This page contains promotions (affiliate links) (Editorial & ad policy)
Hakone without a car: 5 inns beside the trains, ropeway and boats
Approximate, at the rate on 2026-10-02. You pay in yen.
- Hakone without a car: Hanaori is two minutes from Togendai’s boats and ropeway
- Suimeiso is two minutes from Hakone-Yumoto station; Suiun is one minute from a cable-car stop
- Fujiya is seven minutes from Miyanoshita station; Tenyu has a bus stop outside
The five
| Best for | Where to book | Score | Weeknight (per person) | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best base for Owakudani and the museums — if you can’t decide | Setsugetsuka Bettei Suiun Check price |
79/100 | ¥43,000–59,000 | ¥62,000–76,000 |
| Best for arriving by bus and for a rainy day | Hakone Kowakien Tenyu Check price |
75/100 | ¥51,000–61,000 | — |
| Best building, and the best middle position | Fujiya Hotel Check price |
71/100 | ¥46,000–136,000 | ¥61,000–119,000 |
| Cheapest, and two minutes from the arrival station | Hakone Suimeiso Check price |
71/100 | ¥25,000–44,000 | ¥31,000–37,000 |
| Best for the lake boat and the ropeway | Hakone Ashinoko Hanaori Check price |
65/100 | ¥25,000–72,000 | ¥34,000–67,000 |
Prices are the cheapest per person found on Rakuten Travel for Wednesdays and Saturdays between 2026-11-14 – 2027-01-06, for 2 adults in one room (checked 2026-11-05). They move daily — the link shows live prices.
The booking links go to Agoda, which shows today’s price and lets you pay in your own currency. Its price can differ from the Rakuten Travel figures above.
Best base for Owakudani and the museums
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.77/5 (910) · Ikyu 4.55/5 (106) · Jalan 4.70/5 (56) · Google Maps 4.40/5 (845) · Tripadvisor 4.10/5 (49) · Booking.com 4.80/5 (770) · Agoda 9.4/10 (738) · 3,474 in total
- Owakudani within reach via Sounzan
- Gora Park across the road, for a walk before breakfast
- Guest average of 4.77
Why it made the five
- One minute from Koen-shita cable-car station; Gora Park opposite; five minutes from Gora station
- A hot-spring open-air bath in all 43 rooms
- Three kinds of reservable bath, and a sauna
- Free shuttle from its sister inn by Gora station, 13:45–18:00
Getting there: One minute from Koen-shita cable-car station, five from Gora station. Shuttle from the sister inn Kinoyu Setsugetsuka, outside Gora station, 13:45–18:00.
Language and payment: A bath in your own room, so communal bathing is optional and tattoos are not an issue. Use the shuttle rather than walking up from Gora with cases.
-
Right for: High ratings, a bath in every room, and a cable-car station at the door.
-
Not for: Around ¥90,000 for two, at the upper end here.
-
Worth knowing: The walk up from Gora station is a climb — take the shuttle if you are carrying luggage.
Score breakdown — 79/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★★ | Room, bath and food average 4.78, plus an open-air bath in every room |
| Value for money | ★☆☆☆☆ | 133% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Checkout 11:00, shuttle from Gora station, one minute from the cable car, Gora Park opposite |
| Trust | ★★★★☆ | 4.64 across 2,736 reviews on six sites |
| Only here | ★★★★☆ | Opposite Gora Park, with a hot-spring open-air bath in all 43 rooms |
Best for arriving by bus and for a rainy day
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.70/5 (893) · Ikyu 4.58/5 (283) · Jalan 4.70/5 (69) · Google Maps 4.30/5 (2,343) · Tripadvisor 4.00/5 (416) · Booking.com 4.55/5 (2,347) · Agoda 9.1/10 (4,040) · 10,391 in total
- One bus from Hakone-Yumoto, so no change with luggage
- Yunessun is a five-minute walk, for a rainy day
- Ratings above 4.5
Why it made the five
- The Tenyu bus stop is outside; about 20 minutes by bus from Hakone-Yumoto, 10 by free shuttle from Gora
- An open-air bath in every room
- Rates that include unlimited entry to Yunessun, five minutes away
- Dinner options including teppanyaki and a buffet
Getting there: The Tenyu bus stop is immediately outside; about 20 minutes by bus from Hakone-Yumoto, about 10 minutes by free shuttle from Gora station.
Language and payment: Yunessun is a hot-spring park entered in a swimsuit, which makes it the one bathing experience here with no etiquette and no tattoo question at all. The bus and shuttle mean no stairs with a suitcase.
-
Right for: You are moving by bus and want something to do when the weather turns.
-
Not for: Around ¥100,000 for two, the most expensive in this guide.
-
Worth knowing: Your nearest transport is a bus stop, not a railway station, and the walk up to Yunessun is uphill.
Score breakdown — 75/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★★ | Room, bath and food average 4.72, plus an open-air bath in every room |
| Value for money | ★☆☆☆☆ | 185% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Checkout 11:00, free shuttle from Gora, bus stop outside, Yunessun five minutes away |
| Trust | ★★★☆☆ | 4.45 across 6,351 reviews on six sites |
| Only here | ★★★★☆ | On the same grounds as Yunessun, with rates that include unlimited entry to the water park |
Best building, and the best middle position
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.75/5 (2,271) · Ikyu 4.70/5 (500) · Jalan 4.70/5 (1,881) · Google Maps 4.50/5 (3,118) · Tripadvisor 4.10/5 (1,091) · Booking.com 4.60/5 (1,994) · Agoda 9.2/10 (1,284) · 12,139 in total
- Both the mountain railway and buses serve Miyanoshita
- Halfway between Hakone-Yumoto and Lake Ashi
- Rakuten and Ikyu ratings both in the 4.7s
Why it made the five
- Seven minutes on foot from Miyanoshita station, two from the bus stop outside the hotel
- About 20 minutes to Hakonemachi pier on Lake Ashi
- A top-floor communal bath, with Miyanoshita spring water in the room baths too
- Founded in 1878; the building is a destination in itself
Getting there: Seven minutes on foot from Miyanoshita station, two minutes from the Hotel-mae bus stop.
Language and payment: Japan’s most famous surviving resort hotel of the Meiji era, and used to foreign guests since it opened — the easiest of the five if you want history explained in English.
-
Right for: The best-rated of the five, with a bus stop outside and Lake Ashi within reach.
-
Not for: Around ¥90,000 for two, and there are no open-air baths in the rooms.
-
Worth knowing: The cheapest rate is restricted to 1 September 2026 – 31 May 2027.
Score breakdown — 71/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★★★☆ | Room, bath and food average 4.70 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★☆☆☆☆ | 137% of the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Checkout 11:00, seven minutes from the station, two from the bus stop, 20 minutes to the lake pier |
| Trust | ★★★☆☆ | 4.57 across 10,855 reviews on six sites |
| Only here | ★★★★★ | A classic hotel founded in 1878, where the building itself is one of Hakone’s sights |
Cheapest, and two minutes from the arrival station
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.35/5 (701) · Jalan 4.10/5 (15) · Google Maps 4.10/5 (800) · Tripadvisor 3.70/5 (246) · Booking.com 4.45/5 (2,792) · Agoda 9.0/10 (3,490) · 8,044 in total
- Tatami rooms look over the Hayakawa river
- Among the closest inns with both meals to Hakone-Yumoto station
Why it made the five
- Two minutes on foot from Hakone-Yumoto station; about 40 minutes to Gora on the mountain railway
- Riverside tatami rooms, some with a private open-air bath
- Two reservable open-air baths on the top floor, 50 minutes for ¥2,000
- Dinner can be served in the room
Getting there: Two minutes on foot from Hakone-Yumoto station.
Language and payment: The simplest to reach if you arrive on the Romancecar from Tokyo late in the day. Dinner in the room removes the dining-room timing problem.
-
Right for: Two minutes from the station, under ¥50,000 for two, with dinner in the room.
-
Not for: Fittings are ordinary, and some guests find the cooking lightly seasoned.
-
Worth knowing: Only some rooms have a private open-air bath.
Score breakdown — 71/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★☆☆☆ | Room, bath and food average 4.44 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★★★ | 79% of the median of everything we compared — the cheapest of the five |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Checkout 11:00, dinner in the room, private dining, two minutes from the station, two reservable open-air baths |
| Trust | ★★☆☆☆ | 4.33 across 4,554 reviews on five sites |
| Only here | ★★★☆☆ | Two minutes from the station, with riverside tatami rooms and dinner served in them |
Best for the lake boat and the ropeway
Reviews: Rakuten Travel 4.39/5 (1,491) · Ikyu 4.42/5 (459) · Jalan 4.30/5 (1,672) · Google Maps 4.30/5 (3,607) · Tripadvisor 4.10/5 (295) · Booking.com 4.55/5 (3,225) · Agoda 9.1/10 (6,251) · 17,000 in total
- Pirate ship and ropeway both leave from Togendai
- First ropeway up to Owakudani, then across the lake to Hakone Shrine
Why it made the five
- About two minutes from Togendai, the ropeway and lake-boat terminal; Owakudani about 20 minutes by ropeway
- Hot-spring communal baths looking over Lake Ashi, and a lakeside foot-bath terrace
- Open-kitchen buffet dinner
- About 41 minutes by local bus from Hakone-Yumoto station
Getting there: About two minutes on foot from Togendai station. About 41 minutes by local bus from Hakone-Yumoto. A free shuttle ran from Odawara station by reservation until 30 September 2026.
Language and payment: The best choice if you are using a Hakone Free Pass and want to do the whole loop — boat, ropeway, Owakudani — on foot from your door. A buffet also means no fixed dinner sitting.
-
Right for: You can see Lake Ashi and Owakudani using nothing but the boats and the ropeway.
-
Not for: Over 40 minutes by bus from Hakone-Yumoto, and the buffet will disappoint anyone hoping for kaiseki.
-
Worth knowing: The free shuttle’s route changed from 1 October 2026 — it now runs between the hotel and Karaku in Gora rather than from Odawara station.
Score breakdown — 65/100
| Criterion | Stars | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ★★☆☆☆ | Room, bath and food average 4.40 on Rakuten Travel |
| Value for money | ★★★☆☆ | Around the median of everything we compared |
| Easy to stay | ★★★★★ | Two minutes from the ropeway and boat terminal, lake-view baths, foot-bath terrace, shuttle |
| Trust | ★★☆☆☆ | 4.39 across 10,749 reviews on six sites |
| Only here | ★★★★★ | Opposite Togendai, where the pirate ship and the ropeway start — both Lake Ashi and Owakudani without a bus |
Know before you book
- Gora is where the mountain railway meets the cable car. One inn is a minute from a cable-car station, and the Open-Air Museum is one stop away.
- Togendai pier is where the lake boats and the ropeway both start, and you can sleep two minutes from it.
- Hakone-Yumoto station is the arrival point, with the shops and restaurants. Inns two or three minutes away let you drop bags and move.
- Miyanoshita sits between Yumoto and Lake Ashi. One hotel there is seven minutes from the station and two from a bus stop.
- Owakudani is about twenty minutes by ropeway from Togendai; Hakone-Yumoto to Gora is about forty minutes on the mountain railway.
- The pampas grass at Sengokuhara is an autumn sight, with inns one to three minutes from the Senkyoro-mae stop.
How we chose: theme, conditions, scoring
How we chose
- Candidates: every property in Hakone listed on Rakuten Travel — 209
- Met every condition below: 107
- Passed the review filter (counts and averages on Rakuten Travel, the one site that lists every property in the area): 62
- Kept: five, each the best at something different
Where the facts come from
- Facts: Rakuten Travel property information (in some articles, each hotel’s own site too)
- Prices: Rakuten Travel live availability, Wednesdays and Saturdays over eight weeks
- Reviews: counts and averages from Rakuten Travel, Jalan, Ikyu, Google Maps, Tripadvisor and Booking.com, added up in each hotel’s Trust row. Agoda’s reviews are shown under each hotel name for reference only and do not count towards the score
Conditions (all of them, not most of them)
- Within ten minutes’ walk of a station on the Hakone Tozan railway, cable car or ropeway, or five minutes of a major bus stop or pier
- A rate for two including dinner and breakfast is bookable
- Reviews hold up: 100 or more across booking sites averaging 3.8 or better, or — for inns of 30 rooms or fewer — 30 or more averaging 4.5. Counts and averages are added up across Rakuten Travel, Jalan, Ikyu, Google Maps, TripAdvisor and Booking.com; the Trust row shows the breakdown.
Scoring
Five criteria, one to five stars each, weighted to one hundred points. Every star says where the number came from.
- Quality25 pts
- The average of the room, bath and food scores guests leave on Rakuten Travel. 4.80 and above is five stars, 4.65 four, 4.50 three. An open-air bath in every room adds one.
- Value for money20 pts
- The price against the median of everything we compared. 80% or less is five stars, 95% four, 110% three, 130% two.
- Easy to stay30 pts
- Starts at one star. A point each for checkout at 11am or later, a shuttle, dinner in the room or a private dining room, nearness to the transport, and anything else that makes this particular trip easier.
- Trust20 pts
- Review counts and averages added up across booking sites, weighted by how many reviews each site has.
- Only here5 pts
- What you can only get here. Our judgement, with the reason stated.
What we dropped
| Property | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bansuiro Fukuzumi | Runner-up (70/100) | The score is high enough, but its character overlaps with the five |
| Yumoto Fujiya Hotel, Hakone-Yumoto Onsen | Runner-up (67/100) | The score is high enough, but its character overlaps with the five |
| Toki no Yu Setsugekka | Runner-up (64/100) | 64 points, below the lowest of the five (65) |
| EN RESORT Re’Cove Hakone | Runner-up (59/100) | 59 points, below the lowest of the five (65) |
| Hakone Suisen | Outside the theme | Three minutes from Ohiradai station and rated 4.73, but Rakuten lists no rate including dinner and breakfast. |
| Odakyu Hotel de Yama | Outside the theme | Rakuten’s directions stop at the Moto-Hakone pier bus stop, and we could not confirm a walk of five minutes or less from the pier. |
| The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko | Outside the theme | Well reviewed, but it depends on a shuttle from Odawara or a circular bus — not within walking distance of a station or major stop. |
| Tenseien | Outside the theme | Fifteen minutes on foot from Hakone-Yumoto station, outside our ten-minute rule. |
| Hakone Gora Hotel Pipe no Kemuri Plus | Runner-up | A minute from Gora station, but its room score of 3.74 and overall 3.9 put it behind Kinoyu Setsugetsuka on the same square. |
| Hotel Kajikaso | Runner-up | Five minutes from Hakone-Yumoto and rated 4.3, but at about ¥92,000 for two it costs more than Suimeiso and Yumoto Fujiya in the same district. |
| Tsuki no Yado Sara | Runner-up | Rated 4.46 across 1,052 reviews, but about ten minutes on foot from Hakone-Yumoto — at the edge of our rule. In Yumoto we preferred inns two or three minutes away. |
| Hakone Hotel Kowakien | Runner-up | Outside the Kowakien bus stop and rated 4.37, but for this district we preferred Tenyu, which has an open-air bath in every room. |
| Rakuten STAY FUJIMI TERRACE Hakone Ashinoko | Needs checking | Three minutes from the Moto-Hakone pier stop, which qualifies, but we could not confirm a rate including dinner and breakfast. |
| Yamatokan | Failed the review filter | Six minutes from Hakone-Yumoto with eight rooms, but 22 Rakuten reviews — under our 30. |
| Hakone Gora Karaku | Runner-up | Three minutes from Gora station with an open-air bath in every room and strong ratings, but at about ¥114,000 for two it was the most expensive we found. |
Questions visitors ask
Can I do Hakone without a car?
Easily, and most visitors do. The Hakone Tozan railway, the cable car, the ropeway, the lake boats and the buses connect into a loop, and the Hakone Free Pass covers them. Every inn here is a short walk from one of those links — which is the condition we applied.
Where should I base myself?
Gora for Owakudani, the Open-Air Museum and the cable car. Togendai for Lake Ashi, the pirate ship and the ropeway. Hakone-Yumoto if you are arriving late or leaving early. Miyanoshita if you want to be able to go either way.
How long does it take to get around?
Hakone-Yumoto to Gora is about 40 minutes on the mountain railway, which switchbacks up the hillside. Togendai to Owakudani is about 20 minutes by ropeway. Hakone-Yumoto to Togendai is about 41 minutes by bus.
I have tattoos. Where can I bathe?
Suiun and Tenyu both put an open-air bath in every room, so you never enter a communal one. Suimeiso has two baths you can reserve for yourselves. And Yunessun, next to Tenyu, is entered in a swimsuit, which removes the question entirely.
What if it rains?
Yunessun, the hot-spring water park beside Tenyu, is largely indoors and worn with swimwear. The Hakone Open-Air Museum has indoor galleries too, one stop from Gora. The ropeway closes in high wind, so have a second plan for Owakudani.
When were these prices checked?
Prices come from Rakuten Travel availability searched over an eight-week window of Wednesdays and Saturdays, taking the cheapest room with dinner and breakfast. They move daily — the link on each inn shows what it costs today.
Changes
- 2026-11-05 First published. Scored from 209 candidates.