This is a private guided tour report by Japan Guide Agency (JGA Inc.), a network of 1,000+ government-licensed, English-speaking local guides across all 47 prefectures of Japan. Not affiliated with the Japan Guide Association.

Tour Itinerary

  • 9:30 Hotel meet 9:56 Hakone-Yumoto Station Train 10:45 Hakone Open-Air Museum 12:16 Chokoku-no-Mori Station Gora Cable car Sounzan Ropeway Owakudani stroll Depart 13:15 To Togendai 13:55 Pirate ship 14:20 Hakonemachi Port To Hakone Checkpoint Site Donburi Chaya After lunch From Hakonemachi Port at 13:38 By bus via the new road Arrive Hakone-Yumoto at 16:00 16:05 Dismissal The customer will return to the hotel by themselves.

Title: What Is a Private Hakone Day Tour Like on a Rainy Forecast Day? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests were a friendly group visiting Hakone. Although the forecast had predicted rain all day, it started under cloudy skies with a bit of sunlight peeking through. The group had been hoping to see Mount Fuji, but unfortunately it was not visible; still, the weather was quite cool and the day was pleasant and enjoyable. Perhaps because of the poor weather forecast, there were few visitors, and the group was able to relax so much that they had the foot bath at the Hakone Open-Air Museum almost entirely to themselves. The ropeway was also nearly empty, which is rare these days. According to one account, this may have been partly due to false rumors about an eruption. It is unfortunate that some people spread such baseless rumors, and I also felt it was disappointing that the tourism operators made little visible effort to counter them.

Transportation cost per person

No.TransportationRouteFare
Section 1Free PassOdawara Station~Odawara Station5,000JPY
Total5,000JPY

I am Hiroki Morikawa :Hiro:, English guide living with my wife ,just a hop skip and jump from Hakone, Kamakura, Tokyo and the Mt. Fuji.
I am a friendly grandfather of 4 grandchildren.
I would love to help you enjoy Japan, using my 3 strong points.
First: I am used to dealing with any kind of matters. I have experienced various situations in the 40 years of my working life.
Second: I am good at making a friendly atmosphere between you and local people to help you enjoy Japan. I was raised in western Japan, studied in northern Japan and now live in central Japan. So I know various local cultures and dialects to communicate with a wide variety of people.
Third: I can explain things from a technical point of view.
For example, how the Great Buddha was constructed, because I am a master of engineering graduated from Hokkaido University.
Please enjoy Japan with me. See you soon!!
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