Roughly two hours away from Tokyo (less depending which train connection you take) is the lovely mountainous region of Hakone (箱根) part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It’s famous for its hot springs, ryokans, black onsen eggs, views of Fuji across Lake Ashinoko, hiking, the Hakone Open Air Museum (which I absolutely love) and just general stunning nature which is something I dearly miss since I live in Central Tokyo but grew up amidst beautiful nature in Australia.

It’s wonderful for a weekend getaway or any getaway to enjoy a stay at an Hakone onsen ryokan especially to splurge on rooms with a private onsen for you to enjoy. Perfect as well for all those visiting Japan for the first time, wanting to visit the usual big three of Tokyo, Osaka & Kyoto and wishing to include an onsen ryokan stay.

Japanese, expats & tourists all love to visit Hakone for a day trip, a weekend away as there’s a nice amount to see & do - which is why I would normally say if you were to do an onsen ryokan in this area - splurge & give yourself 2 nights so you can actually enjoy the onsen ryokan experience, and have a room with private onsen.

Due to the fact I’ve been to Hakone many times - think I’ve been to the Open Air Museum like 4 times! for work, for leisure - we didn’t even venture out into Hakone itself - we arrived at the train station Hakone - Yumoto & headed straight to the Ryokan I’d selected to celebrate hubby’s birthday: HAKONE GINYU.

Pretty much if we choose to experience a Ryokan - we want to fully experience that Ryokan, so we don’t go out & explore. We love using this time to just detox away from the crazy busy-ness of our Tokyo lives.

HAKONE GINYU is set high in the Hakone mountains to enjoy the glorious beauty of the seasons in Japan. The Koyo (autumn leaf colours) is especially beautiful. The onsen ryokan itself is a mix of traditional & modern, there are some Indonesian/Thai South-East Asia influences in the decor which I found rather unusual.

There are Japanese style (futons & tatami floors) & Western style (think mattresses & bed frames) rooms available. An added plus is that every room has it’s own private onsen on their terrace/in their garden.

They have two large communal public onsen baths which are absolutely lovely and if you’re there for a couple nights (or honestly even one) do try & enjoy a dip in them if you’re comfortable with public nudity.

They have some beautiful outdoor areas just to go explore, with outdoor feature pools (merely for decoration), a lovely lobby reading & viewing area with some outside deck beds along with an outdoor bar which is very sweetly decorated with fairy lights.

One of the things we loved about staying at Hakone Ginyu is the fact that our traditional Japanese kaiseki meals were served in our room! The room has a adjoining “living/dining” area which is a nice touch as not all rooms in ryokans have a separate '“living/dining” area. Rather in Ryokans it’s one room with your low Japanese table & seats which they move to the side when they put your futons out (if you have chosen a Japanese style room).

Having our meals in our room is such a nice lovely touch for a relaxing stay! Though for people who love their food photos of everything on their table - you can only take it for breakfast, because dinner is served one dish at a time generally & their timing on coming in to switch dishes out is epic! The experience really is a beautiful touch to an era gone by, as a lot of Ryokans serve the meals in a communal dining area (which is still absolutely fine).

Their checkout time is at 11am, which is unusual for Ryokans as the majority of them are at 10am… an hour doesn’t sound like much but it’s very welcome after stuffing one’s face with a huge Japanese breakfast.

Hakone Ginyu is on the pricier end of our budget for Ryokans with private onsens - which is why instead of using it as a base to explore Hakone’s charms, it’s perfect to stay in, relax & have quality time together to really enjoy the whole experience.

MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS

FOOD

Superb! Absolutely delicious kaiseki. The food was amazing, beautifully timed & it scores the ultimate 10 because all our meals were served in our room! Ryokan service at it’s finest!

ONSEN

A delightful circle stone bath on the terrace with beautiful views of Hakone’s foliage. I feel like it’s more comfortable a bath for 1 person - 2 people may be a bit tight but still lovely. Day beds could perhaps be a bit refreshed?

ROOM AMBIANCE

For me personally I didn’t really like the aesthetic fusion design of traditional Japanese style mixed with South East asian - it just seemed a bit odd to me. The room was a weee bit dated, maybe a refresh of the decorative materials, newer daybeds, some of the wood was a bit worn/old on the terrace etc. If we were to have a bed, would prefer just one double/queen/king bed rather than the typical Japanese two. Again it’s just my taste - so regardless of my personal feelings - the room was a good size, clean, comfortable, bathroom was lovely, onsen great, overall still a wonderful place to relax.

VENUE AMBIANCE

A beautiful Ryokan high up in the mountains of Hakone with stunning views of the surrounding nature, and wonderful facilities with a spa, garden lounge & bar, viewing desk & very helpful staff if you wish to explore Hakone itself.

SURROUNDING AREA

Hakone being a very popular day trip/weekend trip from Tokyo has many activities & sights to see if you so wish (I may do a blog on Hakone itself one day- but I feel there are a lot of articles written about it on the internet so mine may not add anything more interesting), however since mine is mainly about enjoying the Ryokan itself - I’m not so fussed about the surrounding area & activities.

AN EXTRA TIP:

To reach Hakone, most people will go via Shinjuku. Now half the fun of taking trips in Japan are the train trips in which you can enjoy a delicious bento whilst zipping through the countryside.

One of our favourite places to get bentos for Hakone trips is the basement foodhall of the Odakyu Halc Department Store on the west exit of Shinjuku Station before you head to the Hakone trains.

There’s a delightful sushi roll & bento box concession store in the corner of this food hall. I’m a big fan of this store & wish I could have it more often, however I’ve only found it in the Shinjuku Odakyu Halc Department Store.

The rolls change seasonally too it seems, as I was there the other day & they were different to what I had last time which is fun! They do have a few staple ones, however its fun to see what will be new when you next go!

Prepare to drool

HAKONE GINYU FACTS (at time of stay)

• WHAT WE PAID: starting from ~30000JPY per person per night

• MEALS INCLUDED: Japanese or Western Breakfast (choose Japanese!) & Dinner

• CHECK IN/CHECK OUT TIME: 1400 / 1100

• PAYMENT: cash & credit card accepted

• ROOMS: 20 rooms available

• ENGLISH SPEAKING STAFF AVAILABLE

• WEBSITE: http://www.hakoneginyu.co.jp/

• IG: @hakoneginyu