Day 4 - Head to Hakone
Shinkansen (bullet train)
Yama no Chaya (ryokan)
Shinkansen
Time to say goodbye to Kyoto and head to Hakone! We took the subway to Kyoto Station, and took shinkansen to Odawara station, where we bought the Hakone Free Pass (a must-have in Hakone!), and took a bus to our ryokan. The bus system can be confusing but there are plenty of people at the station and at the bus stop to help tourists.
Voyagers Tips: For busy seasons, it is advised to purchase shinkansen tickets in advance to reserve seats. Mount Fuji is supposedly visible on the left side of the train on clear days, but we booked our tickets too late and all the window seats were taken, so we upgraded to the “Green Cars” to get the window seats. Green Cars was roughly $30 more per seat and the seats are bigger, although regular cars are supposedly quite comfortable already. It turned out to be a gloomy day so no sighting of Mt. Fuji for us.
For those traveling from Tokyo to Hakone, you can purchase Hakone Free Passes that include a train ride to/from Hakone. If you want to take the RomanceCar which is a faster Express train, you can then purchase an additional ticket for this “upgrade” and use the two tickets together. Since we came from Kyoto through Odawara, we just bought the Hakone Free Passes at the Odawara station without the train ride, and purchase the train ticket separately online. You can buy the Hakone Free Pass at the ticket counter and the people there are very nice and helpful. They will also give you a Hakone map and directions on taking the bus. Use Google Maps to figure out which bus stop to get off at. Google Maps really does make things much easier.
Yama no Chaya (our ryokan)
Imagine waking up, jumping in an in-room hot spring spa to relax and clear your mind. Then get dressed and be served a multi-course breakfast in your room. Afterwards, relax and read a book (or browse through your phone) on the balcony while enjoying the scenic view, then take a stroll on the serene property along the river, before taking another dip at the multiple onsens on site. Ahh… I can get used to this.
We loved our time at Yama No Chaya. From the moment you cross the bridge to their property, they treated us like royalty. They greeted us on the bridge and took our luggage, welcomed us at the lobby, explained the ryokan to us, took us to our lobby, and provided us with tea and dessert. We were assigned one person to service us for our entire stay and he (Takeshi) was awesome.
Our room has an in-room spa. There are also four onsens on their property - One private one that you can book for 45min, and three shared ones that are either mens or womens depending on time slot. Book the private one early for a slot that works for you.
The private spa was great for us to spend time in the spa together as a family. They’re not as strict on the “no swimsuit” rule in the private onsen.
Dinner is scheduled for either 6pm or 6:30pm, and they serve you in your room. Our dinner the first night was a 10-course meal and it was such a treat. Takeshi set up dinnerware and patiently kneeling down to serve each dish one at a time, explained each dish to us, and take the previous dishes to us while we enjoy the next dish. I had been looking forward to this ryokan meal since we booked the stay, and it really was a treat, but I didn’t realize how much extra work it was for them to serve us in the room until we experienced dinner. Takeshi was extremely nice and pleasant, but you can see the sweat beading down his face from moving all the heavy dishes from the kitchen downstairs to our room, and from kneeling and serving throughout the entire meal.
I believe they offer kids meals; we had young teens that I thought would appreciate the authentic Japanese dishes, but it turned out the raw fish and other dishes were a bit too authentic for them. I personally loved the food.
The room itself was very nice, exactly what I expected of the onsen. Downstairs is the dining area, in-room spa, bathroom and the balcony. Upstairs is the bedroom. The room is quite nice, not over-the-top nice but very clean and comfortable. What truly sets apart this experience is the royalty service you get. The price is steep ($1,450 per night for the four of us) but it’s definitely a worthwhile experience for at least once in your life.