Hakone; Onsen, Mount Fuji, Gotemba

Hi everyone! I'd like a little help from you guys regarding Hakone in particular. I'll be visiting Japan soon for 2 weeks and I need help planning my itinerary as I am not familiar with the places at all. From Tokyo I would like to visit Hakone for their onsen and stay in a ryokan for the experience. I would also like to visit the Gotemba Premium Outlets. Since Mount Fuji is near according to what I've read on japan-guide, I would like to visit too.

How should I go about doing it? Which ones should I go to first to maximise my itinerary and make it more efficient?

Thanks in advance!

Well here's what I did back in 2012.

I rode the train from Narita to Hakone, I believe I took the Odakyu Railway from Shinagawa to Hakone Yumoto. In hindsight, I should of taken the Shinkansen instead to save time because it was like 9PM by the time I got to my ryokan. I took the mountain tram, visit some stops in between and then took the ropeway to Owakudani. From Togendai, I got on the boat and stopped at Moto-Hakone (I think) and took the bus back to Hakone Yumoto.

However, I also rented a car and drove up to Mount Fuji but back in April, 5th Level was not open so it was kind of a disappointment. I then used the car to visit other places around Hakone that wasn't easily accessable by bus.

If I had to do it again, I would spend 3 days in Hakone then at least 2 to 3 days around Mt. Fuji. I only did an one day trip to Mt. Fuji and the drive can be tiring and dangerous in winter time if you never driven in snow and ice before.

I didn't bother with the outlet mall because all the brands are avilable in Canada and US. No point in buying stuff there when I can get them at home. Plus the exchange rate on the credit card didn't make it worth my time.

Hi WesternMoocow,

Thanks for your reply! I'll be going from Tokyo as I'll be staying in Tokyo for a few days before moving on to Hakone. I will probably be staying in the Shinjuku area. I'll take your advice on taking the Shinkansen though as I wanna save time. Would you kindly share which ryokan you stayed at too?

Renting a car would be out of the question for me though as I don't know how to drive and I am not familiar with the roads so I'll have to rely on public transportation for now. Plus I definitely won't be able to drive on snow even if I could drive (from sunny Singapore, no signs of snow before. Lol!) The only thing I'm worried about is that the Hakone Ropeway is currently not operating due to a no-entry zone around Owakudani. Will it affect me?

Thanks for your reply though! Very helpful! :)

There is a direct bus service available between Hakone-Yumoto sta and Gotemba premium outlet mall operated by Hakone-Tozan Bus service.
The bus service is called "Outlet Tokino-sumika-sen".
The bus departs Hakone-Yumoto sta at 9:10 and 13:45 daily.
The bus leaves Gotemba outlet mall(for Hakone-Yumoto sta) at 11:40 and 16:45 daily.
It takes about 60 mins, 1280 Yen per ride between Hakone-Yumoto sta and Gotemba outlet mall.
This service is available from 20th Feb 2015, so is a quite new service.

Hi tokyo friend 48,

Thanks for your reply! Your instructions was super clear and simple, I have already saved it in my phone for reference when I get to Japan. Thanks!

If you are staying in Shinjuku area, and if you don't have any JR Pass, you can use Odakyu Railway from Shinjuku to Hakone-yumoto. If you want to take the faster train, you can ride Odakyu's Romance Car (their limited express train).

With the restriction around Owakudani, unfortunately you will miss the ropeway ride and the Oakudani itself, but there is an alternative bus that gets you from Gora or Hakone-yumoto to Togendai on the lake, so you will be able to enjoy the lake area as well as Hakone-yumoto.

I have not visited the outlet mall at all, so I cannot say anything about that.