Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [147]
Pick up local and regional maps and info at the excellent Tourist Information Center (85-5700; 9am-5.45pm), by the bus stops across the main road from the train station.
Onsen are the main attraction of Hakone-Yumoto. Kappa Tengoku Rotemburo (85-6121; adult/child ¥750/400; 10am-10pm), behind and above the station, is a popular outdoor bath, worth a dip if the crowds aren’t too bad; it’s three minutes on foot up from Hakone-Yumoto Station. More upmarket are the fantastic onsen of Tenzan Tōji-kyō (86-4126; admission ¥1200; 9am-10pm), which has a larger selection of indoor and outdoor baths. To get here, take the B Course shuttle bus from the bridge outside the station.
SLEEPING
Hotel Okada (85-6000; fax 85-5774; www.hotel-okada.co.jp/eng/; r per person incl 2 meals from ¥17,000; ) Try this rambling hotel on the edge of the Sukumo-gawa for a bit of pampering. It has excellent Japanese- and Western-style rooms and baths including the large Yu no Sato complex (also open to day trippers, from ¥1000) above the cheaper Pension Okada wing (which has rooms per person from ¥5930). Take bus A from the train station (¥100, 10 minutes).
Miyanoshita
The first worthwhile stop on the Hakone-Tōzan railway towards Gōra, this village has antique shops along the main road (head down the hill from the station), some splendid ryokan, and a pleasant hiking trail skirting up 800m Mt Sengen. The trailhead is 20m from the road from the station, up an incline.
Fujiya Hotel (82-2211; fax 82-2210; www.fujiyahotel.jp; d from ¥18,870) is one of Japan’s finest hotels. Opened in 1878, it’s one of the first Western-style hotels in the nation. Now sprawled across several wings, it remains dreamily elegant for the woodwork in its old-world lounge areas, dining room, a hillside garden, historic hot-spring baths and guest rooms with hot-spring water. It’s worth a visit to soak up the atmosphere and have tea in the lounge. Foreign travellers should enquire about the weekday special of roughly US$130 for double rooms (you can pay the equivalent sum in yen). The hotel is around 250m west of the station.
If you don’t fancy paying resort prices for dinners at the Fujiya, a short walk away is the friendly sushi shop with English menu, Miyafuji (; 82-2139; most dishes ¥1575-2310;lunch & dinner Wed-Mon), known for its aji-don (brook trout over rice). Look for the door curtain with a circular crest.
Chōkoku-no-Mori
Two stops beyond Miyanoshita is the excellent Hakone Open-Air Museum (82-1161; www.hakone-oam.or.jp; adult/child/college & high-school student ¥1600/800/1100; 9am-4.30pm). Although tickets are pricey, there’s an impressive selection of 19th- and 20th-century Japanese and Western sculptures (including Henry Moore, Rodin, Maillol and Miro) in a soaring hillside setting. There’s also a Picasso pavilion and paintings by Takamura Kotaro and other Japanese artists. Decent restaurants and a tea house are inside. Hakone Freepass holders get ¥200 off.
A charming ryokan lies 300m uphill from the museum on the left. Yudokoro Chōraku (82-2192; fax 82-4533; r per person from ¥5150;) has simple but nicely maintained tatami rooms with kitchenettes and private toilet. There’s an onsen on the 1st floor (available for day use for ¥550).
For exquisite sushi and sashimi, don’t miss Kappeizushi (82-3278; mixed sushi around ¥1500; 9am-8pm Wed-Mon). A picture menu is available. It’s just downhill from the museum with a blue-white door curtain and wooden signboard.
Gōra
Gōra is the terminus of the Hakone-Tōzan line and the starting point for the funicular and cable-car trip to Tōgendai on Ashino-ko. The town also has a couple of its own attractions that may be of minor interest to travellers.
Just a short walk beside the funicular tracks towards Sōun-zan is Hakone Gōra-kōen (82-2825; adult with/without Freepass free/¥500, child free;