About This Day Trip
Hakone is Tokyo’s favourite mountain escape — a volcanic national park of steaming hot springs, ancient cedar forests, and lake views framed by Mount Fuji. This full-day private car tour takes you on a loop through Hakone’s highlights with opportunities to photograph Fuji from the best vantage points, cruise on Lake Ashi, and even dip your feet in a natural hot spring.
Departing Tokyo in the morning, the drive south along the Tomei Expressway takes roughly 90 minutes. Your first stop is typically Hakone Shrine, with its iconic red torii gate standing in the waters of Lake Ashi. From there you can take the short Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise with Fuji as a backdrop (weather permitting), or drive to Owakudani, an active volcanic valley where sulphurous steam vents billow from the hillside and you can try the famous black eggs boiled in the hot springs — said to add seven years to your life.
The tour also passes through the open-air sculpture museums, the historic Old Tokaido Highway lined with centuries-old cedar trees, and the Fuji Five Lakes area on the mountain’s north side for unobstructed views. On clear days, Fuji dominates the landscape from almost every angle. Your driver knows the best photo spots and will time the stops to give you the most dramatic light. The return to Tokyo is typically via the Gotemba area, arriving back at your hotel by early evening.