乗Japan Train Trips
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How to ride trains in Japan

Kanto (Tokyo)

How to ride the Hakone Tozan Railway: switchbacks, cards and the Hakone Freepass

箱根登山電車の乗り方

Platform 3 at Hakone-Yumoto, about 40 minutes up to Gora through three switchbacks; IC cards work on the train but not on the cable car beyond.

The Hakone Tozan Railway (now run by Odakyu Hakone) climbs 8.9 km from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora in about 40 minutes, on gradients up to 80‰ — the steepest of any adhesion railway in Japan. At three points it reverses direction on switchbacks, and the driver and conductor change ends. Fares depend on distance: Hakone-Yumoto–Gora is ¥460 (child ¥230).

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乗り方の流れ

Step by step

  1. 01Find platform 3 at Hakone-Yumoto

    The ticket gates are on the second floor. Tozan trains to Gora leave from platform 3; the Romancecar from Shinjuku uses platform 1.

  2. 02Pay with IC, a bank card or a pass

    IC cards work on the Tozan Railway, and so do contactless credit cards and phones — tap the dedicated reader when you board and when you get off. Hakone Freepass: show the paper pass at the gate (some gates take it), or scan the EMot QR code.

  3. 03Ride up the mountain

    Trains run about four times an hour in the daytime and all seats are unreserved. Expect a pause at each switchback while the crew change ends.

  4. 04Change to the cable car at Gora

    For the ropeway and Owakudani, change at Gora to the cable car up to Sounzan. The cable car doesn't accept IC cards, but contactless bank cards and the Hakone Freepass work.

Hakone Freepass

From Shinjuku: 2 days ¥7,100, 3 days ¥7,500. From Odawara: 2 days ¥6,000, 3 days ¥6,400. It covers eight kinds of transport including the Tozan Railway, cable car, ropeway, sightseeing cruise and designated buses — but not the Romancecar, which needs its own limited express ticket.

Travel light

The Hakone Luggage Transport Service counter inside Hakone-Yumoto Station delivers bags to your hotel: hand them in 8:30–12:00 for delivery after 15:00 (¥1,500 per bag up to 140 cm / 15 kg, ¥2,500 up to 200 cm / 30 kg). On the way back, leave bags at your hotel by 10:00 and collect them at the station 13:30–18:30.

Good to know

  • Hydrangeas line the track from mid-June (Yumoto to Miyanoshita) to early July (around Gora), with evening light-ups after 18:30 — the line is very busy then.
  • On peak holidays Odakyu Hakone has run reserved-seat specials and pre-booked priority gates for the cable car and ropeway — check its news page before you go.
  • The JAPAN RAIL PASS is not valid on the Hakone Tozan Railway.

Sources

Rules differ between railways and change from time to time — last checked 3 Nov 2026. Follow signs and staff on the day.