Hakone, a volcanic highland district 90 minutes southwest of Tokyo, is one of Japan’s most diverse travel destinations: a single area combining active volcanic landscape, some of the country’s finest modern art museums, luxury hot-spring ryokan, classic views of Mount Fuji across Lake Ashi, and a pass that stands as a landmark of Edo-period travel. The Hakone Free Pass system makes it unusually easy to explore by ropeway, boat, and mountain railway in any combination.
Hakone Open-Air Museum (Chokoku no Mori)
Japan’s first outdoor sculpture museum, opened in 1969, spreads across 70,000 m² of hillside garden between Chokoku-no-Mori and Hakone-Yumoto stations on the Hakone Tozan Railway. Over 120 large-scale sculptures by Henry Moore, Rodin, Calder, Miro, and Taro Okamoto occupy terraced gardens with volcanic mountain views. The Picasso Pavilion houses 300 works from all periods of his career — the largest such collection in Japan. Children’s sculpture playground and open-air hot-spring footbath included. Entry ¥1,600; Hakone Free Pass discount available.
Hakone Museum of Art (MOA Hakone)
Perched above Gora, the Hakone Museum of Art specializes in ancient Japanese ceramics and garden art; its moss garden (open May–November) and bamboo grove set the world’s oldest surviving ceramics collection in living landscape. Entry ¥900.
Pola Museum of Art
Buried into the beech forest of Sengokuhara, Pola Museum holds one of Japan’s finest private Impressionist collections — Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Picasso — alongside Japanese paintings and decorative arts. The glass-and-steel building designed by Nikken Sekkei integrates seamlessly with the forest. Entry ¥1,800; café serves forest-view lunch.
Lake Ashi and Hakone Shrine
Lake Ashi occupies a 3,000-year-old volcanic caldera; on clear days Mount Fuji rises above the western shore in Japan’s most photographed mountain-and-lake composition. Pirate-ship sightseeing boats cross the lake between Hakone-machi and Togendai in 30 minutes. Hakone Shrine stands at the water’s edge in Moto-Hakone; the red torii gate rising from the lake is the signature image.
Hakone Tozan Railway and Ropeway
Japan’s steepest rack railway, the Hakone Tozan Railway, zigzags from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora through seven switchbacks (1 hr 10 min). From Gora, a funicular and ropeway continue up to Owakudani volcanic station and across to Togendai on Lake Ashi — completing the classic Hakone loop circuit. The Owakudani station sells black-shelled kuro-tamago (eggs hard-boiled in sulfurous hot springs), said to extend life by seven years per egg.
Hot Spring Accommodation
Hakone-Yumoto, Tonosawa, Miyanoshita, and Sengokuhara all have hot spring resort ryokan, ranging from boutique to luxury. Top properties: Fujiya Hotel (est. 1878, Japan’s oldest Western-style resort hotel), Tensui Saryo, and Hakone Ginyu. Book 4–8 weeks ahead for weekends. The Hakone Free Pass (¥6,100 from Shinjuku) covers two days of unlimited transport on the Odakyu Romancecar train, ropeway, boat, and bus within the area.
Getting There
From Tokyo Shinjuku: Odakyu Romancecar to Hakone-Yumoto (85 min, ¥2,570; reservation required). JR Kodama Shinkansen from Tokyo to Odawara (35 min), then Hakone Tozan Railway to Hakone-Yumoto (15 min).