Private day trip to Hakone only for your group, starting from Tokyo. Surrounded by great nature with Mt.Fuji view, lots of museums and hot springs, Hakone is one of the most popular destinations as a break from Tokyo. By using ”Odakyu Hakone Freepass”, we can enjoy various types of transportations such as Ropeway, Lake Ashi Boat Cruise, cable cars and Tozan Train(mountain tram) to get around.
Car Option is recommended for smooth travel. Ending could be your accommodation in Hakone.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
At your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards or Shinjuku station
- I'll meet you at your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards. Or, Shinjuku station to take a train to Hakone. Following itinerary is【Basic Plan】by Romance Car with Hakone Freepass.
Take Hakone Romance Car (1h45m)
Take Romance Car train from Shinjuku station : 8:31 Shinjuku to 10:17 Hakone-yumoto.
*All reserved seats rapid train.
Hakone sightseeing
Hakone sightseeing is basically loop route. How to get around depends. You can rely on me to take either of clockwise or counterclockwise.
--- Basic itinerary to visit --- *Lunch flexible
- Hakone Tozan Train
- Cable car via Gora
- Ropeway via Owakudani
- Owakudani (Volcanic activity and eat black shelled eggs)
- Togendai (pier of boat cruise / ropeway station / restaurant)
- Pirate Boat Cruise on Ashi Lake
- Moto-Hakone (Lake shore area)
- Back to Hakone-yumoto
Important
Hakone is a very popular destination for both Japanese and overseas travelers. It gets crowded even on weekdays at peak season.
So, when we do counterclockwise, we want to take a taxi from Hakone-yumoto to Hakone Shrine (20-30min, approx. 6,000JPY/taxi up to 4 people) . Same with reverse (from Ashi Lake area to back to Hakone-yumoto station), as local buses are often awfully packed on this route.
Take Romance Car from Hakone-yumoto to Shinjuku (1h30m)
Flexible time: Take Romance Car from Hakone-yumoto to Shinjuku. Ex. 17:02 Hakone-yumoto - 18:28 Shinjuku
Back to Tokyo
I'll take you back to your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards, or we can end at Shinjuku Station for your dinner afterwards.
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*End could be your hotel in Hakone area. Or, Odawara station end would be convenient for travelers heading to Kyoto after Hakone. Tour price would be the same, as guide goes back to Tokyo anyways. Let me know in advance.
(Option) Hakone Open Air Museum (Sculptures, Picasso Gallery, Foot-bath)
Open air museum with its nature as back drop. The most unique, loved spot in Hakone. *open year round
Admission : Adult :1600 yen, University/High School Students: 1,200 yen, Jr. High/Elementary School Students: 800 yen
Free for Guide with a national license when accompanying you.
(Option) Hakone Art Museum + Gora Park
For art & garden lovers,
- Hakone Art Museum (Art with beautiful moss garden. Green Tea. )
- Gora Park(French-style garden and traditional Japanese Tea Garden)
*Closed on Thursdays
Admission :Hakone Art Museum : Adult 800 yen, High school/college students 400 yen, Children up to junior high school : Free of charge, Seniors aged over 65 :700yen
Gora Park is free of charge with Hakone Freepass holders
(Option) Hakone Checkpoint & Yosegi craftsman's shop
For history & culture enthusiasts,
Hakone Checkpoint
Admission : Hakone Checkpoint : Adult 400 yen, Child 150 yen with Hakone Freepass
Yosegi craftsman's shop - Yosegi is inlaid box, which is local special craft in Hakone.
(Option) Amasake Chaya tea house (Only when by Car Option)
One of my favorite places in Hakone, but access is limited due to its location and poor local public transportation. We visit only when we use hired car or my car option.
Amazake-chaya Tea House was founded 400 years ago. Their architecture of thatched roof still retains Samurai period atmosphere. Daimyo (feudal lords) took a rest at this type of rest house which served amazake to get re-charged when they traveled between Tokyo called Edo and their home town.
Amazake (sweet rice wine) is made with a recipe that has remained unchanged since opening. Also, their soft Mochi (rice cakes) is so nice to try.
Ending Point
At your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards or Shinjuku Station. Or, your accommodation in Hakone or Odawara Station for Shinaksen to Kyoto upon your request.
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
guide fee, hotel meet-up, send-off in Tokyo
transportation fee (you and guide), food and drink (you and guide), admission (you and guide) *showed on itinerary above
[ Major transportation fees on tour day ]
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【Basic Plan】By Romance Car total : Adult : 8,500 yen, Child : 2,700 yen
Details: Hakone Freepass from Shinjuku (Valid for 2 days・All inclusive ticket ) : Adult 6,100 yen, Child 1,500 yen
Romance Car Express charge : (Adult 1,200 yen, Child 600 yen) × round trip
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【Shinkansen Plan】
With JR-pass : Adult 5,000 yen, Child 1,000 yen. Without JR-pass : Adult 11,560 yen, Child 4,280 yen.
Details : With JR-pass, Shinkansen 0 yen +Hakone Freepass from Odawara
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Without JR-pass, Shinkansen (Tokyo - Odawara) Adult 3,280 yen × round trip = 6,560 yen, Child 1,640 yen × round trip=3,280 yen
+Hakone Freepass from Odawara (Valid for 2 days・All inclusive ticket ) : Adult 5,000 yen / Child 1,000 yen
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【 Private Car from/to Tokyo 】
- Hired Car : I'm happy to do this tour by a hired car you arranged at your end.
- My Family Car (Toyota Alphard 7 seater) : Only available with Photo Option with my husband, who is a professional photographer, as a driver. Can assure the best experience with the best flexibleness. Feel free to ask me for quotation. I'm happy to send you a proposal of Hakone by my car.
- Important【Volcanic gas warning for people with diseases.】
Owakudani is a popular tourist site with volcanic activities. But for those people who have Heart diseases, Asthma, Respiratory diseases and other health prpblems are not supposed to use ropeway between Ubako and Sounzan (including Owakudani) . If your group have someone with health problems, please let me know in advance. I'll make a plan without visiting gas area.
- In case of extremely bad weather such as heavy rain, strong winds, storm, foggy and snow, the ropeways and Ashi Lake Boat Cruise might either be suspended or unable to operate as scheduled. Please understand that we'll take alternative transportations instead in the emergency.
- We can enjoy the view of Mt.Fuji from many places in Hakone if the weather permits. Visibility is higher in winter time.
This tour is only available on Weekdays to escape from congestion in Hakone.
- Sorry, I'm BOOKED OUT on MARCH & APRIL this year.
- Please kindly make an inquiry only for my available days on my calendar on GoWithGuide.
- I do tours up to 4 people to maximize your experience.
- I'm Tokyo based. My tours basically start/end in Tokyo. If you like to start/end outside Tokyo 23 wards, kindly cover my transportation fee from/to there. Thank you for understanding.
Kon-ni-chi-wa. Hello! I'm Kaori, having lived in Tokyo for more than 20 years since I got married to a photographer who lives here. Originally from Shizuoka prefecture which has Mt.Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan. I took 2 working-holiday-visa stays in my younger days. One is in Toronto, Canada, and another is Australia touring by motorcycle. One year respectively.
I love travel both international and domestic. That's why I love helping individual travelers rather than group tours, because I myself love travel freely. Love nature, gardens, trekking, greenery, also anime. My favorite is taking you to the off-the-beaten tracks where I love.
As a national government licensed guide, I've got deep knowledge of Japanese culture and history. I really enjoy talking about the way of life with people from different cultures. We see what you like and talk what you are interested in. That's my style. If you don't know what to want, I can help you with that.
I'm happy to make tailor-made tours only for you (up to 4 people) upon your request.
・Half Day as you like (up to 4 hours) : 40,000 JPY
・Full Day as you like (up to 8 hours) : 64,000 JPY
・Extra hour over 8hours : 7,500 JPY/hour
I'm quite an outgoing person, ( but organized well! ), easy to get along with anybody, including small kids to teenagers. Can't wait to see you soon!
Wesley F.
“Kaori was great!”
Even before the trip Kaori was very responsive and accommodating to our requests. Kaori met us at the hotel to begin the day which was very nice. She was very knowledgeable of every site we visited and answered every question we had. She found a restaurant that fit our dietary needs for lunch that was delicious! Very personable and professional. Could not say enough nice things about her. Thank you Kaori!
Kaori S.
Thank you for so much kindly taking time to share feedback from your parents, Wesley-san. Delighted to hear they enjoyed their favorite Japanese food on lunch just a day before their departure. Please pass my great appreciation to Elaine-san and Norman-san too. Had a lovely time with them. I cannot thank them enough. Thank you again for choosing me for your important persons. It was nice meeting you all. Big hugs, Kaori
Janine A.
“Awesome Day”
We had the best time touring the Nikko area with Kaori. Our day began with a hotel pick up and then a train ride to Nikko. Kaori planned our day in the best way possible. She is very well organized and communicates well so we spent our day and days leading up to the tour not having to worry about anything. Kaori’s knowledge about Japan’s history and customs helped us to understand and connect with the places we visited. We were in Nikko during a time with few tourists so not all restaurants were open, but Kaori was able to take us to a delicious place for lunch. We also enjoyed Kaori’s recommendations for snacks. Yum! Kaori truly goes above and beyond helping to make your experience and awesome one. This was our second tour with Kaori and we would definitely tour with her again.
Kaori S.
Janine-san, THANK YOU so much for your heart warming feedback on me. How wonderful we could meet each other so quickly since last time of first meeting last Nov. I’m so happy to be with and guide such Japan lovers like you to my favorite places. I already feel like you and Kyle-san are my family. Extraordinary kindness of both of you touches me sincerely every moment. I'm the happiese person to be a tour guide. I cannot wait to meet you again, also looking forward to guide your family and any relatives/friends when they come to Japan! See you soon again! Big hugs, Kaori
Eileen B.
“One day Tokyo tour”
We recently had 4 days in Tokyo, our first visit ever. One day was spent on an all day fabulous tour with Kaori san. She met us at our hotel in the Ginza area, we traveled by train all over the city seeing so many beautiful and interesting sites. Kaori is very professional, knowledgeable and so much fun to be with. She also took us to a very good restaurant for lunch and suggested a wonderful restaurant for lunch the next day. Book Kaori san for a Tokyo tour. We enjoyed her very much.
Kaori S.
Thank you so much Eileen san for an excellent review. Congratulations again for your 50th anniversary. Hope you enjoyed your memorable trip this time. So happy to hear you loved local lunch together, also beef lunch next day before your cruise ship! Will be always more than happy to guide your family, friends and relatives when they visit Japan. Of course, looking forward to seeing you again! Stay healthy and happy. Big hugs, Kaori
$503/ per group