Lake Ashi CruiseMt Fuji & Hakone Ropeway, Lake Ashi & Owakudani Day Tour
This Hakone Ropeway day tour is the highest-rated on the page and also the cheapest: 4.9 across 923 verified reviews, $49, with the ropeway ticket in the fare and forty minutes at Hakone Shrine. The thing to read before you book is the option name. Every one of them says Excludes Pirate Ship — the Lake Ashi crossing your guide will happily buy for you at the pier is not in the price.
About This Hakone Day Tour
A full day, roughly twelve hours door to door from Tokyo
$49 per adult, with the one-way ropeway ticket included
4.9 from 923 reviews on GetYourGuide, the highest here
30 minutes at the pier; the crossing itself is a paid extra
Shared coach, seats first come first served, English and Chinese guides
Wheelchair users, pregnant travellers and travellers over 70
Listing at a Glance
The same fields on every tour page here, read from the operator's listing in August 2026. Prices and availability are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
- Tour name Tokyo: Mt Fuji & Hakone Ropeway, Lake Ashi Cruise, Owakudani
- Operator Clover Travel Co., Ltd.
- Booking platform GetYourGuide
- Product ID 1038287
- Starting price $49 USD per adult
- Price last checked August 2026
- Rating 4.9 out of 5
- Review count 923 reviews
- Review source GetYourGuide verified bookings
- Duration About 12 hours
- Time on the lake 30 minutes scheduled at the pirate-ship pier
- Cruise leg Moto-Hakone to Togendai
- Cruise fare Not included — options are labelled "Excludes Pirate Ship"; about 1,700 yen, the guide can buy it
- Ropeway One-way ticket included
- Pickup window 07:30 Tokyo Station or 08:00 Shinjuku
- Arrival at the lake Approx. 10:00 at Hakone Shrine, after a two-hour coach leg
- Expected return Evening in Tokyo; delays common in peak weeks
- Transport Air-conditioned coach from Tokyo
- Group size Shared group; seats cannot be reserved in advance
- Guide language English, Chinese
- Lunch Not included
- Drinks None stated
- Hotel pickup Not included — two fixed Tokyo meeting points
- Cancellation deadline 24 hours before departure
- Reserve now, pay later Available
- Minimum age Infants 0–3 must be registered with customer service in advance
- Physical difficulty Easy walking; a long day in a coach seat
- Wheelchair accessibility Not suitable for wheelchair users, pregnant travellers or travellers over 70
- Insurance Basic travel insurance only; arrange your own for more cover
- Weather limitations Mount Fuji visibility explicitly not guaranteed; itinerary order can change on weekends and holidays
- Ethical notes None stated
- Alternative tour See the [slower Hakone day](/hakone-shrine-ropeway-day-tour/)
Check Dates and Availability
Live dates and prices from the booking platform. The price shown at checkout is what you pay.
Quick answer
For $49 this tour gives you the ropeway ticket, forty minutes at Hakone Shrine, thirty at the pirate-ship pier, and the two Fuji-side stops most day trips skip. It carries a 4.9 rating across 923 reviews with a 5.0 sub-score for guides, which is the highest on this page. The boat itself is extra, at about 1,700 yen paid on the day.
Key takeaways
- Cheapest tour here and the best rated — the comparison table puts it top on both
- The ropeway leg is included, which is a 2,000-yen ticket bought separately
- Boat fare is not included; budget about 1,700 yen a head on top
- Wheelchair users, pregnant travellers and anyone over 70 are excluded by the operator
What the Day Actually Covers
Two hours out, then the shrine
Pickup is either JR Tokyo Station at 07:30 or Shinjuku at 08:00, and the coach runs about two hours to Hakone. The first stop is Hakone Shrine, forty minutes of it — enough for the cedar-lined approach, the vermilion gates along the path and the torii standing in the water, which is the photograph nearly everyone comes for.
Forty minutes is generous by day-trip standards: two of the tours on this page allow twenty. It is not generous by shrine standards. The queue for a photograph under the lake torii regularly runs longer than that on a fine weekend, which is worth knowing before you commit your whole allowance to it.
Thirty minutes at the pier, and the decision
A ten-minute transfer brings the coach to the pirate-ship pier, where the itinerary allows thirty minutes. This is the longest pier stop of any tour compared here, and it is also where the tour's one piece of small print lands: the crossing is not in your fare.
Your options are to hand the guide about 1,700 yen and take the boat, or to stay on the coach, which runs round to the Togendai ropeway station for nothing. If two of you are travelling, that is 3,400 yen — still leaving this the cheapest way onto the water of any tour on the page, because the fare underneath it is the lowest.
Ropeway, Owakudani and the Fuji side
The ropeway ticket is included, one way, and that is a 2,000-yen item bought separately. It lifts you over the caldera to Owakudani, where forty minutes buys the sulphur vents and the black eggs boiled in the springs — the ones local legend prices at seven extra years of life apiece.
After that the tour crosses to the Fuji Five Lakes side: twenty minutes at Lake Yamanaka's swan shore, then forty at Oshino Hakkai, the village of spring-fed ponds so clear you can count the pebbles. Neither is on the Hakone circuit proper, and neither appears on the Kamakura or Enoshima alternatives.
Tour Itinerary, Hour by Hour
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07:30
Tokyo Station or Shinjuku
Two meeting points, 07:30 and 08:00. Travel details arrive by email before 19:00 the evening before — check the spam folder, several reviewers mention it landing there.
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10:00
Hakone Shrine
Forty minutes: the cedar approach, the shrine itself, and the torii standing in the lake. A further twenty is scheduled at the torii specifically.
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11:10
Togendai pier
Thirty minutes at the pirate-ship pier. Board with a ticket bought on the day, or stay with the coach to the ropeway station.
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12:00
Hakone Ropeway
Thirty minutes over the caldera, included in the fare, climbing to Owakudani.
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12:40
Owakudani
Forty minutes among the steam vents. Bring a light jacket — it is cool up here even in August.
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14:00
Lake Yamanaka
Twenty minutes at Swan Beach on the Fuji Five Lakes side, after an hour on the coach.
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14:50
Oshino Hakkai
Forty minutes among the eight spring ponds, with thatched houses and the spring-water tofu ice cream the guides all point at.
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17:30
Back in Tokyo
Two hours of return coach. The operator warns in writing that 8–16 August is peak holiday season and traffic can wreck this estimate — do not book a flight or a Shinkansen that evening.
Where the Day Goes
Hakone sits about 90 km southwest of Tokyo; the tour reaches the lake in roughly two hours, crosses the caldera by ropeway, then drives another hour northwest to the Fuji Five Lakes.
The four ports and which company calls at each are mapped on the Lake Ashi cruise homepage.
Who This Tour Suits
Good fit
Anyone who wants the widest sweep of the region for the least money, and who is happy to pay for the boat separately. Families do well on it — one reviewer travelling with children called the pacing "perfect, not too long in one destination keeping them engaged" — and the 5.0 guide sub-score is the reason the overall rating sits where it does.
It also suits travellers who care about the Fuji Five Lakes half of the day. Oshino Hakkai and Lake Yamanaka are not in Hakone at all, and the tours that skip them use the time on Kamakura or Enoshima instead.
Poor fit
The operator excludes wheelchair users, pregnant travellers and travellers over 70 outright — if that applies, the private tour from your hotel is the only wheelchair-accessible listing here.
It is also the wrong tour if you want the boat fare bundled. That is the Kamakura day trip, which includes a crossing but gives you ten minutes on the water and no ropeway at all.
Things the listing says quietly
Seats are first come, first served and cannot be reserved, so an early arrival at the meeting point buys you a window. With a small group the driver may double as the guide, with limited English commentary and none while driving. Luggage needs to be declared in advance and may cost extra.
And the honest one, in the operator's own words: "Visibility in the Mount Fuji area is highly affected by weather, and the view cannot be guaranteed. Please consider this carefully before placing your order." The month-by-month odds are on the homepage.
Questions About This Tour
Is the pirate ship included in this tour's price?
No. Every booking option on this listing is named "Excludes Pirate Ship", and the Hakone Pirate Ship fare appears on the not-included list. The coach still stops thirty minutes at the pier and the guide will buy your ticket — about 1,700 yen for an adult — or you can stay aboard and ride round to the ropeway station instead.
Is the Hakone Ropeway ticket included?
Yes, one way, and it is the most valuable thing in the fare: bought separately that ticket costs 2,000 yen for an adult. The ride climbs from the lake over the caldera to Owakudani, 130 metres above the valley floor at its highest.
Where does this tour depart from in Tokyo?
Two fixed meeting points — JR Tokyo Station at 07:30 and Shinjuku at 08:00 — with no hotel pickup. Travel details including the guide's contact arrive by email before 19:00 the evening before departure, and reviewers repeatedly report finding that message in a spam folder.
Can children join this tour?
Yes, but infants aged 0 to 3 must be registered with the operator's customer service in advance and a liability waiver signed. On large-group departures infants travel free without a seat, held by an adult. Pregnant travellers and travellers over 70 are excluded.
Is lunch included?
No — meals are on the not-included list. There is food at Owakudani, at Oshino Hakkai and around the shrine, and the black eggs at Owakudani are effectively a snack stop in themselves. Bring cash: several of these stops do not take cards.
What Travellers Said
Excellent day, our guide was brilliant, knowledgeable and very helpful. As a family with children it was perfect.
Everything was planned down to the last detail. Even though the weather was bad, we even managed to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji!
I was surprised by the quality of the included day trips. We received a lot of information so we could enjoy the tour.
The guide was very informative and spoke good English. He told us the best locations for photo opportunities.
Short excerpts from verified GetYourGuide reviews of this tour, with their original dates. Full reviews are on the operator's listing.
Page last reviewed August 2026. Price, rating and review count read from the listing on August 2026. Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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