Instagram Travel
7 Most Instagrammable Spots in Hakone, Japan
A short train ride from Tokyo, Hakone pairs open views of Mount Fuji over Lake Ashi with a volcanic valley, a lakeside torii gate and one of Japan's best-known open-air sculpture parks.
Sep 24, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Hakone, a hot-spring town in Kanagawa Prefecture roughly 90 minutes from Tokyo by train, owes much of its popularity to a single, reliable draw: on clear days, Lake Ashi frames an open view of Mount Fuji that is far easier to reach than most other vantage points on the mountain. Around that lake, Hakone adds a volcanic valley, a historic shrine and a switchback mountain railway, giving visitors a full day of varied, genuinely photogenic stops. Here are seven of the most photographed.
1. Hakone Shrine's lakeside torii gate
The single most photographed spot in Hakone: a bright red torii gate standing in the shallows of Lake Ashi, with Hakone Shrine's forested approach behind it. On a clear day, Mount Fuji appears across the water directly behind the gate, though the mountain is frequently obscured by cloud, so a Fuji-in-frame shot cannot be guaranteed on any given visit.
2. A Lake Ashi pirate-ship cruise
Hakone's sightseeing boats, styled as pirate ships, cross Lake Ashi between Hakone-machi, Togendai and Moto-Hakone, giving passengers an open-water view of the surrounding hills and, cloud cover permitting, Mount Fuji, without needing to plan a specific viewpoint on land.
3. Owakudani's volcanic valley
Reached by the Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani is an active volcanic valley of steaming vents and sulphurous ground, a stark contrast to the lake and forest scenery elsewhere in Hakone; the ropeway journey itself, suspended over the valley, is as much a part of the appeal as the viewpoint at the top.
4. Hakone Open-Air Museum
One of Japan's first open-air museums, this hillside sculpture park sets works by artists including Henry Moore and a large Picasso collection against changing mountain views, giving visitors a different kind of composition than the area's natural scenery.
5. Gora Park's French-style terraces
A formal French-style garden built in 1914 on a terraced hillside in Gora, with a central fountain, rose beds and seasonal flower displays that give Hakone one of its few deliberately landscaped, symmetrical viewpoints.
6. The Hakone Tozan switchback railway
Japan's oldest mountain railway climbs from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora via a series of switchbacks, reversing direction several times on the steep gradient; the train's slow climb through forest and, in season, hydrangea blooms, makes the ride itself a frequently photographed part of a Hakone day.
7. Amazake-chaya, a teahouse on the old Tokaido road
A rustic thatched-roof teahouse on the historic Tokaido highway through Hakone's cedar-lined Old Road, serving amazake, a mildly sweet fermented rice drink, in a setting that has changed little from its Edo-period origins.
Traveller tips
- The Hakone Free Pass, sold at Odakyu stations in Tokyo, covers most local trains, buses, the ropeway and the lake cruise in one ticket.
- Mount Fuji is frequently hidden by cloud, even on otherwise clear days; mornings generally offer the best visibility.
- Owakudani's ropeway service is occasionally suspended due to volcanic gas monitoring; check current operating status before planning a visit around it.
- Many Hakone hotels and ryokan offer onsen hot-spring bathing, a worthwhile addition to a day spent sightseeing in the area.
Where this is
Hakone, Japan