Recommended hotel in Hakone:
- Smart Choice: Ryokan Mikawaya.
- Smart Link: reserving this Ryokan is best done through Japaneseguesthouses. This page provides an explanation of how make the reservation. After you have accepted the conditions (there is nothing odd about them), you will be asked to answer a questionnaire. It is best to put several options of Ryokan for the same zone, in case they have no vacancies. The staff who respond are always very pleasant and delighted to give you constant guidance. They speak only English and Japanese.
- Price: 19,980¥ per person (approx. 160€-143£), including dinner and breakfast served in the room, private toilet and access to the hotel's baths. Private thermal baths in your room will cost you approximately double! It is expensive but you will have no regrets! One of the best experiences in Japan!
- Address: 503 Kowakudani Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa-ken (see map). Tel. No.: 250-0406.
- How to get there: When at Odawara station, leave by the East exit and take the bus bound for Moto Hakone (lines U, H and Z, normally from platform 3). Get off at Houraien stop, which is just opposite the Ryokan (approx. stop No. 14). The bus takes approx. 1 hr and costs 850¥ per person (free with the Hakone Free Pass).
- Description: a wonderful hotel, which has impressive views and is authentically Japanese (it is hard to find foreign tourists here). The staff are very pleasant and the decoration and amenities are fantastic and feature a wealth of detail. The outdoor baths are incredibly relaxing. A Japanese dinner is served in the room, meaning you can try typical Japanese dishes that you are unused to. They may seem strange but they are certainly worth it!
- See Mikawaya Ryokan at TripAdvisor.
Other recommended hotels:
Basic Choice:
- Fuji-Hakone Guest House: 14,000¥ (approx. 108€-98£) double room without breakfast. An economical option for visiting Hakone, with indoor and outdoor baths. It is not, however, the top Ryokan experience, as it has neither the in-room dinner service nor all the accompanying ritual. Frequented more by tourists than by locals. All information on booking is available from their website, although you may also make the reservation through Japanese Guest Houses. See Fuji-Hakone Guest House at TripAdvisor.
Premium Choice:
- Hakone Ginyu: 50,000¥ por persona (approx. 385€-350£). It includes dinner and breakfast served in the room, private toilet and an open-air bath and terrace. Total luxury! The services are similar to the Mikawaya, although everything here is newer and the views are even better. See Hakone Ginyu at TripAdvisor.
Search Engine of Hotels recommended for Hakone: Booking.com
