Hakone Hiking and Culture Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival, Hakone Museum of Art and other activities

On Day 1, make your own travel arrangements to depart from Tokyo Station on Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama #713 at 09:27, reaching Odawara Station by 10:00. Look for your guide at the station exit and use a local train to reach Gora, followed by a short walk to your ryokan. Drop off your luggage at the ryokan around noon and return to Gora cable car station for a light lunch at a nearby cafe. Explore the Hakone Museum of Art, offering a succinct overview of Japanese culture spanning 6,000 years, complete with a tea house. Take a cable car to the top of the Sounzan active volcano and a ropeway across the active volcanic crater Owakudani. Enjoy a brief cruise across crater Lake Ashinoko to Moto Hakone and choose your return mode—bus, train, or a walk to Gora. Arrive at Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka Ryokan around 5 pm for a two-night stay. Have dinner and relax in the ryokan’s hot springs.
Overnight Location: Ryokan in Hakone
Meals: Lunch, dinner

Day 2 Hike to Chisuji Falls and the Old Tokaido Foot Highway

On Day 2 in Hakone, start with breakfast at your ryokan. Expect a total walking distance of around 12 km. At 8:00 am, meet your guide in the lobby of Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka, ready for a hike. Walk approximately 30 minutes from your accommodation to the hike’s starting point in Kowakudani. Grab sandwiches and snacks from a convenience store for a picnic lunch on the trail. By 8:30 am, reach Chisuji Falls, with a one-hour ascent to the summit of Hawk’s Nest, passing Flying Dragon Falls, and enjoying a riverside picnic. Take a bus to the starting point of the afternoon hike, the Old Tokaido Foot Highway (Hakone Hachiri). This 3 km uphill and downhill hike lets you ascend the concave slope of Hakone volcano before descending into Hakone caldera. Along the way, visit Amazake Teahouse, serving Tokaido walkers for 13 generations. Buses and trains will take you back to your Gora accommodation, arriving around 5:30 pm, where you will stay at Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka ryokan.
Overnight Location: Ryokan in Hakone
Distance: 12km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 Hike to Yamanaka Castle ruins and Mishima Skywalk

On Day 3, commence your exploration at 8:00 am by meeting your guide in the lobby of Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka for a hike. Send your larger luggage to Hakone Yumoto for convenience. Take a bus or train to the starting point of today’s hike, the renowned Hakone Shrine with its iconic red torii gates on the lake. Purchase sandwiches and snacks en route for a trailside picnic. Traverse the Old Tokaido Highway, enveloped by a cedar avenue boasting towering 400-year-old cedars, passing by Hakone Checkpoint and continuing the journey to Yamanaka Castle ruins and Mishima Skywalk. Enjoy a picnic lunch along the route. Utilize local buses and trains to reach Yumoto, retrieve your larger luggage, and then take a train to Odawara. Make your own arrangements for the Shinkansen back to Tokyo or onwards to Kyoto.
Overnight Location: None
Distance: 12km
Meals: Breakfast