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Lake Ashi Cruise 2026: Pirate Ship or Hakone Yusen Boat? Prices, Piers, Timetable and What the Freepass Covers

Updated 2026-10-19

Sightseeing ship on Lake Ashi passing the red Hakone Shrine torii at the water's edge

Lake Ashi has two cruise companies, and the ticket you already hold decides which one you board. With a Hakone Freepass, ride the pirate ship (Hakone Sightseeing Cruise, Odakyu Hakone group): the normal cabin is included, no extra ticket. Without a pass, the Hakone Yusen boat (Izuhakone group) is the cheaper way to see the whole lake. Its 40-minute loop costs ¥2,400, ¥600 less than the pirate ship's ¥3,000 round trip, and it is the only boat that stops at Hakone-en, the foot of the Komagatake Ropeway. One-way fares: pirate ship ¥1,700 (Togendai to the south shore), Hakone Yusen ¥1,200 (Moto-Hakone to Hakone-en). Fares are from Hakone Navi and Hakone Yusen's official site, checked 2026-10-19.

Passes and tours

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Diagram of Lake Ashi with the piers of both companies. Pirate ship: Togendai-ko in the north to Hakone-machi-ko or Moto-Hakone-ko in the south, 25 to 40 minutes, 1,700 yen, Hakone Freepass valid. Hakone Yusen: Sekisho-ato-ko, Moto-Hakone-ko, Hakone-en and Kojiri along the east shore, Moto-Hakone to Hakone-en 15 minutes and 1,200 yen, Freepass not valid. Only Hakone Yusen reaches Hakone-en.
The two companies share only Moto-Hakone. In the north the pirate ship uses Togendai, by the ropeway; Hakone Yusen uses Kojiri, with few sailings. Diagram, not to scale.

The two boats at a glance

Pirate ship Hakone Yusen
Official name Hakone Sightseeing Cruise (箱根海賊船) Lake Ashi Sightseeing Boat (箱根遊船)
Group Odakyu Hakone Izuhakone
Piers Togendai-ko, Hakone-machi-ko, Moto-Hakone-ko Hakone Sekisho-ato-ko, Moto-Hakone-ko, Hakone-en, Kojiri
Hakone Freepass Valid (normal cabin) Not valid
One way, adult ¥1,700 Togendai to either south pier; ¥600 between the south piers ¥1,200 to or from Hakone-en; ¥600 Sekisho-ato to Moto-Hakone; ¥1,450 to or from Kojiri
Stay-on-board loop round trip ¥3,000 (70–90 min) 40 min ¥2,400 · 70 min ¥2,900
Day ticket 1-day pass with the Hakone Ropeway 1-day free ticket ¥2,900, get on and off at all 4 piers
Ships Queen Ashinoko, Royal II, Victory SORAKAZE (2024) and Daichakai (December 2025), both catamarans

The piers explain the split. The pirate ship starts at Togendai, a 3-minute walk from the Hakone Ropeway, so it is the lake leg of the classic Hakone loop (train, cable car, ropeway, boat, bus). Hakone Yusen's northern pier is Kojiri, a stop with a handful of sailings a day, and its real job is the east shore: it is the one boat to Hakone-en. Both companies call at Moto-Hakone, the pier for Hakone Shrine and the buses back to Hakone-Yumoto.

Hakone Yusen fares (from 1 April 2026)

Adult = junior high school age and up. Child = elementary school age.

One way Adult Child
Sekisho-ato → Moto-Hakone ¥600 ¥300
Sekisho-ato or Moto-Hakone ⇄ Hakone-en ¥1,200 ¥600
Hakone-en ⇄ Kojiri ¥1,200 ¥600
Sekisho-ato or Moto-Hakone ⇄ Kojiri ¥1,450 ¥730
Loop and day tickets Adult Child
40-minute loop: Sekisho-ato, Moto-Hakone, Hakone-en and back (no getting off) ¥2,400 ¥1,200
70-minute loop: the same plus Kojiri, a full lap (no getting off) ¥2,900 ¥1,450
1-day free ticket, get on and off at all four piers ¥2,900 ¥1,450
Bar chart of adult Lake Ashi boat fares with child fares in brackets: Hakone Yusen one way 1,200 yen (600), pirate ship one way 1,700 yen (850), Hakone Yusen 40-minute loop 2,400 yen (1,200), 70-minute loop 2,900 yen (1,450), 1-day free ticket 2,900 yen (1,450), pirate ship round trip 3,000 yen (1,300), Hakone Freepass from Shinjuku 7,100 yen (1,600) for two days. The 40-minute loop is 600 yen cheaper than the pirate ship round trip.
Seven tickets from cheapest to dearest. The Freepass bar covers the trains from Shinjuku, the ropeway and the Tozan buses as well as the pirate ship.

Which boat fits your plan?

Your plan Take You pay
The Hakone loop with the Freepass (ropeway down to Togendai, boat, bus from Moto-Hakone) Pirate ship, Togendai → Moto-Hakone nothing extra
Freepass, plus the Komagatake Ropeway at Hakone-en Pirate ship to Moto-Hakone, then Hakone Yusen to Hakone-en ¥1,200 one way (or walk about 30 minutes)
No pass, arrived by bus or car on the south shore, want to see the lake and come back Hakone Yusen 40-minute loop ¥2,400
No pass, want to hop between the checkpoint, Hakone Shrine and Hakone-en Hakone Yusen 1-day free ticket ¥2,900
No pass, rode the ropeway down to Togendai and want the boat there and back Pirate ship round trip ¥3,000

Coming from Tokyo by train, the Freepass question comes first: the Hakone Freepass calculator adds up your route, and Is the Hakone Freepass worth it? shows where it stops paying off. The pirate ship's own tickets, first class and the Togendai timetable are in our pirate ship ticket guide.

Hakone Yusen timetable (13 July – 13 November 2026)

The boats run Sekisho-ato → Moto-Hakone → Hakone-en, with the Daichakai continuing to Kojiri, and come back Kojiri → Hakone-en → Sekisho-ato → Moto-Hakone. Note the order on the way back: from Hakone-en the boat reaches Sekisho-ato first (15 minutes) and Moto-Hakone second (25 minutes).

From 14 to 30 November 2026 only the SORAKAZE sails, Kojiri gets a single departure at 10:10 (plus 16:00 on 20 November) and no loop ticket is sold from Kojiri. The timetable changes again from 14 November, 30 December, 4 February and other dates, so open the operator's timetable page for your day. The lake is also where fog and wind stop boats; both companies post the day's status on their sites.

The piers and how to walk between them

Frequently asked questions

Is the Lake Ashi cruise included in the Hakone Freepass?

The pirate ship is: Hakone Navi lists the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise among the lines you can ride freely, normal cabin only. Hakone Yusen is not on that list, and its own fare page names no pass at all, so count on paying the full fare on the Izuhakone boat.

Can I take a dog on the Lake Ashi boat?

On Hakone Yusen, small and medium dogs under 30 kg ride for ¥300 on the same section as their owner. We found no dog rule on the pirate ship's ticket page.

Is there parking at the Hakone Yusen piers?

Sekisho-ato-ko has parking that is free except on busy days. Moto-Hakone has paid and free car parks nearby. Hakone-en and Kojiri have paid parking.

Does the Lake Ashi cruise run in winter?

Yes, with shorter timetables. From 14 November to 29 December 2026 the SORAKAZE sails alone and the last Moto-Hakone-bound boat leaves Sekisho-ato at 16:30; from 30 December both boats run; from 4 February to 12 March 2027 only the Daichakai sails and the last loop ends at Moto-Hakone at 16:00. The pirate ship switches to its winter timetable from 1 December to 19 March.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-19)

Photo: Maarten Heerlien from Voorschoten, The Netherlands / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons; cropped to 16:9 and resized).

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