Originally, this was going to be a simple day trip to Azumayama Park to see Mt. Fuji and the canola flowers. Then it hit me — “Wait, that’s practically next door to Hakone, isn’t it?” With some Jalan (a major Japanese travel booking site) points about to expire, we spontaneously turned it into an overnight trip. Here’s the itinerary we ended up with.
The Plan
Day 1
11:00 Arrive at Odawara Station → Board the Hakone Tozan Railway
From central Tokyo, the Shinkansen is of course the fastest option, but the regular Odakyu Line gets you from Shinjuku to Odawara Station in about an hour and a half. If you plan to ride a lot of trains and buses around Hakone, the “Hakone Free Pass” is a good deal, but since our itinerary didn’t cover much ground this time, paying per ride worked out cheaper. Hakone is a major tourist area, so both the mountain railway and the buses accept transit IC cards without any trouble!
Taking the bus from Odawara Station would actually be faster and involve no transfers, but I really wanted to try the Hakone Tozan Railway, so we rode it to Miyanoshita Station.
The slopes of Hakone are too steep for a train to climb directly, so the line uses switchbacks — zigzagging up the mountain instead of going straight. That’s why it’s slower than the bus! Even with those switchbacks, on a three-car train, the difference in elevation between the front and rear cars can apparently reach three meters.
12:00 Watanabe Bakery
We had the famous stew bread at the highly rated Watanabe Bakery, which is often featured on TV. There are only four two-person tables, and they filled up right after I sat down.
The drink set costs 1,050 yen.
If I had to describe the taste, I’d call it “an incredibly delicious school lunch.” It’s not the latest trendy flavor, but it has a nostalgic, comforting deliciousness to it.
I was also curious about their much-talked-about umeboshi (pickled plum) anpan, so I got one to go for an after-lunch snack.
13:00 Hakone Open-Air Museum
From the “Hotel-mae” bus stop near Watanabe Bakery, we took the bus to the “Ninotaira-iriguchi” stop to reach the Hakone Open-Air Museum. Anyone can get a discount coupon for the museum, either by printing one from the official website or buying a ticket at a convenience store (both save you 100 yen). There’s a 7-Eleven right by the “Ninotaira-iriguchi” bus stop, on the way to the museum, so buying there is probably the most convenient option! Mobile payment apps aren’t accepted, but being able to pay by credit card was a nice little bonus. If you’re visiting with children on a Saturday, or if you have a Hakone Free Pass or Wakaba Card, those options apparently offer a bigger discount.
The stained glass spiral staircase.
You can also take your time appreciating actual Picasso paintings.
The “Woods of Net,” which is apparently a huge hit with kids.
Sadly, the other popular spot, the “Soap Bubble Castle,” was apparently removed during the COVID pandemic…
The fried egg benches — if you have kids, you’ll absolutely want a photo here.
What I loved most was how the museum offers something for visitors of every generation.
14:30 The Museum of The Little Prince
The unexpected highlight of this trip was the Museum of The Little Prince, where we ended up spending far longer than planned. My original motivation was simple: “Since we can’t travel to France these days, I at least want photos in a French-looking townscape.” On top of that, the mystery-solving game and the exhibits on Saint-Exupery’s turbulent life were so fascinating that before we knew it, we’d stayed until near closing time.
For admission, I used an HIS coupon (anyone can get 200 yen off just by showing the screen after tapping “Get this coupon!” on their site), but if you can plan ahead, booking in advance through Jalan is also a great option — when a Jalan coupon applies, it gets quite a bit cheaper!
You can buy the mystery-solving kit when you enter.
First we took the townscape photos I’d been imagining, then made our way around the museum while working through the puzzles.
I won’t go into detail about the puzzles to avoid spoilers, but the difficulty was just right — they don’t eat up too much time, yet some genuinely make you think! There are none of those escape-room-style puzzles where you go, “I needed THAT kind of leap of logic to move on…? I’d never have thought of it…” — so anyone can join in casually.
Surprisingly, what took up the most of our time at the museum was the section chronicling Saint-Exupery’s life. The exhibits are so thorough that the place could honestly call itself the “Saint-Exupery Memorial Museum” — though I’m sure “Museum of The Little Prince” draws far more visitors (laughs).
Living through the upheavals of World War I and World War II, he was born into a distinguished aristocratic family only to see the era when nobility alone guaranteed a graceful life come to an end, and he spent his years flying around the world as a pilot in a time when aviation was far less safe than it is today. I couldn’t help feeling that it was precisely this life that gave The Little Prince its remarkable depth.
I actually have a famous line from The Little Prince in my Instagram bio: “On ne voit bien qu’avec le coeur.” (“One sees clearly only with the heart.”) I’d added it without much thought, simply because it sounded like beautiful French. But after learning about Saint-Exupery’s life and his final days — he disappeared on a reconnaissance flight against Nazi Germany, having volunteered to rejoin the French air force after initially fleeing to America — the words carry a whole different weight.
The Little Prince is surprisingly difficult if you approach it as just an extension of a picture book, and I suspect plenty of readers come away feeling they sort of understood it, sort of didn’t. (That’s me! (laughs)) If that sounds familiar, I highly recommend taking your time with the exhibits at the Museum of The Little Prince!!
18:00 To the Hotel
After an early dinner near the Museum of The Little Prince, we headed to the Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel. Due to our lack of research, we walked about 10 minutes from the nearest bus stop — only to learn afterward that if you call ahead, they’ll come pick you up at the bus stop…! If you’re staying there, definitely take advantage of that.
20:00 Relaxing in the Hotel Onsen
Hotels with their own onsen really are wonderful!
Day 2
9:00 Wake Up
We stayed at the Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel on a plan that includes hotel credit worth 30% of the room rate. The plan was to use that credit on a gorgeous-looking 3,000 yen breakfast in the dining room with panoramic views! …Except that by the time we finished our leisurely morning routine, we’d missed the 9:30 last order… Heartbreaking… If you’re staying here, please be careful. Someday I will have my revenge!
After breakfast’s last order, there’s nowhere to eat or drink until the cafe opens at 14:00, so we ended up using the hotel credit at the gift shop (open until 11:30 in the morning). The rusks we bought were delicious, so let’s call it a win.
11:00 Check Out
Being able to take it easy until this hour is another thing that makes a relaxed trip so nice!
11:30 To Odawara Station
Advance reservation is required, but the hotel’s shuttle bus will take you all the way to Odawara Station. The local bus from the hotel to Odawara Station costs over 1,000 yen per person, so I realized that when comparing hotel prices, you really need to factor in services like this.
13:30 Lunch
We had the makanai-don (chef’s choice seafood rice bowl) at Sakana Cuisine Ryo. It was piled high with all kinds of fish — a thoroughly satisfying lunch. And with “cuisine” (the French word for cooking) following the Museum of The Little Prince, France seemed to have quite a strong presence on this trip (laughs).
15:30 Arrive at Azumayama Park
From Odawara Station, we took the train to Ninomiya Station, then climbed for about 20 minutes to reach the observation deck with its beautiful views of canola flowers and Mt. Fuji. The entrance straight ahead from the station offers an easier climb, but we turned left out of the station by mistake, so after reaching the top we had to sit and rest for a while (laughs). There are vending machines near the observation deck, but I’d recommend bringing some drinks along so you can hydrate on the way up.
The canola flowers are typically at their best from January to February, but other seasons bring cherry blossoms, cosmos, and more, so it’s worth checking what’s in bloom.
You can capture Mt. Fuji with the canola flowers,
the sea with the canola flowers,
and the sunset with the canola flowers —
we enjoyed it all to the fullest.
17:30 Depart Ninomiya Station
From Ninomiya Station, taking the Tokaido Line or similar is probably more efficient than heading back to Odawara Station!
And that wraps up our relaxed Hakone trip with a stop at Azumayama Park. The big lesson this time is clearly that “research beforehand matters” — the hotel’s free shuttle service, the facility admission discounts, and the breakfast last-order time! (laughs) All essential information for a comfortable, budget-friendly trip. But since you’ve read this post, I trust you’ll have all of those covered!