Hakone Freepass (2026): Is It Worth It, and How to Ride the Loop
If you ride the classic Hakone loop, yes: the pass costs less than buying each leg, even on a day trip from Tokyo. If you're only going to one hot spring and back, skip it.
We added up the loop fares from each operator's official page on 6 November 2026, after the October 2025 price rise. The numbers below are those fares, not a guess.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. The pass costs the same at the station, and we say where.
Does it pay off? The Hakone loop, added up
This is the route most visitors take in one day, without the pass:
How to ride the loop
- 1Hakone-Yumoto → Gora by mountain train, about 40 minutes of switchbacks.
- 2Gora → Sounzan by cable car, 10 minutes.
- 3Sounzan → Togendai by ropeway over the steaming Owakudani valley: two sections of about 10 minutes, changing at Owakudani.
- 4Togendai → Moto-Hakone by pirate ship, 25 minutes across Lake Ashi, with Mt Fuji on a clear day.
- 5Moto-Hakone → Hakone-Yumoto by bus, 40 minutes.
Go in this direction and start before 10:00. The ropeway line gets long around midday, and the last ships leave around 〈16:00〉 in winter. Show the pass at every gate.
What if…?
…the ropeway is closed?
During planned maintenance (Dec 7–24, 2026 and Jan 12–Feb 26, 2027), replacement buses run and the Freepass covers them. It can also stop in strong wind or when volcanic gas levels rise; check the official site that morning.
…I have a big suitcase?
Leave it at Hakone-Yumoto: a luggage service there sends bags to your hotel the same day. Coin lockers fill up by 10:00.
Luggage delivery in Japan →…the Romancecar is full?
Weekend seats sell out. Book the seat fee online a few days ahead, or take the regular Odakyu train and change at Odawara.
Where to buy it
Voucher on Klook
Pay now, then swap the voucher for the pass at Shinjuku station. Useful if your card fails on Japanese sites.
Affiliate linkAt the station
Odakyu stations sell it from a month before, including the ticket machines (in English), and so does Odakyu's EMot app as a phone pass.
Rather not plan it yourself?
Hakone day tour from Tokyo
Bus there and back, with the ropeway and the pirate ship included. Good if you only have one day.
Affiliate linkKawaguchiko instead?
Better views of Mt Fuji, but no loop. See which suits your trip.