Hakone

Hakone occupies the caldera of an ancient volcano 80 kilometres southwest of Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture, within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The Odakyu Romance Car express from Shinjuku reaches Hakone-Yumoto Station in 85 minutes for around 2,200 yen plus a 1,280 yen seat reservation. JR Shinkansen to Odawara followed by the Hakone Tozan Railway takes about 1.5 hours total and is partly covered by the JR Pass. The classic Hakone itinerary follows a loop through the caldera using several connecting transport modes. From Hakone-Yumoto, the Hakone Tozan Railway mountain rack railway climbs a 14 percent gradient through dense cedar forest to Gora. A funicular ascends from Gora to Sounzan, where passengers board the Hakone Ropeway for a 2.5-kilometre aerial crossing above the Owakudani volcanic valley. At the Owakudani stop, active sulphur vents emit gas across a pale, bleached landscape, and kuro-tamago — hard-boiled eggs cooked in the hot spring water, which turns their shells black — are sold for 500 yen per five. The ropeway continues to Togendai on Lake Ashi, where sightseeing boats known as Hakone Pirate Ships cross to Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi, both fronting pine-fringed shorelines. On clear mornings, Mount Fuji rises unmistakably above the far shore of the lake in one of Japan's most reproduced views. Return buses from the lake run to Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto. Between the mountain railway and the ropeway, Chokoku-no-Mori Station serves the Hakone Open-Air Museum, which displays over 120 outdoor sculptures by Moore, Rodin, and Picasso across landscaped grounds; a complimentary foot bath allows a rest midway. Onsen bathing is Hakone's secondary draw, with day-use facilities in Hakone-Yumoto and Gora available to non-guests for 1,000–2,500 yen. A full circuit from Shinjuku, covering the mountain railway, funicular, ropeway, and lake boat, can be completed comfortably when departing by 9 AM.