Guide · Ropeway

Hakone Ropeway and Owakudani, station by station

The Hakone Ropeway carries you over a steaming volcanic valley and down to the boats on Lake Ashi. Here are its four stations, the hours, the fares, the black eggs and what can stop the gondolas.

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Editorial team, hakonesightseeingcruise.comUpdated October 22, 2026read in 6 minutes44 sources

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Quick answer

01The line: Sounzan to Togendai over Owakudani, four stations.¹ ²
02Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 from February to November, to 16:15 in winter.³
03Fare: 2,000 yen one way for adults since October 2025.⁴
04Change at: Owakudani, where through passengers change gondolas.⁵
05Fuji shows: Between Ubako and Owakudani on clear days.⁶

How the line works

The Hakone Ropeway connects Sounzan, at the top of the cable car from Gora, with Togendai on the shore of Lake Ashi, and Owakudani is the stop in between.¹ Odakyu Hakone lists four stations in all: Sounzan, Owakudani, Ubako and Togendai, with Togendai the transfer point for the cruise, the highway bus and the Tozan Bus.² Gondolas hold 18 people and leave about every minute, so you rarely wait long for the next one.⁷

Passengers riding the whole line change gondolas at Owakudani, where the platforms for Sounzan and for Togendai are separate.⁵ You can break the journey there: Odakyu Hakone tells you to buy a ticket to your final destination and get off and on along the way.⁸ That is how most people visit the valley without paying twice.

How long does it take? The English pages give about 15 minutes for each section, while the Japanese page puts every section at about 10 minutes and notes that crowds can stretch the time.⁵ ⁹ Plan on roughly half an hour from Sounzan to Togendai plus your time at Owakudani, and allow for queues on holidays. On the slope between Owakudani and Togendai the gondolas run lower over forest, and the lake grows in the windows as you descend; it is the gentler half of the ride and the one with the views most people come for.

On the line

Sounzan to Togendai, stop by stop

Sounzan

From the cable car

About 2 minutes on foot to the ropeway.¹⁰
First section

Over the valley

About 130 m above the ground at one point.¹¹
Owakudani

Change gondolas

Separate platforms for each direction.⁵
Ubako

Fuji on clear days

Between here and Owakudani the mountain shows.⁶
Togendai

To the ships

About 3 minutes on foot to the cruise.¹²

Owakudani, the valley under the gondolas

Owakudani in Hakone is a bare, steaming slope where you can see volcanic activity from close up. Odakyu Hakone says it is thought to have formed through a phreatic eruption and pyroclastic flow almost 3000 years ago, and its old name, Jigokudani or Hell Valley, came from the smell of sulfur.¹³ ¹⁴

The Hakone Tourist Association ties the valley to the same collapse of Mount Kamiyama that dammed Lake Ashi; Owakudani is what remains visible of it.¹⁵ Between Sounzan and Owakudani the gondola passes about 130 m above the ground, with the valley floor spread out underneath.¹¹ It is the most dramatic minute of the ride, so sit facing downhill if you can.

The station at the top was remodelled and reopened on 25 April 2025 with a new observation area called Earth Valley.¹⁶ Its Breath Deck has a glass floor and glass barrier over the fumaroles.¹⁷ The Michelin Green Guide gives Owakudani 2 stars, as the ropeway operator points out.¹⁸

Fares in yen

Ropeway fares for adults and children

yen

Odakyu Hakone's flat ropeway fares from 1 October 2025, read on 22 October 2026.⁴

The stations

Four stations and what each is for

Station	Connects to	Worth knowing
Sounzan	Cable car from Gora	Cable car platform on floor B1F
Owakudani	Change of gondolas	Earth Valley deck, black eggs
Ubako	Between valley and lake	Fuji shows on this stretch
Togendai	Lake Ashi cruise	Cruise counter on floor B2F

From Odakyu Hakone's station guides and ropeway pages.¹⁹ ⁵ ¹⁶ ⁶ ²⁰

Ways to ride

Ticket, pass or a day tour

Ropeway only

Ropeway e-ticket

One way or return

Valid: 90 days
Stop-overs: Any station
Cancel: Up to 24 hours

See the options

Unlimited rides

Hakone pass

Two-day train pass

Covers: Ropeway, boat, trains
Refund: Not refundable
Valid: 2 days

See the options

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

All in one

Coach day from Tokyo

Ropeway and cruise

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

See the options

Decision helper

How should you ride?

Choose by how much else you plan to do

I only want the ropeway and the valley I also take the boat and trains I go up and down from Gora I want a guided day from Tokyo I am carrying a suitcase

A ropeway ticket

One-way or return, stop-overs allowed along the line.⁸

The Hakone Free Pass

The ropeway is one of the systems it covers.²¹

The Owakudani 2-Day Pass

Tozan Train, cable car and the ropeway to Owakudani.²²

A coach day

This site's tour includes the ropeway ticket.

Store it first

Large luggage is not allowed on the gondolas.²³

In winter, body temperatures can drop to below freezing even during the day so please visit in warm clothing.

Odakyu Hakone (Hakone Navi)Source 24

The black eggs and where to buy them

Every visitor ends up holding one. The Hakone black egg owes its color to the valley itself: the shell turns black through a chemical reaction with the geothermal heat and volcanic gas, as Odakyu Hakone explains.²⁵

The eggs are sold at two shops at Owakudani, the Owakudani Kurotamagokan and Gokurakuchaya.²⁶ A giant black egg statue stands outside, a landmark for meeting up again. The eggs make a good snack before the descent to the lake, since the ships sell only drinks and snacks.²⁷

If you want a sit-down meal instead, the station has its own restaurant, OWAKUDANI KITCHEN, on the second floor, serving Owakudani curry with a view over the valley.²⁸ If you plan lunch between the ropeway and the boat, eat here or at Togendai, where the View Restaurant on floor B1F, just above the cruise counter, looks out over the ships on the lake.²⁹ ²⁰

Checklist

Before you ride

Bring

A warm layer for Owakudani
Small change for the black eggs
Sunglasses for the bright valley

Check

Last gondola earlier in winter
Status page for gas closures
No large suitcases on board

Price calculator

Ropeway ticket or a full day

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Ropeway e-ticketRopeway onlyfrom $13 Hakone pass, 2 daysRopeway, boats, trainsfrom $46 Coach and bullet train dayRopeway and cruisefrom $153 Fuji and Hakone dayOne-way ropewayfrom $50

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Video

Hakone Ropeway to the Owakudani volcanic valley

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

Mount Fuji from the gondola

The Mount Fuji view from the Hakone Ropeway is one of the reasons people ride it. The operator names the stretches: between Ubako and Owakudani, and midway between Owakudani and Sounzan.⁶ Odakyu Hakone's editors add that halfway from Owakudani to Togendai a panorama opens with both the mountain and Lake Ashi.³⁰

Timing matters more than luck. In summer the mountain is often hidden by clouds as the day warms, so the operator calls morning the best time; in winter there are comparatively more days when it can be seen during the day.³¹ On a clear winter evening you may even catch a red Fuji at sunset from Owakudani.³²

Taken toward Togendai in the early evening, the ropeway also looks down on Lake Ashi shining below.³³ If your goal is the lake rather than the volcano, ride the last section slowly in that direction and keep the camera on the lake side.

Hours, fares and tickets

The ropeway runs from 9:00 to 17:00 between February and November and from 9:00 to 16:15 in December and January.³ Since 1 October 2025 a one-way ticket costs a flat 2,000 yen for adults and 700 yen for children, and a return costs 3,000 yen and 1,000 yen.⁴ These are Odakyu Hakone's published fares, read on 22 October 2026.⁴

GetYourGuide sells a Hakone Ropeway e-ticket, one-way or return, from $13, valid for 90 days. Its rules are worth reading: a one-way ticket works only in the direction you chose and only until the end of operating hours on the day you activate it, while a return is one ticket toward Sounzan and one toward Togendai, usable on the day of activation and the next day.

The ropeway is also covered by the Hakone Free Pass, and by the Owakudani 2-Day Pass from 3,700 yen, which includes the Tozan Train and the cable car up to Sounzan.²¹ ²² The coach day this site is built around includes a Hakone Ropeway ticket.

What can stop the gondolas

The ropeway halts for wind speeds of 30 m/s or more, for extreme weather and for mechanical trouble, and it closes for its annual inspection.³⁴ Owakudani is also a live volcanic area. The operator measures gas concentrations at several points and suspends service when they rise; it stresses that these readings have no direct relation to the volcanic alert level.³⁵

That alert level comes from the Japan Meteorological Agency, which currently rates Hakoneyama at level 1, the lowest of five.³⁶ ³⁷ It lowered the level from 2 to 1 on 7 October 2019, and it still warns that fumarolic activity is vigorous in places around Owakudani and that you should beware of volcanic gas near the vents.³⁸ ³⁹

Tour operators know this too. The coach day sold on this site says that weather, traffic or a suspension can stop an activity, that it then visits an alternative or gives a gift, and that no refund is paid for such changes. Check the status page on the morning you travel.

Practical tips for the ride

Large luggage is not allowed on the ropeway, so leave suitcases in a coin locker or at a station office, which charges 500 yen.²³ ⁴⁰ Wheelchair users can board in their wheelchair, and every station lends wheelchairs free of charge.⁴¹

Dress for altitude. The operator warns that in winter it can feel below freezing at Owakudani even in daytime, and Odakyu Hakone puts Lake Ashi and Owakudani about 3 to 4 degrees below Hakone-Yumoto.²⁴ ⁴²

If you drive, the Owakudani car park clogs on fine days in Golden Week, on 3-day holidays and in the autumn leaves season, and the operator suggests parking at a lower station and riding up instead.⁴³ The autumn leaves themselves start around late October at Owakudani and last along the line to around mid-November.⁴⁴

Your Hakone day