Guide · Route

The Hakone loop, step by step

The Hakone loop strings five kinds of transport into one circle: a switchback railway, a cable car, a ropeway over a volcanic valley, a pirate ship and a bus. Here is each leg with its time, in both directions.

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Editorial team, hakonesightseeingcruise.comUpdated October 22, 2026read in 6 minutes52 sources

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Quick answer

01What it is: Odakyu's standard circle around Hakone's main sights.¹
02The legs: Tozan train, cable car, ropeway, cruise, bus.²
03Ticket: The Hakone Free Pass covers every leg in its area.²
04Pass or not: 8,322 yen in fares from Shinjuku against 7,100 yen.³
05Watch the clock: The ropeway closes at 16:15 in December and January.⁴

One circle, every kind of transport

The Hakone loop is the name travelers give to what Odakyu Hakone calls the golden course: a de facto standard route that forms a circle through Hakone's major sights.¹ It climbs from Hakone-Yumoto on the mountain railway, rises by cable car and ropeway over Owakudani, crosses Lake Ashi by boat and returns by bus.

Every one of those vehicles belongs to the Odakyu Hakone group, which is why one pass covers them all. The Hakone Free Pass lets you ride the Tozan Railway, the cable car, the ropeway, the sightseeing cruise and buses in designated areas as often as you like.² Odakyu Hakone counts eight transport systems in the pass, with every vehicle of the loop among them.⁵

You can ride it in a single day from Tokyo or make it the spine of a stay in Hakone. You can start at either end. The classic direction climbs first and ends on the water; the reverse starts at the lake and finishes with the train down, which suits a morning boat.

The classic direction

Hakone-Yumoto around to the lake and back

About 40 min

Tozan Train to Gora

The switchback railway up the mountain.⁶ ⁷
About 10 min

Cable car to Sounzan

Hydrangeas line it in early summer.⁶ ⁸
Change at Owakudani

Ropeway over the valley

Each section takes about 10 to 15 minutes.⁹ ¹⁰
25 to 35 min

Boat across Lake Ashi

From Togendai to a southern port.¹¹
25 to 40 min

Bus back to Yumoto

R, K or H Line from the southern ports.¹² ¹³

Leg by leg in the classic direction

Start at Hakone-Yumoto and take the Hakone Tozan Train, the switchback railway that climbs the steep slopes to Gora.⁷ Odakyu Hakone gives about 40 minutes to Gora, then about 10 minutes on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car up to Sounzan.⁶ From mid-June to mid-July hydrangeas line the cable car route.⁸

At Sounzan the ropeway entrance is about 2 minutes from the cable car, in the same building.¹⁴ The ropeway crosses Owakudani, where you change gondolas, and runs on via Ubako to Togendai on the lake; Odakyu Hakone gives about 10 to 15 minutes for each section.¹⁰ ⁹ Leave time at Owakudani for the valley and the black eggs.

At Togendai the ships are about 3 minutes on foot from the gondolas.¹⁵ The crossing to Moto-Hakone-ko or Hakone-machi-ko takes about 25 to 35 minutes.¹¹ From the southern ports the Hakone Tozan Bus returns to Hakone-Yumoto: about 40 minutes on the H Line, about 25 minutes on the R Line, and from Moto-Hakone-ko about 35 minutes on the K Line.¹² ¹³

Minutes per leg

How the loop's time adds up

min

Odakyu Hakone's approximate times for each leg; bars show the upper figure where a range is given.⁶ ¹⁰ ⁹ ¹¹ ¹²

Leg by leg

The loop and what covers each leg

Leg	From and to	About	On the pass
Tozan Train	Hakone-Yumoto to Gora	40 min	Yes
Cable car	Gora to Sounzan	10 min	Yes
Ropeway	Sounzan to Togendai	10 to 15 min a section	Yes
Sightseeing cruise	Togendai to a southern port	25 to 35 min	Normal cabin
Tozan Bus	Southern ports to Yumoto	25 to 40 min	Designated areas

Times from Odakyu Hakone; pass coverage from its Hakone Freepass page.⁶ ¹⁰ ⁹ ¹¹ ¹² ² ¹⁶

Ways to ride it

Classic, reverse or with a tour

Views in order

Classic loop

Train first, boat last

Starts: Hakone-Yumoto
Ropeway: Before lunch
Ends: Bus from the lake

Plan the loop

Early on the water

Reverse loop

Boat first, train last

Starts: Bus to the lake
Boat: In the morning
Ends: Train down to Yumoto

Plan the loop

Tokyo Mt Fuji 5th St & Hakone Cruise Bus Tour w/Bullet Train

No planning

Coach day from Tokyo

Ropeway and cruise

Duration: 10 hours
Includes: Ropeway and cruise
Back by: Bullet train

Plan the loop

Decision helper

Which way round suits you?

Choose by what matters most on your day

I want the best chance of Fuji I am visiting in winter I want to stop at both southern ports I start from Shinjuku I would rather not plan legs

Ropeway early

In summer the morning gives the clearest views.¹⁷

Ropeway before lunch

It closes at 16:15 in December and January.⁴

Use a pass

A one-way boat ticket allows no stop on the way.¹⁸

The Hakone Free Pass

Odakyu's loop sum: 8,322 yen in fares against 7,100 yen.³

A coach day

This site's tour includes the ropeway and the cruise.

The “Hakone golden course” is a de facto standard route that forms a circle visiting Hakone’s major tourism spots.

Odakyu Hakone (Hakone Navi)Source 1

How long does the Hakone loop take?

Add up the moving parts listed above and the transport alone fills a good part of a day, before any stops. The ropeway and the boat are the legs where queues build on holidays, and the ropeway itself warns that crowds can stretch its travel time.⁹ Allow for the wait as much as for the ride.

The stops are what make the loop worth riding: Owakudani with its observation deck, Hakone Shrine near Moto-Hakone-ko, Onshi Hakone Park by Hakone-machi-ko.¹⁹ ²⁰ ²¹ Give each of them time to walk around, so a relaxed loop with lunch fills a whole day, and a night in Hakone lets you split it.

The hard limit is the ropeway's closing time: 17:00 from February to November and 16:15 in December and January.⁴ The boats also run a winter timetable from 1 December to 19 March, on which some crossings take longer.²² On a winter day, start early and do the ropeway before lunch.

Map

Lake Ashi, its three ports and the loop around them

The lake with the cruise ports and the Komagatake ropeway, the shrine shore at Moto-Hakone up close, then the whole loop from Odawara over Owakudani to the water.

Map of Lake Ashi with Togendai port, Kuzuryu Shrine Hongu, Hakone-en, the Komagatake summit station, Moto-Hakone-ko and Hakone-machi-ko — Lake Ashi and its ports

Map of the southern shore of Lake Ashi with Hakone Shrine, the Heiwa no Torii, Onshi Hakone Park and the Hakone Checkpoint — The Moto-Hakone shore

Map of the Hakone loop from Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto by Gora, Sounzan, Owakudani and Ubako to Lake Ashi — The Hakone loop

1
Togendai port
The northern port: cruise tickets on floor B2F, and the Hakone Ropeway about a 3-minute walk away in the same building.²³ ¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
2
Kuzuryu Shrine Hongu
On the lakeshore with no bus stop nearby, about 30 minutes on foot from the Togendai bus stop; the forest around it charges admission.²⁴
In Google Maps ↗
3
Hakone-en
Lakeside base station of the Komagatake ropeway.²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
4
Komagatake summit
Top of the 1,800 m Komagatake ropeway, 7 minutes up from Hakone-en.²⁵
In Google Maps ↗
5
Moto-Hakone-ko
The port nearest Hakone Shrine, with a ticket counter, a waiting area and a shop.²⁶ ²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
6
Hakone-machi-ko
The southern port, a short walk from Onshi Hakone Park and the Hakone Checkpoint.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Hakone Shrine
A shrine that dates back to 757; the main approach climbs 90 stone steps.²⁷ ²⁸
In Google Maps ↗
8
Heiwa no Torii
The gate standing in the lake, built in 1952 and the only ryobu-style torii of the shrine.²⁹ ³⁰
In Google Maps ↗
9
Onshi Hakone Park
An imperial villa and garden built in 1886, now a public park over the lake.³¹ ³²
In Google Maps ↗
10
Hakone Checkpoint
A sight listed beside Hakone-machi-ko, the southern port.²¹
In Google Maps ↗
11
Odawara
Where the Freepass from Odawara starts, and where the site tour boards its train back to Tokyo.³³
In Google Maps ↗
12
Hakone-Yumoto
Start of the Tozan Train to Gora; the T Line bus reaches Togendai in about 40 minutes.⁷ ³⁴
In Google Maps ↗
13
Gora
Top of the Tozan Train and foot of the cable car to Sounzan.⁸
In Google Maps ↗
14
Sounzan
Cable car to ropeway in about 2 minutes on foot, in one building.¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
15
Owakudani
Change gondolas here; on the way up from Sounzan the line crosses the valley about 130 m above the ground.¹⁰ ³⁵
In Google Maps ↗
16
Ubako
Between Owakudani and here is one of the stretches where Mt. Fuji shows on clear days.³⁶
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you set off

Tickets

Hakone Free Pass or single fares
Special cabin is extra on the pass
Pass handed in at the last station

Timing

Ropeway closes earlier in winter
Morning for the best Fuji chance
Bus back to Yumoto from the lake

Price calculator

Pass or tour for the loop

Compare the pass with tours that ride part of it

Hakone pass, 2 daysEvery leg of the loopfrom $46 Coach and bullet train dayRopeway and cruisefrom $153 Fuji and Hakone, train backRopeway and boatfrom $116 Ropeway e-ticketRopeway onlyfrom $13

People 2

Total from$91

per participant from $46

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Each total multiplies a listing's lowest GetYourGuide price by the number of travelers and converts it at today's ECB rate; the booking page shows the binding figure for your date.

Video

The Hakone round course loop in one day with the Free Pass

The player stays dark and sends nothing to YouTube until you start it.

Classic or reverse?

Going up first puts the views in order: the valley, then Fuji from the gondola, then the lake. The ropeway operator notes that in summer the mountain is often hidden by clouds as the day warms and that morning is the best time to see it, which favors riding the ropeway early.¹⁷

Going the other way, you take the bus from Hakone-Yumoto to the lake, sail first, ride the ropeway up from Togendai and descend by cable car and train. The H Line bus reaches Hakone-machi-ko in about 40 minutes and the T Line reaches Togendai in about 40 minutes too.¹² ³⁴

Whichever way you choose, a one-way cruise ticket does not let you stop at a port halfway, so if you want both Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi-ko, use a pass or buy short tickets.¹⁸ Coach tours from Tokyo usually ride only part of the loop: the day this site is built around includes the ropeway and the cruise, then returns from Odawara by bullet train.

Tickets: pass or single fares

Odakyu Hakone has priced the loop for you. From Shinjuku, the golden course at regular fares with a prepaid IC card costs 8,322 yen in transport; with the Hakone Free Pass the same route costs 7,100 yen for adults.³ Adding the Romancecar both ways raises both totals by the same seat charge, so the saving stays the same.³

If you already hold a Japan Rail Pass and arrive at Odawara by Shinkansen, the Odawara version of the pass costs 6,000 yen for adults for two days and leaves out the Odakyu line.³³ ³⁷ Single fares on the two signature legs, for comparison, are 2,000 yen one way on the ropeway and 1,700 yen one way on the boat.³⁸ ³⁹

The pass also brings discounts at around 70 sights, and if a suspended service leaves part of your pass unused, Odakyu refunds that part at the last station.⁴⁰ ⁴¹ Our Hakone Free Pass page compares the pass with the cheaper ropeway and cruise pass for drivers.

Luggage, lunch and breaks on the way

Travel light on loop day. Large luggage is not allowed on the ropeway, so suitcases go into a coin locker or a station office, which charges 500 yen.⁴² ⁴³ The Togendai terminal also has coin lockers, handy if you are heading on to a hotel by the lake.⁴⁴

Food is easiest at the two ends of the ropeway. Owakudani Station has its own restaurant, OWAKUDANI KITCHEN, on the second floor, and at Togendai the View Restaurant on floor B1F looks out over the ships.⁴⁵ ⁴⁶ The boats themselves sell only drinks and snacks, with no restaurant on board.⁴⁷

Toilets are on every ship, including accessible ones, and all three ships are barrier-free, with a wheelchair to borrow at each port.⁴⁸ ⁴⁹ On the ropeway, wheelchair users can board in their wheelchair and every station lends one.⁵⁰ Lifts and level boarding still depend on the day's service, so check the status page before you set off, and keep a little slack in the plan for the transfers between vehicles, which are short.

Using the Hakone loop map

The Hakone loop map on this page shows the whole circle: Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto in the east, Gora and Sounzan on the mountainside, Owakudani and Ubako on the ropeway, and Togendai and the southern ports on the lake. Each pin opens in Google Maps, which helps with walking between a port and a bus stop.

Odakyu Hakone numbers its stations and ports with OH codes, and the cruise ports are OH 65 for Togendai, OH 66 for Hakone-machi-ko and OH 67 for Moto-Hakone-ko.⁵¹ Owakudani Station is OH63 and Gora OH57, the same codes printed on the signs.⁶

If something stops, there are alternatives. When the ropeway is suspended, the T Line bus links Hakone-Yumoto with Togendai directly.³⁴ When the boats cannot sail, the Odakyu Highway Bus W Route from Togendai-ko is the way around the lake, although its departures are limited.⁵²

Your Hakone day

Fuji, a ropeway and the lake in one day.

Pick a date, meet in Ginza or Shinjuku, and cancel free up to 24 hours before.

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You ask,we answer.

Which transport does the loop use?

Train, cable car, ropeway, boat, bus. The Tozan Train, the cable car, the Hakone Ropeway, the sightseeing cruise and the Tozan Bus, all in the Hakone Free Pass area.²

How long does the boat part take?

About 25 to 35 minutes. One way from Togendai to Moto-Hakone-ko or Hakone-machi-ko, a little longer on the winter timetable.¹¹ ²²

Can I do the loop in reverse?

Yes. Take the bus to the lake, sail first, then ride the ropeway up and descend by cable car and train.³⁴

Does the Hakone Free Pass cover it all?

Yes, within its area. The railway, cable car, ropeway, cruise and buses in designated sections are included.²

When does the ropeway close?

17:00, or 16:15 in winter. February to November until 17:00; December and January until 16:15.⁴

Is the pass cheaper than single tickets?

On the full loop, yes. Odakyu puts the loop from Shinjuku at 8,322 yen in fares against 7,100 yen with the pass.³

What if the ropeway is closed?

Take the bus to Togendai. The T Line runs from Hakone-Yumoto to Togendai in about 40 minutes.³⁴