Hakone inns with Mount Fuji or Lake Ashi: 5 picks

Will I actually see Mount Fuji?

Not necessarily — it depends on the weather, and the inns say so themselves. Ryuguden’s Rakuten page notes that from some rooms Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji can be hard to see, and The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko says only that Fuji is visible ‘if the weather is good’. The south shore, around Moto-Hakone and Hakonemachi, is where Fuji stands beyond the lake, and the town’s tourist association names the avenue of cedars on that shore as the place to see the mountain reflected in the water.

Which inns see both Mount Fuji and Lake Ashi?

Ryuguden has every room on the lake and Fuji from the Honkan bath next door. Hakone Hotel takes in the lake, the caldera rim and Fuji from its fourth-floor bath. Hotel de Yama sees Fuji across the garden and the lake from its Fuji View rooms, and Kasho from its private bath. The Prince and FUJIMI TERRACE see both as well. Shiki no Yakata looks down on Lake Ashi rather than at Fuji.

Which have a view from a bath in the room?

Shiki no Yakata has a cypress open-air bath in all thirty rooms looking down on Lake Ashi, and FUJIMI TERRACE a natural hot-spring half-open-air bath in all twenty-four. Kasho has seven rooms with their own open-air bath, and Ryuguden three annexe rooms with a hot-spring indoor bath. At Hakone Hotel, Hotel de Yama and The Prince the view belongs to the communal bath or the garden.

How do I get there without a car?

Ryuguden and The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko run free shuttles from the west exit of Odawara station by reservation, and Shiki no Yakata runs a free pick-up from Odawara too. Hotel de Yama has a shuttle from the pirate-ship pier at Moto-Hakone port. For Hakone Hotel, Kasho and FUJIMI TERRACE you take a bus or taxi from Hakone-Yumoto — about forty minutes by bus. From Gora, any of them means the mountain railway and then a bus.

I have a tattoo. Which of these work?

None publishes a policy, so ask — but the ones where the view is in your own bath solve it: Shiki no Yakata, with a bath in all thirty rooms, and FUJIMI TERRACE, with one in all twenty-four. Kasho’s seven rooms with a bath, and its private bath with the Fuji view, also work. At Hakone Hotel, Hotel de Yama, Ryuguden’s main rooms and The Prince, the view is in a communal bath, so check before booking.

Which one would you book?

Kasho: 4.79 across 1,517 reviews, both meals in your room, a private bath looking at the lake shore and Mount Fuji, seven rooms with their own open-air bath, and an English page on its own site. If the price matters, Hotel de Yama is about 58% of the median — just be sure to book a room with ‘Fuji View’ in the name, or you will not see the mountain at all.