I had to do research on the Hakone Day Pass before deciding to purchase it. I will share my process into why I got the pass instead of making individual activity payments and then a final review on whether I think it’s worth it.

Process:

We were not going to be driving to Hakone. We were only going to be taking public transportation. While buses and trains are not that expensive, it can add up.

I also researched what I wanted to do in Hakone. Everything that I wanted to do was part of the Day Pass meaning I won’t have to make individual payments.

After adding up the public transportation cost and the individual activity cost, it was much cheaper to just get the Day Pass even though we were only staying for the day.

There are two different Day Passes. One is good for 2 days and one is good for 3 days. The 3-day pass is slightly more expensive.

Even though Hakone was just going to be a day trip for me, it was still much cheaper to just get the Day Pass instead of paying for each activity individually.

Do I think the Hakone Day Pass is worth it:

If you plan to take public transportation and you plan to do a lot of the activities that are on the Day Pass, then I think YES, it is absolutely worth it.

If you’re going to be driving to Hakone and a lot of the things you have planned are not part of the Day Pass, then I say you can pass on the Day Pass.

How to use the Hakone Day Pass:

You can buy the pass at an Odakyu station, or you can purchase it online. I purchased our tickets online.

If you bought your ticket online:

On the day of your trip, you’ll need to sign-in to their website. And then click on the ticket to activate it.

You’ll know its activated when you see the QR code and the moving train on the screen. You’ll need to show this before getting on a bus or train or doing an activity.

Some attendants will have to see the moving train on your phone screen, so a screenshot won’t be accepted.

*It’ll be safe to make sure you have good data or working wifi!

If you have a paper ticket:

You can just show the ticket to the attendant.

Fare Adjustment:

If you are riding the RomanceCar train, you’ll need to pay a fare adjustment before heading back to Tokyo. We didn’t know that we had to manually pay the fare adjustment fee so we were super confused.

The romancecar train requires 2 payments: the limited express ticket (which you can get online and is separate from the base-fare ticket) and the base-fare ticket.

The base-fare ticket is the like the local fare where you pay for the distance you are traveling.

However, this doesn’t get automatically taken from your IC Card.

If you took the romancecar train to Hakone and plan to take it back to Shinjuku, AND you got the Hakone Day Pass, make sure to stop by the Fare Adjustment window before entering Hakone Station. Otherwise, you may be denied access through the gates.

At the Fare Adjustment Window, you’ll have to pay the remaining of the base-fare ticket cost (from Shinjuku to Hakone) and then the first base-fare back to Shinjuku (so Hakone to Shinjuku).

Once you’re back at Shinjuku you’ll also have to go to the Fare adjustment office and pay the remaining of the base-fare back.

The Base-fare ticket is separate from the limited express ticket. Just remember that you may have to pay the base-fare and its just part of the process.

Overall thoughts on Hakone:

I love that they have something like the day pass for visitors and tourist when visiting Hakone. Especially those of us who don’t have a car to drive to Hakone. The Day Pass made it super easy to explore Hakone.

I love Hakone. We were able to see Mt Fuji at Owakudani station.

Highly recommend Hakone if you’re visiting Japan.

Connect with me on Instagram: @mainouexplores

Hakone Day Pass Review