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City guide · 箱根 Hakone

Hakone

Tokyo's mountain hot-spring circuit — Lake Ashi, a volcanic valley, and the thousand-year legend of the nine-headed dragon

Photo: Joli Rumi · CC BY-SA 4.0

The town of Hakone lies among the ancient volcanic mountains of southwestern Kanagawa Prefecture, at the core of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. From the "Seven Hot Springs of Hakone" of the Edo period to today's dozen-plus onsen villages, Hakone — with its hot-spring inns, Lake Ashi sightseeing boats, the sulfurous white smoke of Ōwakudani and the Hakone Open-Air Museum — forms the mountain resort circuit closest to Tokyo. The mountain railway, cable cars and pirate ships strung into a loop route are themselves the scenery, and at New Year there is the Hakone Ekiden, which the whole of Japan watches on television.

History

How the city came to be

Hakone's history of faith begins in the Nara period: legend says the monk Mangan Shōnin subdued the nine-headed dragon on the shore of Lake Ashi, and Hakone Gongen (today's Hakone Shrine) was founded from that, becoming a sacred place revered by warriors and travellers. In the Kamakura and Muromachi periods Hakone was the mountain barrier of the Tōkaidō road; in 1619 the Edo shogunate set up the Hakone Checkpoint on the shore of Lake Ashi, strictly inspecting "guns coming in, women going out." After Meiji, the imperial family and foreigners built summer villas here; the mountain railway opened in the Taishō years, and the Hakone Ekiden, born in 1920, made this Japan's "New Year landscape." After the war Hakone grew into the nation's hot-spring resort, and it flourishes still.

  1. 757 (legend)The monk Mangan Shōnin subdues the nine-headed dragon of Lake Ashi; the Hakone Gongen faith is founded
  2. 1619The Edo shogunate establishes the Hakone Checkpoint on the shore of Lake Ashi
  3. 1670The Fukara aqueduct completed, drawing Lake Ashi's water to irrigate the farmland of the Suruga side
  4. 1919The Hakone Tozan Railway opens, greatly changing the onsen villages' links with the outside world
  5. 1920The first Tokyo-Hakone round-trip university ekiden (the Hakone Ekiden) held
  6. 1936The Hakone area designated the Fuji-Hakone National Park (later the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park)

Stories

Stories of the city

The Hakone checkpoint: the gateway to Edo

History · Hakone

In the Edo period Hakone was 'Hakone-juku', a post station on the Tōkaidō with a checkpoint. All travellers entering or leaving Edo had to show their passes and have their luggage inspected here, and officials strictly enforced the Tokugawa shogunate's restrictions on women travelling and weapons coming in.

Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed for victory at Hakone Shrine

History · Hakone

During the Genpei War, after his defeat at nearby Ishibashiyama, Minamoto no Yoritomo came to Hakone Shrine to pray for victory over his enemies.

People

People connected with Hakone

Minamoto no Yoritomo

Late Heian to Kamakura period · 1147–1199

Minamoto no Yoritomo

Founder of the Kamakura shogunate

1 related places

Must see

Places you shouldn’t miss

The torii of Hakone Shrine on Lake Ashi

Classic landmarkHakone, Kanagawa

Hakone

A natural barrier on the Tōkaidō: the torii in Lake Ashi, the Edo checkpoint, and Mount Fuji when the sky is clear.

Before you go

Rules to know in Hakone

All etiquette & taboos →

Local customsTippingCountry-wide guidance · 日本

There is no tipping in Japan

Do

  • Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'

Don’t

  • Pressing loose change on staff

Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners

Cultural sensitivitiesEveryday mannersCountry-wide guidance · 日本

Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)

Do

  • Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
  • If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance

Don’t

  • Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes

It is seen as very rude.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette

Cultural sensitivitiesPublic transportCountry-wide guidance · 日本

No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board

Do

  • Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
  • Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
  • Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility

Don’t

  • Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train

Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette

Sources