How Do You Get to Hakone from Tokyo? Trains, Passes and the Ropeway

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors travelling from Tokyo to Hakone, the hot spring and lake area in Kanagawa Prefecture. It covers the direct train from Shinjuku, the Hakone Freepass, and the chain of trains, cable car, ropeway and boats that most people use once they arrive.

We used pages from the railway operator Odakyu, the Odakyu Hakone group's Hakone Navi site, the Hakone Town Tourist Association and Hakone Town, all read on 2026-10-04. Fares and timetables change, so check the operator's current page before you travel.

The short answer: Odakyu from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto

Odakyu calls its Romancecar limited express the fastest way between Shinjuku and Hakone. It runs directly from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in about 80 minutes. From Hakone-Yumoto, the Hakone Tozan train continues up into the hills.

• Two tickets. You need a limited express ticket and a regular fare ticket. The limited express ticket from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto costs 1,200 yen for adults, one way. The regular ticket is checked at the gate.
• All seats reserved. Every Romancecar seat is reserved, and the trains have toilets and a luggage space.
• Buying online. Limited express tickets bought through Odakyu's online service, EMot Online Tickets, cost 50 yen less.
• Children. Children aged 6 to 11 pay half the adult price for both tickets. A child under 6 who sits on an adult's lap needs no ticket.

The Romancecar also stops at Odawara. The limited express ticket from Shinjuku to Odawara is 1,000 yen. Odawara is station OH47 on the Hakone Tozan line, and Hakone-Yumoto is OH51.

The Hakone Freepass

Odakyu sells the Hakone Freepass for unlimited rides on eight types of transport in the Hakone area. The adult prices on Odakyu's page are:

• From Shinjuku: 7,100 yen for 2 days, or 7,500 yen for 3 days. Child prices are 1,600 yen and 1,850 yen.
• From Odawara: 6,000 yen for 2 days, or 6,400 yen for 3 days. Child prices are 1,500 yen and 1,750 yen.

The pass from Shinjuku includes a round trip between Shinjuku and Odawara on the Odakyu Line. The pass from Odawara does not include any Odakyu Line travel. Either way, the Romancecar limited express ticket is extra.

Odakyu lists these services as covered: the Odakyu Line, the Hakone Tozan train and cable car, the Hakone Ropeway, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, and some buses. The buses are the Hakone Tozan Bus, Odakyu Highway Bus and Tokai Bus in set areas, plus a sightseeing bus.

The first day counts from the date you buy the pass. A 2-day pass ends after the last service on the next day, so it does not mean 48 hours. You can buy a digital pass for a smartphone online, or a paper pass from station ticket machines and Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centers.

Inside Hakone: train, cable car, ropeway and boat

Hakone Navi describes a chain of services that climb from Hakone-Yumoto to Lake Ashi.

• Hakone Tozan train. It runs 8.9 km from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora in about 40 minutes. The line opened in 1919 and climbs gradients of up to 80 per mille. It reverses at three switchbacks, where the driver and conductor change places.
• Hakone Tozan cable car. It climbs 209 m over 1.2 km from Gora to Sounzan in about 10 minutes. It opened in 1921. The current cars started running in March 2020.
• Hakone Ropeway. It links Sounzan, Owakudani, Ubako and Togendai. Each section takes about 10 minutes, and gondolas for 18 people leave about every minute. At Owakudani you change gondolas, and the two directions use different platforms.
• Hakone Sightseeing Cruise. The boats cross Lake Ashi from Togendai to Hakonemachi and Moto-Hakone in about 25 to 40 minutes.

The ropeway runs from 9:00 to 17:00 from February to November. From December to January it runs from 9:00 to 16:15.

Fares on the ropeway and the boats

If you do not have a pass, Hakone Navi gives these adult fares, valid from 1 October 2025:

• Ropeway: one flat fare of 2,000 yen one way, or 3,000 yen return. Children pay 700 yen and 1,000 yen.
• Cruise, Togendai to Hakonemachi or Moto-Hakone: 1,700 yen one way. Children pay 850 yen.
• Cruise, Hakonemachi to Moto-Hakone: 600 yen one way. Children pay 300 yen.
• Cruise return ticket: 3,000 yen, or 1,300 yen for children.

The boats have a special cabin. It costs an extra 800 yen one way between Togendai and Hakonemachi or Moto-Hakone.

Riding the Hakone Tozan Bus with an IC card

Hakone Navi explains how to ride the Hakone Tozan Bus with an IC card such as Suica or PASMO:

• Touch the reader near the door when you get on. You do not need a numbered ticket.
• The next stop is shown on the fare display at the front and announced. Press the buzzer when your stop comes up.
• Touch the reader on the fare box when you get off.
• If your balance is too low, pay the rest in cash or top up the card.

When services stop

The Hakone Ropeway says it may stop when strong wind, lightning or a typhoon is expected. It also stops when volcanic gas levels rise, based on readings at several points. The ropeway notes that its gas readings are not directly linked to the volcanic alert level.

Hakone Navi shows the current status of the services covered by the Freepass. When we checked at 11:09 on 4 October 2026, it showed "Normal operation".

Odakyu says that if bad weather stops a service you could not use, the online Freepass can be refunded for that section. You contact the EMot support desk to ask.

Help when you arrive

The Hakone Town Tourist Association runs the Hakone Tourist Information Center, a one-minute walk from Hakone-Yumoto Station. The Japan National Tourism Organization has certified it as a Visit Japan information center.

Staff can help in English, Chinese and Korean, although Chinese and Korean speakers are not always on duty. It is open from 9:00 to 17:45, and the phone number is 0460-85-5700.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• The regular Odakyu fare from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto. The pages we read gave only the limited express charge and the Odawara to Shinjuku fare.
• Fares on the Hakone Tozan train and cable car. The fare table is a PDF grid that we could not read reliably.
• Routes via JR and the Shinkansen to Odawara. We did not read JR timetables or fares for this guide.
• Highway bus routes and times from Tokyo. Hakone Navi's English access page shows them as images.
• Whether IC cards work on the ropeway and the boats.

Related guides

• What are Lake Ashi and the old Hakone Checkpoint?
• How do you stay safe in Hakone? Volcano, gas, rain and emergencies

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. Limited Express “Romancecar” from Shinjuku to Hakone: Ticket Details (Odakyu Electric Railway) — (journey time; limited express charges to Hakone-Yumoto and Odawara; reserved seats; online discount; child tickets)
2. Directions to Hakone - From Tokyo (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Electric Railway and Odakyu Hakone) — (Romancecar as the fastest way from Shinjuku)
3. Hakone Freepass: A Convenient Ticket for Your Trip from Shinjuku (Odakyu Electric Railway) — (pass prices; what it covers; validity; digital and paper passes; weather refunds)
4. 登山電車・ケーブルカー (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Hakone) — (train and cable car length, time, opening years, gradient, switchbacks; station numbers)
5. Getting Around Hakone (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Electric Railway and Odakyu Hakone) — (the routes of the train, cable car, ropeway and cruise)
6. 箱根ロープウェイ (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Hakone) — (ropeway stations, hours, frequency, gondola size; weather and gas stoppages)
7. 箱根海賊船 (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Hakone) — (cruise routes and journey time; cruise fares)
8. 運賃 (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Hakone) — (ropeway and cruise fares from 1 October 2025)
9. ICカードでのご乗車 (Hakone Tozan Bus, Hakone Navi) — (how to ride the bus with an IC card)
10. Transportation (Hakone Navi, Odakyu Electric Railway and Odakyu Hakone) — (Freepass service status at 11:09 on 4 October 2026)
11. ようこそ箱根町総合観光案内所へ (Hakone Town Tourist Association) — (tourist information center location, languages, hours and phone)