Feel the atmosphere of Hakone volcano, and enjoy the beautiful view of Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi!
Owakudani and Lake Ashi were made by the volcanic activity of Mt. Hakone about 3,000 years ago. At Osakudani you can see the sulfur vapor blowing up and beautiful Mt. Fuji on sunny days.
From a boat on Lake Ashi you can enjoy beautiful scenery every season.
Hakone sekisho, which was built about 400 years ago, was a facility to investigate travelers. You can learn more about it in Hakone.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
Your hotel
Your Hotel
Pick up at your hotel.
Shinjuku Station
Go to Hakone Owakudani by Odakyu Express "Romance Car", local train, cable car, and ropeway.
Owakudani
Owakudani is an explosion trail of a crater made by the last explosion of Hakone volcano about 3,000 years ago. White smoke has been laid on the desolate ground, and you can still feel the power of volcanic activity.
At Ohwakudani you can eat a black egg. It is said that if you eat one black egg, you will have a life expectancy of 7 years.
Enjoy the spectacular view of the sulfur smoke rising at Owakudani, and have lunch.
Boat Cruise on Lake Ashi
Lake Ashi is a long narrow lake with a circumference of about 19km. It was formed about 3,000 years ago in the Hakone volcano's caldera. From the boat you can enjoy beautiful scenery every season.
Hakone Sekisho
Tokugawa Shogunate placed 53 sekisho (facility to investigate travelers) on major roads across the nation to defend Edo (current Tokyo). Hakone Sekisho (Hakone Checkpoint) was one of the largest checkpoints among them. Hakone Sekisho was placed on the current location in 1619, at the beginning of Edo period. One of the main roles of sekisho was to control "incoming guns and outgoing women", which means to prevent weapons from being brought into Edo, and wives and children of feudal lords from fleeing from Edo.
Hakone Sekisho
Go back to Tokyo by bus and Odakyu Express "Romance Car".
Your Hotel
End of the tour.
Ending Point
Your hotel
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
1. Guide fee
2. Hotel pick-up
* Hotel pick-up is included if your hotel is located near a station on JR Yamanote Line or inside the circle of JR Yamanote Line. If extra transportation fees are necessary for hotel pick-up, I will let you know.
1. Transportation fee (you and your guide):About 8,000 yen/adult including the express fee of Romance Car.
2. Admission fee (you and your guide):About 500 yen/adult.
3. Lunch (you and your guide)
4. Beverages (beer, juice, etc.)
It takes about 3 hours from Shinjuku Station to Owakudani by Odakyu express train, Hakone local train. cable car, and ropeway.
*** FAQ ***
(Q) Can I use the Shinkansen bullet train to go to Hakone?
(A) Yes, you can. In this case I can meet you at your hotel or JR Odawara Station according to your request.
(Q) Can I add or delete places to visit?
(A) Yes, you can add or delete places to visit. If you have places you would like to visit, please let me know. I will customize the tour.
My recommendations are as follows:
(1) Hakone Shrine
Established in the middle of the 8th century, this shrine was dedicated to all the local gods of eastern Japan, and is believed to have the benefits of road safety, wish fulfillment, and warding off evil.
You can get to the red torii gate, Heiwa-no-torii, at the lakeshore of Ashi. This place is a good photo spot for travelers.
(2) Hakone Open-Air Museum
The Hakone Open-Air Museum opened in scenic Hakone in 1969. It is the first museum in Japan devoted to sculpture in the open-air. Situated on roughly 70,000 square meters of parkland, it harmonizes with the Hakone mountains and offers different scenery with each season.
Nothing speceial.
Hello, I'm Hiroshi.
I am a National Government Licensed Tour Guide Interpreter in English. I have got a master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the U.S.
I have been living in a city of Fujisawa, which is the city next to Kamakura, for more than 20 years, and also lived in Kamakura for more than 10 years. So far, I have visited almost all the temples and shrines in Kamakura. So I am sure I can offer you a pleasant trip to the historical city, Kamakura.
In addition to Kamakura, I can also guide Tokyo, Yokohama, Hakone, Nikko, etc. because I have visited many places in Kanto area. For example, in Tokyo I can show you around the sightseeing spots such as Asakusa, Tsukiji, Imperial Palace, Meiji Shrine, Tokyo Skytree, etc.
I like baseball and used to play baseball, but now enjoy watching professional baseball games. And I like watching Rakugo, Japanese traditional story-telling performance.
Of course, I also like travelling very much, and am interested in Japanese culture and history. So I would like to show you Japanese tradition and culture.
Let’s enjoy a trip in Japan together.
I am looking forward to seeing you soon.
Fynn C.
Kamakura Half Day Customized Tour (Nov. 17)
Customized
“Kamakura half day tour”
Our tour to Kamakura was a fantastic experience from start to finish. It began with a convenient meet-up at our hotel in Shinjuku, where Hiroshi, our guide, greeted us warmly. The journey was incredibly smooth, as navigating the public transport was easy and well-organized. I especially enjoyed taking the local buses, which added a nice, authentic touch to the experience. The pace of the tour was perfect, making it a relaxing day despite all there was to see. As a small group, we had plenty of time to enjoy each stop without feeling rushed. One highlight was definitely the Hokokuji Bamboo Forest—such a serene and beautiful place that left a lasting impression on all of us. Hiroshi was an excellent guide, always attentive and full of interesting tidbits, especially for my kids, who were engaged and excited throughout the tour. It was clear that he genuinely cared about making the experience enjoyable for everyone. Overall, this was a memorable, stress-free day trip, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Kamakura.
Hiroshi S.
Thank you for writing the review. I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed the Kamakura tour. I also had a great time with all of your family. We visited the Great Buddha, Hokokuji Temple, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, and finally Komachi-dori Street. At Hokokuji Temple, we enjoyed matcha green tea while looking at the bamboo grove. It is a very quiet and calm place and one of my favorite places in Kamakura. Since it was a holiday, there were many people at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. Especially since it was the season of Shichi-Go-San, which celebrates the growth of children, we could see many children dressed in kimono. There were also many stores and restaurants on Komachi-dori Street, and I am sure you enjoyed shopping and other activities. If you have a chance to come to Japan again, please contact me. There is still much to see and do in Kamakura and Tokyo, and let’s enjoy Japanese culture and customs together.
Cathleen N.
Nikko Full Day Customized Tour (Updated)
Customized
“Tokyo to Nikko Full Day Personalized Tour”
Hiroshi goes above and beyond to exceed your expectations. If you are looking for a guide that will respond timely to your inquiries, make suggestions on how to efficiently use your time, and consider your interests to build a personalized itinerary, then Hiroshi-san is for you. Through GWG, I corresponded with Hiroshi to build out an itinerary that included a pick up at our hotel in Tokyo, round trip train(s) to Nikko, and full day tour. Hiroshi promptly answered all my questions and made suggestions for which public transportation (bus/metro/train) to use including detailed timelines of the most time efficient routes. On top of all that, he provided a day's worth of education on Japanese history, religions, and culture. During the train ride he gave us a quick Japanese lesson on the most useful words/phrases and had a pictorial explaining Japanese characters. He answered our questions all day long, regardless of how obscure. We learned and laughed together. Aside from being knowledgeable, Hiroshi-san is kind and caring. He made sure that we understood how to use the public transportation system's automatic ticketing kiosks and even helped us purchase a physical SUICA card for one of our group members who could not get the electronic version. The following day we were traveling on our own to Kyoto via bullet train. He explained that process for us and even sent texts the next day making sure that we arrived safely at the correct outbound Shinkasen train station and found the correct train. We thoroughly enjoyed our day with Hiroshi-san. If you choose him as your guide, you will too.
Hiroshi S.
I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed the Nikko tour. The day of the tour was very crowded because there was a yabusame (horseback archery) event at Toshogu Shrine. But we could see people dressed in samurai clothes riding horses. We studied Japanese on the train. It was just simple greetings in Japanese, but I hope it was of some use to you during your stay in Japan after the Nikko tour. Tokyo Station is a very large central station in Japan and is always crowded with people. It might be a little complicated to go through the ticket gates when boarding the Shinkansen, but I am relieved to hear that you were able to board the Shinkansen to Kyoto smoothly at Tokyo Station. Please contact me if you have a chance to come back to Japan. I can show you around Tokyo, Hakone, Kamakura, Yokohama, etc. Let's experience Japanese culture and customs, and enjoy delicious Japanese food and beautiful scenery! Hope to see you again! Hiroshi
Norma V.
Hakone Full Day Customized Tour (Oct. 25)
Customized
“Excellent tour guide Hiroshi Suzuki”
Hiroshi met us at our hotel exactly on time and shepherded us through four sites in Hakone by bus train cable car gondola and back home He explained everything, gave us a map and we first saw the amazing Hakone Open air museum with its sculptures by Moore, Rodin and many other famous artists as well as the Picasso Pavilion. We ate black eggs with him at Owakudanu,cruised on Lake Ashi, surveyed the Hakone Checkpoint ruins and ended the tour at the Hakone Shrine.A really satisfying day made better by Hiroshi’s expert and friendly guidance . Five stars from us !! Norma and Ron from Sydney- Australia
Hiroshi S.
Thank you for your review. I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed our tour in Hakone. I also enjoyed the tour with you. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't that great, so we couldn't see Mt. Fuji and Owakudani was covered in mist. However, we were able to enjoy many artworks at the Hakone Open-Air Museum and we were able to extend our lifespan by eating black eggs at Owakudani! If you have a chance to come to Japan again, please contact me. I can show you around Nikko, Kamakura, etc. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan! Hiroshi
$277/ per group