Hakone is Tokyo's onsen escape — 90 minutes by train and a different country once you arrive. Our ten picks cover the iconic Gora luxury ryokans, contemporary Sengokuhara retreats, Lake Ashi rooms with Mt. Fuji views, and the practical Hakone-Yumoto station-side option for short overnights.
Updated April 2026 · All hotels personally vetted · Every hotel below is verified bookable on Booking.com
If you only read one thing on this page:
| BEST OVERALL / LUXURY | Gora Kadan Former Imperial villa, Hakone's reference luxury ryokan. |
| BEST FOR COUPLES | Kinnotake Sengokuhara (Adults Only) All-suite private onsen, 9.7 rating, adults only. |
| BEST PRIVATE ONSEN (MID) | Hakone Kowakien Tenyu Private Shigaraki-pottery bath in every room. |
| BEST LAKE ASHI VIEW | The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko Direct lakefront, Mt. Fuji on clear days. |
| BEST FOR FAMILIES | Hakone Ashinoko Hanaori Lakefront ryokan, larger rooms, kids' kaiseki. |
| BEST NEAR YUMOTO STATION | Yumoto Fujiya Hotel 8-min walk from station, riverside, $$. |
Ordered by editorial priority · balanced across areas
A former Imperial summer villa turned Relais & Châteaux ryokan — the consensus number-one luxury stay in Hakone.
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A 20-suite architect-designed hideaway on the quiet Sengokuhara plateau — every suite has a private indoor onsen and Mt. Kintoki views.
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Every room has a private open-air onsen made of Shigaraki pottery — the strongest in-room onsen experience at this price tier.
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Adults-only ryokan with every suite featuring a private indoor and outdoor onsen — Hakone's highest-rated luxury stay on Booking.com.
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Hakone's most iconic lakefront resort — direct Lake Ashi frontage with Mt. Fuji visible across the water on clear mornings.
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Lakefront ryokan with rooftop open-air baths overlooking Lake Ashi — family rooms sleep four with twin futon plus bed configurations.
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Boutique ryokan above Lake Ashi with private outdoor stone onsen on every room's terrace — premium suites have Mt. Fuji views.
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Contemporary Gora ryokan with premium rooms featuring private open-air baths — the strongest sub-$400 private-onsen option in Hakone.
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Riverside Yumoto hotel with onsen baths and Western beds — the easiest Hakone landing pad straight off the Tokyo train.
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Choose-your-own onsen experience: indoor and open-air private kashikiri baths plus a footbath cocktail bar — Owakudani sulphate spring water.
Check rates & availability →Hakone is not one place — it's a string of onsen villages scattered up the mountainside, each with its own character. Pick by what you want from the trip:
The ryokan capital of Hakone — Gora Kadan, Tenyu, Yunosumika, Tensui Saryo all sit within a 10-minute radius of Gora Station. Easy access to the cable car, ropeway, and Hakone Open-Air Museum. Pick this for first-timers wanting the classic luxury-ryokan experience.
A high plateau covered in pampas grass — quieter, cooler, with newer architect-built retreats. Hiramatsu, Kinnotake, and the Hoshino KAI properties are all here. Less crowded than Gora, but you'll need a taxi or bus from Hakone-Yumoto. Best for adults and couples seeking design, privacy, and quiet.
The shore of Lake Ashi — Hakone's iconic view, with the Hakone Shrine torii gate rising from the water and Mt. Fuji on the horizon on clear days. The Prince Hakone, Hanaori, and Yoshimatsu sit on or above the lake. Best for views, photography, sightseeing-cruise access.
The transport gateway — the Romancecar from Shinjuku terminates here, and the Hakone-Tozan line runs up the mountain from this station. Yumoto itself is busy and touristy, but station-side hotels like Yumoto Fujiya make sense if you arrive late, leave early, or simply don't want a transfer. The right pick for short overnight stays.
Mid-mountain stations on the Hakone-Tozan line, between Yumoto and Gora. The historic Fujiya Hotel sits in Miyanoshita; Kowakien Tenyu and the Yunessun bath complex are in Kowakudani. Quieter than Gora but with full ropeway and museum access.
Three Hakone properties consistently top luxury lists but don't sell through Booking.com: Hakone Ginyu (Miyanoshita cliffside, every room with private bath overlooking the gorge), Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone (riverside Tonosawa, Hoshino's accessible-luxury brand), and Hoshino Resorts KAI Sengokuhara (art-themed, intimate). All three book direct via their own sites or through Rakuten Travel / Ikyu — worth checking if dates above don't work.
| If you are… | Stay at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First time in Hakone, want the classic experience | Gora Kadan, Hakone Kowakien Tenyu, or Tensui Saryo (Gora) | All ryokan tradition, kaiseki dinner, easy ropeway and museum access |
| Honeymoon / anniversary / couples | Kinnotake Sengokuhara or Hiramatsu Sengokuhara | Adults-only, private onsen in every room, kaiseki in private dining |
| Want a private onsen but don't want to splurge | Laforet Hakone Gora Yunosumika or Hakone Kowakien Tenyu | Private balcony bath at $$$ rather than $$$$ tier |
| Want Mt. Fuji from the room or bath | The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko or Yoshimatsu (Lake Ashi suite) | Direct lake-and-Fuji views — book the named view rooms specifically |
| Travelling with kids | Hakone Ashinoko Hanaori (Lake Ashi) or Tensui Saryo (Gora) | Larger family rooms, kids' kaiseki, less formal service |
| Short overnight or late arrival from Tokyo | Yumoto Fujiya Hotel | 8-min walk from Hakone-Yumoto, no transfers needed with luggage |
| On a budget but still want onsen | Yumoto Fujiya Hotel or Tensui Saryo | $$ to $$$ with private kashikiri or in-house onsen included |
| Want contemporary design over traditional tatami | Hiramatsu Sengokuhara or Laforet Yunosumika | Modern architecture, Western beds, design-led interiors |
The Odakyu Romancecar Limited Express runs direct from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto in 85-90 minutes (¥2,470 reserved). No transfers, large windows, snack/drink trolley. Most ryokans recommend this. Book via the Odakyu site or buy at Shinjuku in person — reserve a few days ahead for weekends and peak periods.
From Tokyo Station: take the Shinkansen Kodama or Hikari to Odawara (35 min, JR Pass valid), then transfer to the Hakone-Tozan Line local for Hakone-Yumoto (15 min, separate fare). Total under an hour. Faster than the Romancecar overall, but with one transfer and less scenic.
The Hakone Free Pass (¥6,100 from Shinjuku for 2 days) is almost always worth buying — it covers the round-trip Romancecar (or Odakyu local), all Hakone-Tozan trains, the cable car up to Sounzan, the Hakone Ropeway across Owakudani, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise across Lake Ashi, and most local buses. Without it, the round of transport adds up to roughly the same total but with the friction of buying tickets at every transfer.
Two nights is the right answer for most travellers. One night is enough to do the full Hakone Round Course (Hakone-Tozan train up, cable car, ropeway across Owakudani, lake cruise across Ashi, bus back) plus one ryokan onsen experience. Two nights lets you slow down, do the Open-Air Museum or Hakone Shrine, and actually use the ryokan's facilities rather than rushing dinner-bath-breakfast-checkout.
It depends on the trip. Gora is the centre of gravity for luxury ryokans and gives easy ropeway and museum access — pick this for first-timers wanting the classic Hakone experience. Sengokuhara is quieter and more contemporary, with the highest-end adult retreats (Hiramatsu, Kinnotake). Motohakone and the Lake Ashi shore is for views — Mt. Fuji over the water and the iconic torii gate. Hakone-Yumoto is the practical arrival point straight off the Romancecar from Shinjuku — best for short overnights or first-timers with luggage. Miyanoshita and Kowakudani fall in between, with classic mid-tier ryokans like Tenyu.
Three picks at different price tiers. Top tier: Kinnotake Sengokuhara (adults-only, 9.7 on Booking, every suite has private indoor and outdoor baths). Mid-tier: Hakone Kowakien Tenyu (every room has a private Shigaraki-pottery open-air bath, 9.1 rating, $$$$). Best value: Laforet Hakone Gora Yunosumika (premium rooms with private balcony onsen at the contemporary $$$ tier, 8.6). For the iconic Mt. Fuji-from-the-bath shot, Yoshimatsu's Lake Ashi suite is the page-one Pinterest answer — but it books out 6+ months in advance.
Stay overnight. The whole point of Hakone is the onsen ryokan experience — kaiseki dinner, private bath before bed, breakfast in your yukata, and the slow morning walk before the day-tripper crowds arrive. Day-tripping makes the round-trip ropeway loop feel rushed and skips the actual product. The Romancecar from Shinjuku is 85-90 minutes each way — perfectly reasonable for a one- or two-night stay. If you only have a day, do Hakone Yunessun (a swimsuit-friendly hot spring theme park) and skip the ryokan trip entirely; you can return another time for the proper version.
The fastest and most scenic option is the Odakyu Romancecar Limited Express from Shinjuku Station to Hakone-Yumoto — 85-90 minutes, ¥2,470 with reserved seats, no transfers. From Tokyo Station, take the Shinkansen Kodama or Hikari to Odawara (35 min), then the Hakone-Tozan Line local to Hakone-Yumoto (15 min) — faster than the Romancecar overall but with one transfer. The Hakone Free Pass (¥6,100 from Shinjuku, 2 days) covers the round-trip plus all Hakone-Tozan trains, the cable car, ropeway, sightseeing cruise, and most local buses — almost always worth it.
Gora Kadan is bookable on Booking.com (we list it above). Hakone Ginyu and the Hoshino KAI properties (KAI Hakone, KAI Sengokuhara) are not reliably available on Booking.com — they sell direct via their own websites and through Japan-domestic platforms like Rakuten Travel and Ikyu. They're outstanding stays and we mention them in the editorial sections, but the cards above only feature properties that are actually bookable through the link, so you don't end up clicking through to a sold-out search page.
Late October through early December for autumn foliage (the maples around Gora and Sengokuhara are the highlight). April for cherry blossoms (later than Tokyo because of altitude — typically the second week). Winter (December-February) for the highest chance of clear Mt. Fuji views from Lake Ashi and the strongest onsen experience in the cold. Avoid Golden Week (April 29-May 5), Obon (mid-August), and the New Year period — Hakone is Tokyo's go-to weekend escape and ryokans book out a year ahead at 2-3x the rate.