Mount View Hakone — Hotel in Hakone

Mount View Hakone is just outside the bus stop & nearly 50 mins bus ride from Odawara station (ask train station staff for directions if you need help and they should be able to assist you where to go) - ensure you have enough money on your IC card or exact cash. Be careful of your luggage on the bus ride especially being a tourist, we had big luggage cases. A commuter didn't hold onto her luggage & it kept rolling around in the bus. It may feel far away but once you arrive, imho it was worth it.

Booking your accommodation at the Ryokan, you can pre-book & opt for Kaiseki breakfast +/ dinner which was amazing (especially for veg standards) and I pre-ordered for vegan meal as I am lacto-ovo Vegetarian however the western breakky be careful of the corn soup and yoghurt - however nice variety of vegetables & prepared so nicely. You can pay to include either breakfast, dinner or both and is downstairs in little booth areas in the dining hall area. We opted to relax and enjoy the food prepared here as most shops seem to close early and we wanted to fully enjoy our experience in Japan. The meal filled us up and we didn't need to ask for more rice and we felt very satisfied. It is not served in your room but downstairs in the dining area which we didn't mind and the staff assist you quickly and were so helpful. Please note drinks are extra as per menu on your table.

The room is clean, nice and very spacious for 2 people and has a toilet and sink. Open Showers you will need to go downstairs for the bathhouse and you can go to the onsen after bathing (separation of genders or family) - not an issue for us as we were happy to enjoy this experience and accommodation includes access to the downstairs bathhouse 24/7 (just not whilst they are cleaning 10am-11am). Otherwise you can also pay extra for the private onsen (cash only) which we enjoyed which you will need to book at reception on the day and early for specific time slots - highly recommend checking out the public bathhouse downstairs anyway. I was lucky no one was using it when I went so it was very tranquil and peaceful (note we went when it was a non holiday time in Japan and it didn't seem packed which was very nice for us). The hotel provides towels, tea, little mochi and biscuit in your room. Bathing culture is big in Japan including some other Asian countries so please research and understand beforehand including etiquette. Don't be "that tourist".

A very nice traditional inn - Ryokan experience and worthwhile in my opinion (a bit pricey but a fantastic special experience to enjoy). They even lend you yukata to wear during your stay and provide you with instructions to wear properly. Staff are friendly, ready to help and speak Japanese, English and Chinese which was amazing which made everything easier. You can ask them for the bus timetable. Note it is close to the main road so you may hear a little bit of noise outside at night when sleeping if you are a light sleeper but it was fine for myself. The walls a bit thin, typical Japanese. Please note this place does not provide bottles of water in your room which we did find strange. I recommend you stay hydrated as soaking for a bath, walking around lots and eating etc you will want to keep hydrated. There is a mini shop of local goods and vending machine if you need in the lobby area. The vending machine takes cash only at the moment. There is aircon in the room which we needed as it can get a little humid being End of Spring. Please note there is some mountain views but it's not of Mount Fuji. Umeshu was delicious.

Close and within walking distance to some activities such as Lalique Museum, Hakone Venetian Glass Museum, Hakone Botanical Gardens, Choanji Temple and Sengokuharasuwa Shrine. 7/11 and Lawson convenience store and a small supermarket (if you don't mind walking a bit extra) is close by within walking distance. If you are doing the Hakone driving experience you can walk there very easily from here :) so very worthwhile and easily accessible for any nearby activities. Overall nice stay...

An absolutely incredible experience and such a relaxing getaway in Hakone. My boyfriend and I loved our stay here and would definitely stay again. ||This ryokan provided a relaxing and calm atmosphere, with great rooms, incredible food, and welcoming and hospitable staff (who also spoke great English).||Getting to and from the ryokan was easy with the Hakone-Tozan bus, which drops off right in front of the ryokan, although the buses do get quite full, which can be a challenge with luggage on the very windy road up the mountain. A taxi would have likely been more comfortable but the bus is both affordable (included in the Hakone Freepass, should you choose to purchase it) and convenient.||The location was great, near a few shops as well as some nearby attractions such as the Venetian Glass Museum, and even more attractions just a short bus ride away. That being said, we didn’t see many reasons to leave the ryokan during our one-night stay, instead choosing to relax as much as we could.||Rooms were fairly spacious and comfortable, and some rice cakes and a tea setup were waiting for us in our room upon our arrival. Bedding was also relatively comfortable, although the mattresses could have used a little more padding. Rooms did not include a shower, but this was fine as the onsens downstairs were definitely a highlight of our stay.||The onsens were very relaxing and peaceful, and all faced a bamboo grove. We reserved one of the private onsens (Kaguya) which was great, and also loved the public onsens as well (which we mostly had to ourselves). We also appreciated that the onsens were open 24/7.||Meals were definitely a standout part of our experience, and the food was top notch. We reserved the Wagyu beef dinner, which came with 200g of Wagyu steak for each of us, plus crab legs/claws and the other kaiseki dishes (steamed shabu-shabu beef, sashimi, mackerel, beef stew, miso soup, and lots more). There was so much food we wondered when it would stop coming, but everything was so delicious. Portions were quite large and the Wagyu beef was quite rich, but we didn’t want to leave anything unfinished. And breakfast was equally impressive, with grilled salmon, crab miso soup, and several smaller dishes. No corners were cut and everything was extremely tasty.||We cannot recommend this ryokan highly enough! We look forward to our next Japan trip and to staying here again...

This place is actually not bad and especially amazing value for Hakone which is a very expensive tourist/vacation spot, but it's important to frame nearly everything in that mindset of affordability.

First, the location. While it could certainly be worse as it's literally on a bus stop, it also could be a lot better - no direct route to the Owakudani ropeway and pretty much as far as you can get from Hakone Yumoto station and the entire southern half of Hakone makes it hard to do the standard loop. The rooms are old and maintenance could be better, with paper thin walls. Also note that at least some of the rooms do not have showers, which can be extremely inconvenient as there is no elevator access to the onsen/bathing level.

Speaking of the onsen, while there is a rotenburo (outdoor bath) section, both the public and private baths are quite small for the size and price of the hotel and there is zero view from any of the baths as they are all on the basement level and face towards a forest. It's also somewhat expensive for the private baths: only available by reservation and 2k or 3k for an hour. There is only one indoor and one outdoor bath for the public baths and no cold bath or sauna - however there is a paid massage service onsite.

Then there is the food. While there is a decent portion size and surprising diversity for a traditional ryokan dinner, it's very clear you are paying for the quantity and experience rather than the quality of food when compared to other ryokans especially in ryokan-dense Hakone.

But again, once you factor in the price which is literally half or even a quarter of many of the other places nearby, you cannot knock this place too hard especially as you're getting room+dinner+breakfast. If you're a solo traveler, vacationing on a budget, with a large mixed group, staying in Hakone for a longer duration, or pretty much any circumstance other than romantic couple's getaway, this could be a great deal, getting to experience...