Save on Your Trip to Hakone! We Breakdown Our Discount Ticket and Pass Recommendations by Purpose

Hakone boasts a wide variety of transportation options, including trains, buses, a ropeway, and even a pirate ship! Hakone’s sightseeing destinations are also scattered across a wide area. This means that if you travel at regular rates, the transportation costs alone can result in spending more than you expected on your trip.

This is where ride passes come in. Not only can they save you money on transportation costs, a ride pass can also help you to get where you are going more efficiently! Plus they save you the time and effort spent buying tickets each time you ride, making travel smoother.

In addition, you can find a full lineup of sightseeing and activity tickets that provide discounts on admission fees to tourist facilities, hot springs, and museums. Are you planning to explore Hakone using its various transportation options? Or perhaps you are looking to enjoy both art museums and hot springs. Choose tickets and passes according to your travel plans to make your trip to Hakone more enjoyable and economical!

Below are the seven tickets and passes we present in this issue. They all offer different benefits and have different conditions, so be sure to check which ones best match your needs.

There are many different forms of transportation available in Hakone, and just getting around is one of the joys of a trip to the area. In this section, we introduce three ride passes for you to choose from depending on your travel plans.

We recommend the Hakone Freepass if you plan on taking the so-called “golden course”—the de facto standard route for sightseeing in Hakone. This pass allows unlimited rides on eight different transportation systems, including the Hakone Tozan Train, Hakone Tozan Cable Car, Hakone Ropeway, Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, and Hakone Tozan Bus, enabling you to efficiently explore Hakone’s famous landmarks. The pass also includes a round-trip ticket on an Odakyu Line from the departure station of your choice to Odawara.

One of the great things about a trip to Hakone is that you can have fun just getting around and riding a variety of unique and distinctive modes of transportation. Plus, with the Hakone Freepass, you can receive special offers and discounts at approximately 70 sightseeing and tourist facilities, making it possible to enjoy a truly amazing trip even on a limited budget.

The “Hakone golden course” is a de facto standard route that forms a circle visiting Hakone’s major tourism spots. Taking this route makes it possible to enjoy Hakone’s natural beauty and landmarks to the fullest. Just traveling the route is also an enjoyable experience because it involves riding on a variety of unique and distinctive forms of transportation, including the Hakone Ropeway and the pirate ship of the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise!

Without the Hakone Freepass, traveling the “Hakone golden course” starting from Shinjuku could cost you 8,322 yen in transportation fees alone (if using a prepaid IC transit card, or 10,622 yen if also riding the Romancecar). With the Hakone Freepass, however, this same route costs 7,100 yen for adults (9,400 yen if also riding the Romancecar), a 1,222 yen savings. In addition, you get discounts at eligible tourist facilities, allowing you to save on both transportation and sightseeing. With the extra money, you can enjoy your trip even more by indulging in a fancy lunch or choosing a more luxurious plan at a hotel.

▼ Recommended articles
What Is the Hakone Free Pass? We Checked How Much Money You Can Save Using a Standard Example Trip Itinerary (in Japanese only) Do You Know About the “Hakone Golden Course,” the de Facto Standard Route for Touring Hakone? (in Japanese only)

For those planning mainly on visiting Owakudani, where you can take in impressive volcanic scenery and enjoy local food, we recommend the Owakudani 2-Day Pass. It includes unlimited rides on designated sections of the Hakone Tozan Train, Hakone Cable Car, and Hakone Ropeway, as well as a round-trip ticket on an Odakyu Line from the departure station of your choice to Odawara.

There is plenty to see and do even while on the move. One of the appeals of this pass is the distinctive modes of transportation you can experience with it, such as the Hakone Tozan Train, which uses switchbacks to climb across the area’s steep mountains, and the Hakone Ropeway, which offers spectacular views of Hakone from the air. The pass also includes free admission to Hakone Gora Park (ordinarily 650 yen for adults, tax incl.).

This example course is perfect for a day trip. It departs from Odawara and takes you to Owakudani via Miyanoshita, Gora, and Sounzan. The way back takes you through Gora and Miyanoshita again before returning to Odawara. Although the amount of time spent riding transit is short, it is a great way to enjoy Hakone’s unique scenery and experiences.

Paying regular prices, traveling this route from Odawara would cost you 5,460 yen in transportation expenses alone (calculated using round-trip fare on the Hakone Ropeway), plus 650 yen for admission to Hakone Gora Park for a total cost of 6,110 yen. The Owakudani 2-Day Pass, however, costs 5,000 yen for adults departing from Odawara, for a possible savings of 1,110 yen on our example trip.

For those visiting Hakone by car, we recommend the Sightseeing Cruise & Ropeway Pass. This generous pass gives you unlimited rides on the Hakone Ropeway and the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, enabling you to enjoy both spectacular views of Lake Ashi and panoramic views of Hakone from the sky.

If you park your car at the available lot at Sounzan Station and depart on the Hakone Ropeway from there, you can enjoy sightseeing and freely travel around the lake and mountains of Hakone at a reasonable price and without worrying about traffic jams. The pass also comes with discounts on admission to the Narukawa Art Museum and special offers at restaurants.

This example course allows you to enjoy Lake Ashi and the skies of Hakone to the fullest. It starts at Sounzan and takes you to Owakudani and Togendai using the Hakone Ropeway. From there, you take the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise on Lake Ashi, then ride the Hakone Ropeway back to Sounzan.

Even including the discounts provided by using round-trip tickets, taking this course paying regular fares would cost 6,000 yen in total. The Sightseeing Cruise & Ropeway Pass, however, is priced at 5,000 yen for adults, saving you 1,000 yen. Plus, it also includes the following additional perks:

• Discounts on admission to Hakone Gora Park, the Narukawa Art Museum, and the Hakone Sekisho (Hakone Checkpoint)
• A 100 yen discount on admission to the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise’s deluxe cabin for a one-way trip (50 yen discount for children)
• A 20% discount on soft drinks at the Owakudani Station Diner

We recommend the following sightseeing and activity tickets for those who want to enjoy discounts at sightseeing facilities, hot springs, museums, and other attractions in Hakone. They are easy to use and save you money, so choose the ones that work best with your travel plans.

Hakone is known for its natural beauty, including the Owakudani valley and Lake Ashi, but it is also one of Japan’s prime art museum locations. The area is dotted with art museums that harmonize with the seasonal scenery, and being able to enjoy art in locations unlike anything you can find in urban areas is another of Hakone’s appeals. If you want to tour Hakone’s unique museums and pay less at the same time, we recommend the money-saving Pick-2 Museum Ticket.

What Is the Pick-2 Museum Ticket?

With this ticket, you can choose to receive admission to either the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum or Lalique Museum, Hakone. You also get admission to one additional museum of your choice from the following six.

▼ 6 museums to choose from
Narukawa Art Museum; Hakone Open-Air Museum; Okada Museum of Art; Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands; Hakone Ekiden Museum; or Lalique Museum, Hakone or Hakone Venetian Glass Museum (whichever was not chosen first)

For example, if you purchase the Pick-2 Museum Ticket with admission to the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum, you can choose admission to one additional museum from the list of six options above.

The great thing about this ticket is that it lets you choose which museums you want to go to.
More choice, more savings, and more fun! Choose the museums you want to visit based on your interests and mood. For example:

• If you like glass crafts and decorative arts, visit the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum or Lalique Museum, Hakone
• If you want to enjoy a fusion of nature and art, visit the Hakone Open-Air Museum or Narukawa Art Museum
• If you want to experience Japanese and East Asian art, visit the Okada Museum of Art

With the Pick-2 Museum Ticket, depending on the museums you choose, you can save 550 to 800 yen off regular admission fees. Individual admission tickets to the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum; Lalique Museum, Hakone; Okada Museum of Art; and Narukawa Art Museum are also available for purchase, so if you are looking to visit a lot of museums, we recommend buying these additional tickets.

▼ Recommended articles
7 Recommended Museums in Hakone (in Japanese only)

You can’t visit Hakone without going to an onsen and enjoying hot spring bathing! Surrounded by an abundance of natural beauty, Hakone is also one of the most famous hot spring resorts in Japan, and here you can enjoy its wide variety of hot springs known as the “20 hot springs of Hakone.” The Hassle-Free Onsen Ticket is perfect for those who want to go hot spring bathing while on a day trip. With this ticket, you can enjoy Hakone Yuryo, a popular day trip hot spring bathhouse, at a discount.

What Is the Hassle-Free Onsen Ticket?

The Hassle-Free Onsen Ticket includes admission to the Hakone Yuryo day trip hot spring bathhouse as well as face and bath towel rental. The Hassle-Free Onsen Ticket is available exclusively via EMot, a smartphone app and web service for purchasing and managing electronic tickets.

The popular Hakone Yuryo recreates the atmosphere of Japan’s traditional rural hot spring bathhouses. Hakone Yuryo also has full-fledged sauna facilities as well. Free shuttle bus service is available from Hakone-Yumoto Station for easy access.

Towel rental, normally 850 yen (tax incl.), is included in the Hassle-Free Onsen Ticket price, making it effectively free.

After taking a hot bath, head to the bathhouse’s restaurant, Irorisaryo Hachiri, where you can savor seasonal flavors while sitting around a Japanese irori (sunken hearth). The restaurant also offers an extensive menu of alcoholic beverages, so we recommend using the money you save with the Hassle-Free Onsen Ticket to indulge in a luxurious drink.

Other tickets are also available for day trip hot spring bathing at Tenseien, which is popular for its 17-meter-long Rooftop Open-Air Communal Sky Baths; and at the Ryuguden Main Building standing on the shore of Lake Ashi. Choose the best ticket for you based on your planned trip destinations.

▼ Recommended articles
Quick Guide to Day Trip Hot Spring Spots in Hakone by Area (in Japanese only)

For those who want to fully enjoy the many popular tourism destinations in Hakone, including museums, hot springs, aquariums, and numerous activity facilities, we recommend the Hako Ticket, your ticket to unlimited fun in Hakone! The Hako Ticket allows you to visit any number of eligible facilities as many times as you like, making it easy to visit the places you want to go to.

Also great for people who would like to check out a lot of places but are worried about admission fees piling up, the Hako Ticket makes it possible to enjoy Hakone without worry. In addition to the freedom it gives you to choose the destinations you want to visit at your own pace, the more you use it, the more you save!

Let’s use an example of four friends going on a 2-day/1-night trip to Hakone by car. In our example situation, the four friends use two-day Hako Tickets to visit the following spots:

The total cost of this trip would normally be 11,850 yen per person (if visiting on a weekend) for admission and entrance fees alone, but with a two-day Hako Ticket, it would cost just 7,300 yen. That’s a savings of 4,550 yen per person. For four people, this translates to a total of 18,200 yen saved! With the money the Hako Ticket saves you, we recommend enjoying a slightly extravagant lunch or dinner, or buying some extra souvenirs.

For those travelling by train or bus, we recommend the Hakone Freepass “Hako Ticket” Plus. The pass includes the Digital Hakone Freepass, which gives you unlimited rides on eight modes of transportation, saving you money on both sightseeing and on getting to where you want to go.

Why not stop by Odawara before or after your trip to Hakone? Odawara is packed with things to see and do, including Odawara Castle and other historical spots, local culinary delights, and a plethora of delightful cafes to visit. The Enjoy! Odawara Ticket helps you to fully enjoy the fun and the tastes of Odawara!

＜Enjoy!What Is the Enjoy! Odawara Ticket?

The Enjoy! Odawara Ticket is a ticket that saves you money while helping you enjoy Odawara’s culinary delights, sightseeing destinations, and souvenirs. The ticket includes one Tabechike coupon exchangeable for a meal at a local restaurant, and two Burachike coupons which can be used at sightseeing destinations, souvenir shops, and cafes.

There are also Enjoy! Odawara Ticket plans that include a round-trip Odakyu Romancecar limited-express ticket and a ticket for the Odakyu departure station of your choice, making it possible to save up to 1,000 yen or more on transportation to Odawara depending on the departure station. After enjoying Odawara, we recommend heading straight for Hakone-Yumoto or Gora on the Hakone Tozan Train.

Information on the Enjoy! Odawara Ticket here (in Japanese only)

Hakone has a wide variety of passes and tickets that can be used to save money on trains, buses, the Hakone Ropeway, tourist facilities, and more. In addition to reducing your transportation and admission costs, they can also make your trip more comfortable by reducing the time and effort required for transfers and enabling smooth entry to museums and other facilities.

By choosing the tickets and passes that are right for your travel plans, you will be able to enjoy Hakone to the fullest while saving time and money. If you are not sure which ticket or pass is right for you, check out our recommendations by purpose provided below.