Kanagawa Prefecture
The place
Hakone is a loop of volcanic valleys 85 minutes from Shinjuku on the Odakyu Romancecar, and most visitors ride it in one direction: Hakone-Yumoto, the switchback train to Gora, the cable car and ropeway over the sulphur vents of Owakudani, the sightseeing ship across Lake Ashi to Moto-Hakone. The torii of Hakone Shrine stands at the water’s edge below the shrine; everyone gets one frame at the front of the queue, so we set poses before reaching it and shoot alternatives from the lakeside path to the north while waiting. Mt Fuji is visible over the lake on perhaps one morning in three in winter and rarely in summer.
The other half of Hakone is indoors. It has more than a dozen hot-spring districts and hundreds of ryokan, and a private open-air bath on a room terrace, steam rising against cedar, is the frame couples come for — taken with the bath empty or in a robe, never of anyone bathing in a shared bath. Hakone lies inside Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, and drone work is limited to a ryokan or hotel’s own grounds with the owner’s consent and an MLIT approval; flights over the lake, the shrine and Owakudani are not something we sell.
Before you go
Seasonal calendar
Typical peak windows. They move by a week or more from year to year; we check the forecast when you book.
Hakone has very few kimono rental shops, mostly in Hakone-Yumoto, so visitors usually dress in Tokyo, or use our kimono-rental add-on at the nearest studio in Hakone-Yumoto; a dresser who travels to your ryokan is quoted separately on request. The yukata your ryokan provides is loungewear: fine for photographs on the ryokan’s own terrace and garden, but not something to wear on the lake ship or the ropeway.
No cameras in any shared onsen bath, including changing rooms; private terrace baths are fine to photograph when empty or with the bathers’ consent. At the Hakone Shrine torii, each group gets its turn and then steps away — do not hold the line for a second outfit. Owakudani closes at short notice when volcanic gas levels rise, and visitors with asthma or heart conditions are advised to stay away.
The Odakyu Romancecar runs from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in about 85 minutes; the Tokaido Shinkansen to Odawara takes about 35 minutes from Tokyo Station, then 15 minutes on the Hakone Tozan line. The Hakone Freepass covers the trains, cable car, ropeway, lake ships and most buses for two or three days.
The spots
Here is where to shoot in Hakone, with the hours that work and the venue rules.
A vermilion torii standing in the shallows of Lake Ashi at the foot of the shrine’s stone steps. The waiting line forms on the steps; at the front, each group gets a minute or two on the platform. The frame from the lake path just north, with the torii side-on and the lake behind, needs no queue.
Light through the year
Calm mornings give a mirror lake; the queue before 08:00 is often under 15 minutes.
Mist sits on the lake until mid-morning, which softens the torii; by 10:00 the line is the longest of the year.
Replica sailing ships cross between Togendai, Hakone-machi and Moto-Hakone in about 25–40 minutes. The open upper deck gives Fuji over the water on clear days and the Hakone Shrine torii from offshore, which is the view the queue on land cannot get.
An active volcanic valley of sulphur vents and yellow rock, reached by the Hakone Ropeway. The ropeway gondola over the vents, with Fuji beyond on a clear morning, is the strongest frame. Time on the viewing area is limited by the smell and by gas advisories.
Seventy-thousand square metres of lawns and hillside with large sculptures and a stained-glass tower you can climb. It suits playful family and creator content better than anywhere else in Hakone, and there is a foot bath on site.
A hillside of susuki grass that turns silver-gold in autumn, with a single path climbing through the middle. Backlit at sunset it glows; the path is narrow, so we shoot from its edge rather than block it. The field is burned off every March and is bare until summer.
Light through the year
The sun sets behind the western ridge around 16:45; the backlight is best from 15:45.
The grass turns paler gold and the light goes by 16:00; weekday afternoons are far quieter than weekends.
Shoots here
These are booked from their service page; the photographer meets you here at the same price.
Read before you book
No travel charge
These come under the Hakone rate: the photographer travels out at no extra charge, and the shoot is priced exactly as it would be in Hakone itself.
Before you book
Yes, in a private terrace bath or a reserved family bath, with the ryokan’s permission, and wearing a robe, a towel wrap or swimwear. We never photograph in a shared bath. We ask the ryokan when booking.
In December–February, a clear view on roughly a third of mornings; in June–August, rarely. Fuji is a bonus in Hakone, not the plan — if it must be in the photograph, book the Kawaguchiko page instead.
Not over the lake, the shrine or Owakudani. Hakone is national park land, and aerial work is limited to a ryokan or hotel’s own grounds, with the owner’s consent and MLIT approval filed at least ten business days ahead.
Next step
We reply within 2 hours, 9:00–21:00 Japan time. No deposit required to enquire.
