Tokyo to Hakone: every route, with the fares and the times
There is no Shinkansen station in Hakone. The bullet train stops at Odawara, and from there you change onto the Hakone Tozan Line for the last stretch to Hakone-Yumoto. The only direct, seated train from Tokyo is the Odakyu Romancecar out of Shinjuku, about 75 to 90 minutes with no change at all. Ordinary Odakyu trains are the cheap version of the same line. A coach tour is the fourth option, and it leaves Tokyo between 7:30 and 8:00 in the morning.
Why so many people price a train that does not exist
I live two minutes from Hakone-Yumoto Station, and the single most common thing I watch happen is someone arriving at Odawara with a bullet-train ticket, looking for the Hakone platform. There is not one. Hakone is a mountain caldera reached by a narrow-gauge switchback railway; the Shinkansen runs along the coast below it. Search engines are full of people asking how long the bullet train to Hakone takes and how much it costs, and the honest answer is that it does not go there, so the number they want does not exist. What follows is what the four real options cost.
The four routes
1. Odakyu Romancecar, Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto
Direct, seated, reserved. The base fare is ¥1,270 and the limited-express surcharge is ¥1,200, so ¥2,470 gets you from Shinjuku to the edge of Hakone in about 75 to 90 minutes without standing up. Roughly one to two trains an hour, more at peak. I am deliberately not printing a timetable here, because we could not verify one, and a wrong departure time is worse than no departure time. Check the board or Odakyu’s own English site before you leave.
2. Ordinary Odakyu trains, same line, no surcharge
Drop the limited-express surcharge and the same journey costs ¥1,270. It takes about two hours and you normally change at Odawara. If you are travelling on the Hakone Freepass this is the leg the pass already covers, which is why the Romancecar surcharge shows up as an extra ¥1,200 each way on top of it.
3. Shinkansen to Odawara, then the Hakone Tozan Line
Kodama and some Hikari services stop at Odawara. Nozomi does not stop there at all, which catches people out. The ride is roughly 27 to 40 minutes depending on the service. Unreserved costs ¥3,280 (base ¥1,520 plus a ¥1,760 limited-express charge); a reserved seat is ¥3,610. Then Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto on the Tozan Line is ¥360 and about 14 minutes. Call it ¥3,640 all in, with a change in the middle. That is more money and more faff than the Romancecar for a saving measured in minutes, which is the whole argument on the Romancecar versus Shinkansen page.
4. A coach tour from Tokyo
Every coach product we looked at leaves between 7:30 AM (Tokyo Station) and 8:00 AM (Shinjuku) and runs 8 to 11 hours. You pay more than the train and you give up the ability to change your mind, and in return somebody else worries about the ropeway, the boat and getting you home. Two of them put you on a bullet train for the return leg from Odawara, which is the one place the Shinkansen genuinely earns its keep on this trip. Prices and inclusions are laid out on the all-tours page.
If you are riding the Romancecar on a Hakone Freepass, the pass does not include the limited-express surcharge. It is ¥1,200 extra each way for an adult and ¥600 for a child, and it surprises people at the gate. The full sum is on the Freepass page.
Which one I would actually take
The Romancecar, almost every time. It is cheaper than the Shinkansen route, it is the only train that runs the whole way, and you arrive at Hakone-Yumoto rather than at a transfer. Take the ordinary Odakyu train if you would rather have the ¥1,200 than the seat, and take a coach if you want Mount Fuji and Hakone in the same day without doing the planning. What that day looks like hour by hour is on the one-day itinerary.
The tours that include a train leg
Shinkansen homeRopeway, cruise & ShinkansenFrom Tokyo: Mt. Fuji & Hakone Tour w/ Return by Bullet Train
All-inclusiveRopeway, cruise, lunch & ShinkansenTokyo Mt Fuji 5th St & Hakone Cruise Bus Tour w/Bullet Train
Frequently asked questions
Is there a direct train from Tokyo to Hakone?
Yes, one: the Odakyu Romancecar from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, about 75 to 90 minutes for ¥2,470 with a reserved seat. Every other route involves a change, usually at Odawara. The Shinkansen is not a direct option because there is no Shinkansen station in Hakone.
How long is the bullet train from Tokyo to Hakone?
It does not run to Hakone. Tokyo to Odawara, the nearest Shinkansen stop, is roughly 27 to 40 minutes depending on whether you catch a Kodama or a Hikari; Nozomi services do not stop there. Add about 14 minutes on the Hakone Tozan Line to reach Hakone-Yumoto.
How much is the bullet train from Tokyo to Hakone?
To Odawara it is ¥3,280 unreserved or ¥3,610 reserved, plus ¥360 for the Tozan Line leg, so about ¥3,640 in total. The Romancecar does the whole journey directly for ¥2,470.
What is the easiest way to get from Tokyo to Hakone?
Romancecar from Shinjuku if you are travelling independently, a coach tour if you would rather not think about it. Coaches leave Tokyo between 7:30 and 8:00 AM and run 8 to 11 hours, which matters because the ropeway’s last run is 16:45 from February to November.