About this experience
I will accompany you to the resort from Tokyo, help you get there without spending too much money and time, and on the spot I will explain where and how to best immerse yourself in the hot spring waters. Along the way, I will tell you about the Hakone area, the hot springs in the context of Japanese culture and everyday life, and answer your questions about Japan.
Hakone is the closest major hot spring resort to Tokyo. The healing waters of Hakone Yumoto's hot springs have been attracting people of all ages for centuries.
Program
The alkaline hot spring (called 'onsen' in Japanese) of one of the traditional inns Hakone Yumoto is located at the foot of a small mountain with a roaring waterfall, considered in the ancient religion of the Japanese as a manifestation of divine forces of nature. The inn's garden, as well as the overview of the female half of the resort, faces this waterfall. After contemplating the waterfall, you can feed the colorful carp in the ponds and pools of the garden and take a stroll along its paths up the mountain, where a chapel to the waterfall deity is built.
After receiving clean towels and a yukata (light kimono in which you can walk around the resort grounds), you undress and enter the outdoor hot spring area. Here you can enjoy healing baths with views of the waterfall and mountainous landscape. The temperature of the natural spring is 41-42 degrees Celsius, not too hot, very pleasant. Even the changeable weather in the mountains will not spoil your pleasure, as most baths are sheltered.
For those staying for the whole day, there is no time limit for bathing. You only need to follow simple rules while at the springs: do not touch the water with the towels, do not splash around, and do not talk too loudly to not disturb other visitors.
If you wish to stay here for longer, use the services of a masseur or cosmetologist after bathing, or have dinner at the inn's restaurant, I will provide you with detailed written instructions on how to return to Tokyo independently, equipped with the timetable for the Odakyu Romance Car express train.
From Hakone Yumoto Station to the traditional inn, it is a 10-15 minute walk along a street where local delicacies are sold—from steamed buns filled with sweet bean paste or chestnuts to dried fish caught from the nearby ocean.
If you decide to spend 3 hours or less in Hakone, we will return to Tokyo together. If longer, you will return on your own, armed with my written instructions on how to catch the return train and how to get from Shinjuku Station to your hotel in the city.
Organizational Details
- Odakyu Romance Car train from Shinjuku to Hakone Yumoto—approximately one and a half hours and 2,000 yen one way (reserved seats, reclining chairs, tables available, very comfortable). Add a few more minutes and 200-300 yen if your hotel in Tokyo is not in the Shinjuku area.
- I will pay for your ride from Shinjuku to Hakone Yumoto and for the hot spring bathing, but I will ask you to cover my ride to your hotel in Tokyo in the morning, from where I will pick you up in the morning or drop you off in the evening.
- Visit to the hot spring—around 2,500 yen per person, including rental of towels and yukata. Fish food—100 yen, bus to the station in case of heavy rain—100 yen.
- You can combine the hot springs visit with another tour of mine to the Odawara Samurai Castle or Yokohama.
- Also, if you are traveling from or returning to Tokyo on the Shinkansen trains 'Hikari' or 'Kodama,' which (unlike the 'Nozomi' train) make a stop at JR Odawara Station, I can meet you directly on the Shinkansen platform at a time convenient for you (but not before 9 a.m.), and we will start from that station.
