Hakone

After a week in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, we took a few days in the area of Hakone to relax and reset.

As we wound up the road though town, I felt myself relax and breathe deeper—this was just what I needed.

We arrived to our villa and were warmly greeted with tea and the most wonderful service (of course).

Tucked along a river, our spacious wood house looked out to the forest and was centered around our own private onsen (hot spring).

We sat on our balcony, we soaked in our onsen, we read, we made tea, we sipped wine, and just relaxed. All while bathed in the peace of the forest.

Hakone Retreat Fore OR Villa 1/f - We stayed in the Villas and loved it! Each one is unique and features a private onsen. The lower part of their campus is a hotel (Fore) with a restaurant, coffee shop and common space. We did a traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast as well as dinner and breakfast at the more modern restaurant at Fore. I would highly recommend a stay here!

It can be a relatively simple train ride from Tokyo to Hakone, however, our shinkansen wasn’t running due to an issue so we ended up having to take a local train which took a long time and was definitely less comfortable.
Our proposed travel was to leave Tokyo and take the Romancecar straight to Hakone-Yumoto Station. From there, there is a Hakone Tozan Bus (or other public transit) that is fairly easy to navigate. Ask your accommodations for directions from the station.