Standing in the concourse at Shinjuku Station, with commuters pouring past in every direction, you look up at the signs for the Odakyu Line and wonder which of the trains below them is the one for Hakone. The answer is the Odakyu Odawara Line, either on a Romancecar limited express that runs straight through to Hakone-Yumoto or on an ordinary train with a change at Odawara. Hakone’s hot springs and art museums wait at the end of both.
How do you get from Tokyo to Hakone?
You take the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo, and the same railway carries you all the way into Hakone. The Odawara Line is the main line of the private operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It starts at Shinjuku, crosses the southwest suburbs and ends at Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, and from Odawara the Hakone Tozan Line takes over for the last stretch to Hakone-Yumoto.
Hakone sits in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture, inside Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Hakone-Yumoto is the gateway station, and it is known for its many restaurants and gift shops. Most of what you came for, the hot springs, Lake Ashinoko and the open-air art, is reached from there with the transport described below.
The Romancecar from Shinjuku
The Hakone Romancecar runs between Shinjuku Station and Hakone-Yumoto Station on the Hakone Tozan Line, so you board in Tokyo and get off in Hakone. The ride takes approximately 80 minutes. Because it is a limited express (tokkyu), you pay a seat supplement on top of the regular fare, and you need both tickets to ride.
Seats on the Romancecar are reserved, and tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Japan time one month before the departure date. Bento meals are available on board, which suits a trip that starts with a morning departure from a station full of food shops.
| Romancecar segment | Adult (yen) | Child (yen) |
|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, one way | 1,200 | 600 |
| Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto, one way | 200 | 100 |
Ordinary trains and the change at Odawara
Rapid Express trains on the Odawara Line carry no extra charge and run to Odawara and Fujisawa. Local trains stop at every station, and most of them end at Hon-Atsugi, while others continue to Odawara. Some local and limited express trains also run on from Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto over the Hakone Tozan Line.
The practical picture, then, is a Rapid Express to Odawara followed by a change onto the Hakone Tozan Line, unless the train you boarded continues through. The sign on the front of the train and the destination shown on the platform tell you which case you are in.
Where the Romancecar divides
The 30000 series EXE Romancecar sets can be split into six-car and four-car sections. When a ten-car EXE runs on a Hakone service without splitting at Sagami-Ono, it divides at Odawara Station, and only the six-car set continues to Hakone-Yumoto. If you ride one of these, make sure you are sitting in the part of the train that goes on to Hakone.
Which options are there?
There are three ways to build the trip: an ordinary Odakyu train, the Romancecar, and one of the Hakone passes that cover the transport once you are in the hills. They can be mixed freely, for instance a Romancecar on the way up and a Rapid Express on the way back.
The Romancecar trains themselves
Two types of train serve Hakone. The 70000 series GSE, used exclusively on Hakone services, entered service in March 2018. It has 16 panorama view seats at the front and 16 at the rear, with no extra charge beyond the ordinary fares, and it has space for large luggage plus room under the seats for smaller items.
The EXEα carries a luggage area designed specifically for suitcases. A weekends-only Super Hakone service also runs with no intermediate stops. Two other Romancecar routes leave from Shinjuku as well, one to Katase-Enoshima and one to Gotemba on the JR Gotemba Line, so check that your ticket names Hakone-Yumoto.
The Hakone Freepass
The Hakone Freepass is a pass for getting around Hakone, offering unlimited rides on eight kinds of transport. These are the Hakone Tozan Line, the Hakone Tozan Bus in designated areas, the Hakone Tozan Cable Car, the Hakone Ropeway, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, the Odakyu Highway Bus in designated areas, the Tokai Bus in designated areas and the Kanko Shisetsu-Meguri Bus. It comes in a 2-day and a 3-day version, and you choose whether it starts from Shinjuku or from Odawara.
The Shinjuku version covers the Odakyu Line trip to Hakone as well. The Odawara version covers the Hakone area only, so it suits a traveler who gets to Odawara some other way.
| Departing from | Validity | Adult (yen) | Child (yen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku | 2 days | 7,100 | 1,600 |
| Shinjuku | 3 days | 7,500 | 1,850 |
| Odawara (Hakone area only) | 2 days | 6,000 | 1,500 |
| Odawara (Hakone area only) | 3 days | 6,400 | 1,750 |
Add a one-way Romancecar seat to the 2-day pass from Shinjuku and the adult total comes to 8,300 yen.
The Hako Ticket Plus
The Hakone Freepass Hako Ticket Plus combines the Digital Hakone Freepass with the Hako Ticket. The Hako Ticket grants unlimited visits to applicable art museums, hot springs and activity facilities within the validity period, which is 2 or 3 days. It also offers discounts on entrance fees at around 70 tourist spots.
The version with an Odakyu Line ticket includes one return trip on the Odakyu Line between the departure station and Odawara Station. Between those two stations there is no limit on getting on and off partway. These prices apply to the 2-day version for departures from October 1, 2025.
| Departing from | Adult (yen) | Child (yen) |
|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku | 13,100 | 4,100 |
| Machida | 12,820 | 4,100 |
| Fujisawa | 13,050 | 4,100 |
| Odawara | 12,000 | 5,000 |
What should you know before you travel from Tokyo to Hakone?
The main thing to know is that the pass and the Romancecar are separate purchases, so the Freepass alone does not put you on the limited express. A separate Romancecar ticket is needed even with the Freepass, and the same goes for the Hako Ticket Plus, where the Romancecar costs an extra fee.
Digital tickets and who needs one
The Digital Hakone Freepass works on smartphones only and cannot be used on any other device. Only one can be active at a time on the same phone, and each traveler, children included, must use their own pass on their own smartphone. A group can buy up to 4 tickets, adults and children combined, on a single device, so a family traveling with several phones should plan who holds which pass.
Child fares apply to children aged 6 to 11. Children under 6 do not need a Freepass ticket. On the Romancecar, children aged 6 to 11 need a child limited express ticket and a regular ticket, each at half the adult fare, while children under 6 who do not occupy a seat, for example when sitting on an adult’s lap, need neither.
What the pass does not cover
The Hako Ticket Plus covers designated areas only. If you travel outside them, you pay the fare for that trip yourself. Limited express tickets for sections that include Matsuda, Suruga-Oyama and Gotemba stations on the JR Gotemba Line are sold only through e-Romancecar, which matters if you ever pair Hakone with the Mt. Fuji Romancecar.
Starting at Shinjuku Station
Shinjuku is the main connecting hub between central and eastern Tokyo and western Tokyo, and Guinness World Records registers it as the world’s busiest railway station. The Odakyu Odawara Line leaves from here toward the mountains of Hakone. Narita Express trains from Narita Airport also begin and end at Shinjuku, which links an arrival flight and the Hakone trip in the same station.
Japan Railways trains, Tokyo Metro lines and Toei Subway lines all serve Tokyo, and Odakyu is a private railway of its own. The Odakyu platforms and ticket gates are therefore separate from the JR ones. The east-west free passageway, opened in 2020, shortened the walk between the east and west exits by 10 minutes, which helps when you arrive from the other side of the station.
What waits at the end of the line
Once in Hakone, the pass carries you between the places that make the trip worthwhile: bathing in the hot springs, boating on Lake Ashinoko, tasting the black eggs of Owakudani and walking among the open-air art installations at Japan’s first open-air museum. Sengokuhara is filled with art museums, so it suits an unhurried art day. Hakone-Yumoto, where the trains arrive, is the place for lunch and souvenirs.
Good to know before you go
Trains in Japan have a reputation for running on time, so a plan written down to the minute usually holds.
Your pass lives on your phone, so keep it charged before you set out from Shinjuku. Once you reach the hills, expect the mix of trains, buses, cable car, ropeway and boat that the Freepass is built around.
Sources
- Odakyu Electric Railway, Hakone Freepass (https://www.odakyu.jp/english/passes/hakone/), checked October 11, 2026
- Odakyu Electric Railway, Romancecar (https://www.odakyu.jp/english/romancecar/), checked October 11, 2026
- Hakone Tourist Information, Hakone Freepass (https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/freepass/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Odakyu Odawara Line (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odakyu_Odawara_Line), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Romancecar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romancecar), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Shinjuku Station (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinjuku_Station), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Tokyo (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kanto/tokyo/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Hakone (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kanto/kanagawa/hakone-and-around/), checked October 11, 2026
- U.S. Department of State, Japan travel information, travel and transportation (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Japan.html), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, trains and buses (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/how-to-travel-by-train-and-bus-in-japan/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, traveling by rail (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/traveling-by-rail/), checked October 11, 2026