Hakone when you want a lake, a bath, and maybe Fuji

Hakone is where people go when they want Mount Fuji without pretending they will climb it. Some days the mountain is there, sharp and slightly rude in its perfection. Some days it is a rumour behind cloud. If your mood depends on the postcard, you need a second reason to be in the town. The bath is that reason.

The classic approach is the Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, or a shinkansen to Odawara and a shorter local ride in. Odakyu sells a Hakone pass that covers a lot of the loop: the mountain railway, the ropeway, the pirate-ship cruise on Lake Ashi, and local buses. Check whether your limited-express seat is included or extra. The pass is a convenience, not a personality. If you are only riding one bus to a ryokan, ordinary tickets may be cheaper.

The loop is a full day, the night is the point

A common circuit runs up from Hakone-Yumoto, across the ropeway, down to the lake, and back. Owakudani, the volcanic valley, is the dramatic middle, and it closes when the gas is too much. Look that morning. Lake Ashi is the cruise and the torii at Hakone Shrine, which photographs like a dream and is busy like a dream everyone else had too. Go early if you care about the gate.

Doing the whole loop and returning to Tokyo the same evening is possible and a bit joyless. You will see Fuji, or not, through a window you are sharing with a schedule. A night in a ryokan turns the ropeway into a way to arrive, and the onsen into the thing you do when the mountain has declined to appear. Send the big suitcase to the inn. The mountain railway is not the place for it.

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If you need a surer look at the mountain

Kawaguchiko and the other Fuji lakes are the more direct view, and they are a different outing, with their own crowds in clear season. Hakone is the better choice when you want water, a shrine, and a bath in one small area. It is the worse choice when you have promised someone a guaranteed Fuji from a specific bench at a specific hour. Nobody can promise that. The hotels that face the mountain are honest about it in the way they talk: the view is famous, the weather is in charge.

Pack a layer. The lake is cooler than Shinjuku, and the ropeway is cooler again. Eat before you are on the last bus down, because a pretty village can be shut when you are finally hungry. Then take the bath you came for. If the mountain was out, you will talk about the mountain. If it was not, you will still sleep well. That is a successful Hakone.