Hakone ryokan family stays: how four people sleep in one tatami room, and which days work with children

Japanese rooms are measured in tatami mats, and the mat count is the honest way to read a listing. A room of eight or ten mats holds four futons laid side by side with room to walk around them. During the day the same floor holds a low table and cushions; the staff clear it and lay the bedding while you are at dinner. Nothing is fixed to the floor, which is why a Hakone ryokan family Japan visitors book for four is usually one room rather than two.

That arrangement has a practical advantage nobody mentions in the brochures: everybody is in the same room, at floor level, with nothing to fall off. Younger children tend to sleep better on a futon than in an unfamiliar hotel bed, and there is no arguing about who gets which one. A Hakone ryokan family night is quieter than a hotel one for exactly this reason.

Rates are quoted per person with meals rather than per room, so the cost of a Hakone ryokan family stay scales with the number of people rather than the number of doors. Children are normally charged at a reduced rate, and the reduction usually depends on whether they are having the full meal, a children’s portion or no meal at all. We do not print room rates on this site, because we do not sell rooms; every price you see on this page is a tour price taken from the GetYourGuide listing.

The one thing to settle in writing before you pay is the maximum occupancy. Houses set a firm number of futons per room, and a family friendly ryokan Hakone keeps some larger rooms for exactly this reason. Ask for the mat count and the number of futons, not the number of beds, and the answer will be unambiguous.

The loop below is the one the valley is built around, and it works in either direction. With a pass in your pocket you can leave it at any point and go back to the room.

Morning: the mountain railway. A small train that climbs by switchback, reversing direction at each turn. It is slow, it is loud in the right way, and it is the easiest sell of the day to a six-year-old.

Late morning: the ropeway. Glass cabins over the ridge, with Fuji ahead on a clear day. The listing for $55 builds the whole tour around this stretch, and it is the single view most people come for.

Midday: Owakudani. The valley the ropeway crosses, with steam coming out of the hillside and the famous black eggs on sale at the top. Children find the smell hilarious. It is a viewpoint and a short walk, not a hike.

Afternoon: Lake Ashi. A cruise boat across the water, with the red torii of Hakone Shrine standing in the shallows near the shore. Twenty-five minutes afloat with somewhere to sit, which is the right length after a morning of trains.

Mid-afternoon: back to the house. Check-in is around three. A Hakone ryokan family afternoon usually goes: bath, then a lie down on the tatami, then dinner at six. The order matters, because the meal is long and nobody enjoys it tired.

Evening: the bath and dinner. A reserved bath takes the awkwardness out of the question of who goes into which communal pool. Dinner is a set meal at a set hour, with children’s portions available if you asked for them when booking.

Next morning: breakfast early, out by ten. Houses turn rooms over in the morning. If you are going straight back to Tokyo, the trains from Hakone-Yumoto are frequent; if you are staying a second night, this is the morning the pass earns its price.

If you want the valley at the lowest fare, book $55. Ten hours, 4.6 across 8,054 reviews, which is more feedback than any other tour on this site carries. Hakone Shrine, Lake Ashi, Lake Yamanaka and the ropeway over Owakudani. The stops are short and the changes of transport keep the day moving.

If a coach timetable worries you, book $476. Ten hours, 4.9 across 63 reviews, your own vehicle from Tokyo with the route set by you. Divided across a party of four it is a different proposition from the headline price, and it means you can cut the day short without asking anybody.

If you are staying two or three nights, book $45. Unlimited rides on most local trains and buses, plus discounts at over seventy facilities. With children this is the piece that matters most: you can go out for two hours, come back for a nap, and go out again without buying another ticket.

If you want the cruise and the ropeway on one ticket, book $50. Rated 4.9 across 1,049 reviews, with Hakone Shrine, a boat on Lake Ashi, the ropeway and Owakudani in the same day, plus Swan Beach at Lake Yamanaka.

One thing to plan for. A Japanese ryokan family room Hakone houses let to four people is a single tatami room, and the meal is served at a fixed hour in the early evening. That combination rewards a short day and an early return. Take the ten-hour tours from Tokyo on a day when you are sleeping in Tokyo, and keep the check-in day inside the valley.