokan is hilly. It’s a downhill stroll to the nearby art museum and park; nearest conbini happens to be on the downhill side of the park so you have to weigh your options if you need to restock on drinks and snacks– or be smart like my fiancee and take the cable car down 2 stops and swing by the conbini instead of hiking it like a moron (re: me). Definitely recommend stocking up on drinks and snacks at the conbini; the vending machines at the ryokan was out of beer and ice cream our first night.

   You won’t be in the middle of all the action like down in Gora but if you’re an introvert and like a bit of peace and quiet, I would recommend Yutorelo-an.

4. All of them have stations on the little mountain train, and have major bus lines going through them, so you can easily access other areas besides your own. As far as those specific areas, I would stay in Gora. There is a garden and a Nobu restaurant if you want, (but I highly recommend to eat at the Gyoza center). You can also walk, or take the train or bus, one station to Chokokunomori. That is where the wonderful outdoor art museum is. This is definitely a must visit.

   There’s definitely not much happening around Kowakudani, but it’s relatively close to Gora.

   One of my relatives has a second house between Kowakudani and Chokokunomori, and I’ve been there multiple multiple times over 40 years

5. We stayed at Yama No Chaya and loved it!