Our top three picks: Hotel Senkei in Hakone: The railway puts the Hakone-Yumoto hydrangeas at their best from mid to late June. Gora Kadan in Hakone: The railway puts the Gora hydrangeas at their best from late June to early July. Gora Hanaougi in Hakone, with an onsen bath in every room and kaiseki dinner.
Hydrangeas, ajisai, line the Hakone Tozan Railway so closely that they brush the windows, and in June the line is called the ajisai densha, the hydrangea train. The bloom climbs with the track: according to the railway, the flowers near Hakone-Yumoto, Ohiradai and Miyanoshita are at their best from mid to late June, those near Chokoku-no-Mori and Gora from late June to early July, and those around Sounzan, at the top of the cable car, from early to mid July. In 2026 the railway lit the flowers at six points along the line from 12 to 30 June, after 18:30. Weather moves the bloom, so the higher stations are the safer bet in July. The three inns below are at Hakone-Yumoto, Gora and Sounzan, so you can pick the inn by the week you travel.
By Meg Faibisch Kühn · Updated · How we choose inns
Photo: 京浜にけ (Japanese Wikipedia) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and resized
| # | Ryokan | Location | Price | Private onsen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hotel Senkei | Hakone | Mid-range | Yes |
| 2 | Gora Kadan | Hakone | Luxury | Yes |
| 3 | Gora Hanaougi | Hakone | Premium | Yes |
#1Hakone, Kanto
Ten minutes on foot from Hakone-Yumoto Station along Taki-dori and the Sugumo stream, or a short ride on the inn's paid shuttle. The railway puts the Hakone-Yumoto hydrangeas at their best from mid to late June.
#2Hakone, Kanto
Five minutes on foot from Gora Station, and the inn will collect you by car if you phone on arrival. The railway puts the Gora hydrangeas at their best from late June to early July.
Recommended stay: 1-2 nights ideal for combining with Hakone sightseeing
#3Hakone, Kanto
Sounzan, at the top of the cable car from Gora, is the nearest station; a lift for guests runs from the station car park to the inn's door. Get off at Sounzan, not Kami-Gora, or face a 200 m climb. Sounzan is the last stretch to bloom, from early to mid July.
The inns were picked by hand. Each is listed because its own website, or the local tourism association, railway or event organiser, publishes the plan, event or season dates this page describes, and we checked that source before listing it. If the top inn cannot be booked through one of our partners, the highest-placed one that can moves to first place. We do not show review scores, which come without a review count, and inns cannot pay to be listed or placed.
From each inn's own website: Gora Hanaougi allows tattoos in all baths. We have not confirmed this for the other 2 inns on the page.
Every room has its own onsen bath at Gora Hanaougi; some rooms do at Hotel Senkei, according to each inn's own website. We have not confirmed this for the other inn on the page.
For the kashikiri (private, taken-in-turns) bath, you book a time slot at Gora Kadan. We have not confirmed this for the other 2 inns on the page.
Dinner is served in your room at Hotel Senkei and Gora Kadan; dinner is served in a private dining room at Gora Hanaougi, according to each inn's own website.
Every Hakone ryokan we list: Mount Fuji views, natural onsen baths and kaiseki dining, about 80 minutes from Shinjuku by Romancecar.
Three onsen-town ryokans near a firefly evening: Yugawara's Hotaru no Utage in Manyo Park, the Atami Baien firefly evening on the Hatsukawa stream and Shuzenji's Akagaeru Park, with the 2026 dates and hours.
Escape Japan's summer heat at a mountain ryokan. Top picks in Nagano, Nikko, and the Japanese Alps — cool air, firefly evenings, and outdoor onsen baths surrounded by forest.