The Hakone loop
Hakone is a hot-spring and volcano area about 90 km from Tokyo. The classic day trip is a loop that uses six kinds of transport, and the Hakone Free Pass covers all of them.
Arrive in Hakone-Yumoto
Take the Romancecar or Shinkansen to Odawara, then go one short hop to Hakone-Yumoto. This is the onsen town at the foot of the mountains, and the best place to stay in a ryokan.
Up the mountain railway
The Hakone Tozan Railway climbs about 450 m to Gora, reversing direction at three switchbacks. In June it runs past hydrangeas in bloom.
Cable car to Sounzan
At Gora you change to the cable car, a funicular that climbs a steep slope to Sounzan in about 10 minutes. This comes before the ropeway.
Ropeway over the volcano
At Sounzan you board the ropeway gondolas. They carry you over the steaming crater of Owakudani, where you can try black eggs boiled in the hot springs, then down to Togendai on the lake.
Cross Lake Ashi
A pirate ship carries you across the crater lake to Moto-Hakone. On a clear day you can see Mt Fuji, and the red torii of Hakone Shrine stands in the water near the south shore.
Bus back down
From Moto-Hakone a bus winds back down to Hakone-Yumoto to close the loop. The whole circuit takes about a full day with stops.