An Epic & Easy Hakone 2-Day Itinerary

Is this your first time in Hakone? If so, this is the perfect Hakone 2-day itinerary for you!

With hot springs (onsens), cozy ryokans, photo ops of Mount Fuji, and a serene mountainous landscape, Hakone beckons daytrippers and weekenders from all over Japan.

And after spending 3-4 days in Hakone, I can attest to its charm. I get why it’s popular! However…

Hakone is not particularly easy to navigate as a first-timer.

In fact, exploring Hakone can be quite confusing. The sheer amount of public transportation involved just to see and do one thing is a little overwhelming. 😵‍💫

The number of times I overheard people beside me talking about getting lost or expressing frustration at the mad maze trying to get around Hakone was wild…!

As Hakone is not just one town but a vast area comprising multiple towns and attractions inside Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, I recommend not coming just for one day/on a day trip.

There is simply too much to do and see to even begin to enjoy Hakone in one day.

Even two days will be kinda fast-paced and you won’t get to do it all.

But at least with two days, you can get a much better feel and understanding of Hakone’s natural riches.

✨ With 2 days in Hakone, you can fit in a relaxing soak in at least one or two public onsens (if you don’t have a private one at your ryokan or hotel), a scenic hike, a couple of museums, the Lake Ashi cruise, the Owakudani sulfur fields/ropeway ride, and more.

In this guide, I’m sharing a realistic and easy-going 2-day itinerary to enjoy Hakone.

Of course, feel free to customize this itinerary to suit your preferences. These are my honest recommendations after exploring Hakone and seeing what is realistically doable within two days—plus, all the tips I wish I had known before my trip!

How to Spend 2 Days in Hakone (Itinerary)

Must-Know to Prep for 2 Days in Hakone

It helps to know these things before you start planning your itinerary! Read more below for itinerary details split across two days.

Get the Hakone Freepass

If you’re coming to Hakone on your own—that is, if you aren’t coming as part of an inclusive tour from Tokyo, then you should purchase the Hakone Freepass to save yourself some money and a headache.

As I detail in my guide to the Hakone Freepass, it’s not just the money that you save that makes it worth it; it’s the hassle!

With the Freepass (2 or 3-day passes available only), you get unlimited transport around Hakone.

There are 8 different modes of transport in Hakone (trains, bus lines, boat, cable car, ropeway…).

And to see or do ANYTHING in Hakone, you need to use multiple modes of transport.

With the pass, all you have to do is show it to the driver/operator. No fumbling for exact change or figuring out costs!

🎟️ Buy your pass easily online via Klook!

Stay in Hakone-Yumoto or Gora for convenience

If it’s your first time in the area you’ll find it way easier to overnight in Hakone-Yumoto as this is where the main station is.

Gora is another great option as many ryokans are concentrated here. If you want to be closer to museums and the ropeway and cable car, Gora is a good choice but it takes an extra bus/train ride to reach from Hakone-Yumoto station.

🎒 Budget accommodation:

✨ Boutique / Mid-Range hotel options:

💎 Luxurious / High-End ryokans in Hakone:

✨ Search for all available hotels & ryokan inns in Hakone here ✨

Attractions & restaurants close early

Surprisingly, many of the attractions (e.g. the ropeway) will have last departures around 4:30 pm, which is not that late!

This means if you wish to make the most of your day, you should start early as it takes a while to reach anywhere in Hakone with the bus and train timetables.

On that note, restaurants close early too; many before 7-8 PM.

There are few top-rated establishments, and mostly everywhere will have a queue for dinner. It’s best to have dinner extra early, or lunch extra late.

Onsens are spread out & most are not tattoo-friendly

There are reportedly 17 hot springs in Hakone, but they are all quite spread out between the various towns (i.e. Yumoto, Gora, Miyanoshita, Tonasawan, Motohakone, etc) and some are claimed by the ryokan resorts and inns.

So unless you take a bus or train, it’s unlikely that you will visit more than one or two public onsens with only a 2-day itinerary.

Also, keep in mind that many onsens across Japan are not tattoo-friendly due to the association of the Yakuza and gang violence.

However, luckily a few onsens in Hakone are tattoo-friendly; one is the Tenzan Onsen, for example, which is where I went (and I recommend it!).

Day 1 in Hakone Itinerary

This is an example of what you can see and do with this itinerary for your first day in Hakone (with ample time and pending weather):

• Hakone Shrine + Torii gate
• Lake Ashi cruise with Mt Fuji views to Togendai
• Amesake Teahouse + a 30-minute walk on the Old Tokaido Highway
• Hakone Ropeway (view over sulfur fields) from Togendai to Sounzan
• Owakudani and the famous black egg
• Scenic cable car to Gora (in spring and autumn)
• 1 museum of your choice (Pola Museum, Venetian Glass Museum, or Hakone Open-Air Museum)
• Dinner near your accommodation

Let your first day in Hakone be flexible and about getting your bearings.

Since your first day in Hakone is likely going to be more like a half-day rather than a full day, depending on when you depart from Shinjuku, it’s best to not fill up your itinerary to the max.

Keep in mind that you will need to drop your bags off at your accommodation or store them in the coin lockers at the Hakone-Yumoto station if you want to hit the ground running when you arrive in Hakone-Yumoto.

For your first day, I recommend seeing the top sights in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. This “loop” will take about 5+ hours, not counting time for lunch or side quests!

The Hakone Loop

Below are my suggestions for how to spend one day in Hakone.

My itinerary suggests going clockwise direction from Hakone-Yumoto station.

✨ Note: This clockwise itinerary works well if you are staying overnight in Hakone-Yumoto. However, if you are staying in a ryokan in Gora, then I suggest doing the Hakone Loop counter-clockwise. Please note I suggest a few “optional” activities as they are underrated but require extra time to visit.

Day 1 in Hakone: 9AM – 3PM

The earliest train to Hakone from Shinjuku (Tokyo) departs weekdays at 7:37 AM and weekends at 7:00 AM. If you take the Romancecar, then you should arrive at Hamote-Yumoto station around 9-10 AM.

• Take the “K” bus from Hakone-Yumoto toward Motohakone-ko
• Stop at the historic Amazake-Chaya Teahouse bus stop and enjoy mochi and amesake—a sweet, non-alcoholic fermented rice drink
• Walk along the old Cedar Avenue (30 minutes) via the Old Tokaido trail to reach Motohakone-ko port
• Visit the Hakone Shrine and the red Torii gate
• Tour the Hakone Checkpoint (optional)
• Walk on Mishima Skywalk, Japan’s longest suspension bridge (optional)
• Board the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise to cross to Togendai

The above options will take you more off the beaten path (recommended) but require more time in the Motohakone area.

During my trip, I accidentally skipped the teahouse so if I could do it again, I’d add in the Amazake-Chaya Teahouse and walk through the ancient cedar forest on the historic Old Tokaido Highway (Kyukaido Ishidatami) to reach Motohakone rather than taking the bus directly there.

If you want to skip the teahouse and Old Tokaido trail, then you can take a different bus directly to Motohakone-ko, as shown below.

• Bus “T” line from Hakone-Yumoto direct to Motohakone-ko (35-45 minutes)
• Walk 10 minutes to the Hakone Shrine (free), visit, and snap a photo of the red Torii gate
• Optional but recommended activities
  • Hakone Checkpoint (requires a 5-minute bus transfer or 15-minute walk)
  • Mishima Skywalk
  • Narukawa Art Museum
• Board the Lake Ashi cruise to Togendai

Note: You won’t be able to fit all the “optionals” in one day, so choose wisely!

After you visit the Motohakone area at your own pace and are ready to leave, then board the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise across Lake Ashi to Togendai.

Once in Togendai, you can immediately board the Hakone Ropeway.

The Hakone Ropeway is an aerial tram that takes you across Owakudani’s active sulfur fields, where you can see smoking vents from volcanic activity.

You can get great views of Mt Fuji on a clear day from up here as well as try the famous Owakudani black egg from atop the Owakudani station.

After visiting, you can take the next ropeway to Sounzan, where you will then take a cable car down to Gora.

Day 1 in Hakone: 3 PM – 6 PM

From Gora Station, you can transfer via bus or train to visit one of these attractions in the afternoon:

• Gora Park (a pretty French-manicured park)
• Pola Museum of Art (north of Gora Station, take the bus line “S” for 15 minutes)
• Hakone Open-Air Museum (located just south of Gora Station, take the Tonzan train line for 6 minutes or walk for 15 minutes)

✨ Tip: If you’re not staying at a ryokan with an onsen, you can try to find a public onsen in the Gora area for the afternoon/evening or go enjoy the ones in Hakone-Yumoto. For a tattoo-friendly onsen in Hakone, I recommend Tenzan Onsen!

For lunch/dinner, there are a couple of signature Hakone restaurants to try—like the tofu set at Yubadon Naokichi and the handmade soba at the famous Hatsuhana Soba Honten that’s been operating since 1934—but you’ll have to start queuing early.

I also dined at Kinosuke (grilled fish) and 808 Monsmare (pizza/Italian), both of which I highly recommend!

If you don’t get to do/see all of this in one day, don’t worry! Wait times for buses, restaurants, etc., may set you back.

You could split this loop up into two days and go at a more relaxed pace with more time in between for exploring and eating.

Day 2 in Hakone Itinerary

Day one was all about the Hakone Loop via public transport, but I recommend that day two in Hakone be about exploring Hakone on foot (and then relaxing those feet in hot springs).

• Morning: Hike in Hakone
• Afternoon: Onsen + coffee shop
• Evening: Relax and pack to leave

Go on a scenic Hakone hike

Whether you’re an avid hiker like me or want to enjoy a casual stroll, getting out in Hakone’s nature is a must.

I chose to do the Mount Kintoki hike which is one of the top choices for hikers looking for a moderate challenge with a huge payoff.

On this hike, you can see clear, unhampered views of Mt Fuji (on a sunny, clear day), from atop the Mt Kintoki summit at 1212m.

You can read more trail details in my guide to hiking Mt Kintoki! 🥾

If a steep climb doesn’t sound like an ideal morning, then there are other hikes you can do.

One of the suggested “courses” by the tourist information office is the Tokaido trail which follows the historic highway for 5.2km. This is the same section where you can visit and taste amazake at the Amazake-Chaya Teahouse.

The Tokaido Highway is said to be one of the most famous historic roads in Japan originally used by samurai, daimyo, and folks traveling between Kyoto and Tokyo (Edo).

You can start this walk at Hatajuku, an Edo-period village famous for its woodcraft, and from there walk to Lake Ashinoko.

Though I didn’t do them myself, the two other recommended hiking trails in Hakone are the Nagao Pass (2 hours) and the Chisuji Waterfall trail (20 minutes).

Relax in one of Hakone’s hot springs (onsens)

There is nothing better than soothing achy muscles in an outdoor hot spring just after completing a hike!

The day I hiked Mt Kintoki, it rained. The weather was dreadful and cold (I went in mid-February during winter in Hakone) so instead of touring the museums, I decided to spend the next two hours absorbing the delicious hot spring heat into my bones at an onsen. 🤤

I wrote a review of the Tenzan Onsen that you can read, but here are quick details!

• Tattoo-friendly!
• Cost ¥1,350/adult with the Hakone Freepass (regular price: ¥1,400)
• Purchase your ticket at the vending machine
• Bring your face towel, rentals cost ¥200 at the reception
• Get there via the “M” bus from Hakone-Yumoto Station

♨️ Other public onsens in Hakone (that are popular and recommended) are Hakone no Yu (no tattoos), Hakone-Yuryo (no tattoos), Kappa Tengoku (mixed reviews), and Hakone Izumi.

For an extra special treat to wrap up your second day in Hakone, I recommend getting cheesecake and coffee at Cafe Timuny, a cozy and trendy cafe overlooking the Haya River. It is very close to the Hakone-Yumoto Station. It was so nice to lounge here for a few hours and work on my laptop! 🌸

If you have time to spare, the gourmet ice cream/gelato at Hakone Dolce studio STELLA is worth the visit too!!

Other Hakone treats to try:

• Pork skewers and puddings at Jyokamachi
• Amazake and hot mochi
• Fish cake sticks at Kamaboko Yokocho Kagosei
• Onsen “manju”
• Soba and yuba
• Owakudani’s black egg

Is 2 Days in Hakone Enough?

No, of course not! ☺️

Hakone, like so many destinations in Japan, is best savored slowly.

But I know it’s not possible to spend multiple nights or even a week in the area especially if you have a limited number of vacation days.

That said, two days in Hakone is still enough to soak up the sights and get a real feel for the beauty of Japan’s mountainous countryside.

I hope you can get inspired by my 2-day itinerary and enjoy your time in Hakone to the fullest!

Please drop me your questions and comments below and I’ll get back to you with further recommendations.

➡️ Heading to Fuji Five Lakes next? Read my guide to easily get from Hakone to Fujikawaguchiko.

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