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Odawara to Hakone: Train, Bus or Romancecar? Platforms, Minutes and Fares from Odawara Station (2026)

Updated 2026-10-23

Odawara is where every train from Tokyo stops and where the Hakone mountain lines begin. For Hakone-Yumoto, ride the Hakone Tozan Train from platform 7 or 11, behind the Odakyu gate on the 3rd floor: 15 minutes, ¥360. For Gora, change at Hakone-Yumoto, 40 minutes more, ¥770 in all. For Lake Ashi, skip the train and take a Hakone Tozan Bus from the east exit: bay 3 for Moto-Hakone and Hakone-machi, bay 4 for Togendai, about an hour either way. Holding a Japan Rail Pass? It ends here. Everything past Odawara is a separate fare, or a Hakone Freepass bought at the station for ¥6,000. Platforms and bus bays come from Hakone Navi's Odawara Station pages, fares from Odakyu's and Hakone Tozan's own fare pages, checked 2026-10-23.

Route map from Odawara Station. Hakone Tozan Train from platforms 7 or 11 to Hakone-Yumoto, 15 minutes, 360 yen, child 180; change at Hakone-Yumoto for Gora, 770 yen from Odawara; cable car from Gora to Sounzan, 10 minutes, 430 yen. Hakone Tozan Bus from the east exit: bay 3, line H via Kowakien to Moto-Hakone-ko and Hakone-machi-ko, about 60 minutes, 1,210 yen from Hakone-Yumoto; bay 4, line T via Sengoku to Togendai, about 60 minutes, 1,330 yen from Hakone-Yumoto. Both buses stop at Hakone-Yumoto. Izuhakone buses from bay 5 also reach Moto-Hakone but do not take the Hakone Freepass.
Red is the train, yellow the Tozan buses. The train stops at Hakone-Yumoto and Gora; the buses go straight on to the lake.

What to ride for each destination

Where you are going Ride, and where to board Minutes Adult fare
Hakone-Yumoto (onsen, the town) Hakone Tozan Train, platform 7 or 11 on the 3rd floor 15 ¥360 (child ¥180)
Gora (Open-Air Museum, Gora Park) Tozan Train from platform 7 or 11, change at Hakone-Yumoto 15 + 40, plus the change ¥770 (child ¥390)
Sounzan (the ropeway's lower end) Tozan Train, then the cable car from Gora 15 + 40 + 10, two changes ¥1,200 (child ¥610)
Moto-Hakone-ko, Hakone-machi-ko (Hakone Shrine, the Checkpoint, pirate ship) Hakone Tozan Bus line H, east exit bay 3, via Kowakien and Ashinoyu about 60 ¥1,210 from Yumoto
Togendai (ropeway, pirate ship) Hakone Tozan Bus line T, east exit bay 4, via Miyagino and Sengoku about 60 ¥1,330 from Yumoto

Two things the minutes tell you. First, the bus is the direct way to the lake: by rail you would ride train, train, cable car and ropeway, well over an hour and a half of riding before Togendai, which is the scenic loop and not a shortcut. Second, every bus from bays 3 and 4 calls at Hakone-Yumoto Station on the way, so if you are bound for Yumoto with heavy bags and a bus is standing there, it works too. On the Hakone Shindo bypass a line R express reaches Moto-Hakone from Odawara in about 40 minutes but skips the stops in between; the Hakone bus guide sorts the letters out.

Hakone Tozan Bus's fare notice of October 2025 prints the fares from Hakone-Yumoto, not from Odawara, so the bus fares above are the Yumoto ones and the ride from Odawara costs a little more. Tap in with an IC card and the exact fare is taken when you tap out. The buses also take contactless credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex and others, touch on and off) and cash with a numbered ticket.

Finding the platform at Odawara Station

The Romancecar from Odawara: ¥200 to save 2 minutes? No

Odakyu's Romancecar runs through from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, and you can board it at Odawara for the last stretch. The limited express fee for Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto is ¥200 (child ¥100), sold on the platform at Odawara on the day and only when seats are free; there is no online price for this segment. The weekday timetable shows why I would not bother: Hakone No. 1 leaves Odawara at 10:01 and reaches Hakone-Yumoto at 10:18, 17 minutes, while the 10:07 local gets there at 10:22, 15 minutes. The fee buys a reserved seat, nothing more. If you are coming from Shinjuku, book the whole ride instead; the Romancecar tickets guide has the fees and the online discount.

Which ticket to buy at Odawara

Ticket table per adult from Odawara and back. Hakone-Yumoto only: single tickets 720 yen beat the Nonbiri 1-day ticket at 1,580 yen and the 2-day Freepass at 6,000 yen. Gora and back without getting off: singles 1,540 yen, 40 yen less than the Nonbiri ticket. Gora and back with one hop-off: singles 1,700 yen or more, so the Nonbiri ticket at 1,580 yen wins. The full loop by train, cable car, ropeway, cruise and bus: singles 6,520 yen, the Freepass 6,000 yen wins, and the Nonbiri ticket is not valid beyond the train.
Single tickets for Yumoto or a straight run to Gora. One stop on the mountain tips it to the Nonbiri ticket; the ropeway or the boat tips it to the Freepass.

Three tickets are on sale at Odawara, and the right one depends on how far up the mountain you go.

Ticket Price (adult / child) What it covers Buy it when
Single tickets or IC card ¥360 to Yumoto, ¥770 to Gora one ride each Yumoto only, or Gora and straight back: ¥720 or ¥1,540 for the day
Hakone Tozan Train 1-day ticket (Nonbiri) ¥1,580 / ¥500 unlimited Tozan Train rides Odawara–Hakone-Yumoto–Gora on one day, free entry to Hakone Gora Park; not the cable car, not the Romancecar fee you get off even once between Yumoto and Gora: the museum, a lunch stop, Miyanoshita. The cheapest hop adds ¥160, so singles reach ¥1,700 and the day ticket wins
Hakone Freepass, Odawara version 2 days ¥6,000 / ¥1,500, 3 days ¥6,400 / ¥1,750 train, cable car, ropeway, cruise and Tozan buses in the Hakone area, no Odakyu section the ropeway or the pirate ship is in your plan: the loop from Odawara costs ¥6,520 in single tickets

The Nonbiri ticket is the one most visitors have never heard of, and it is sold at every Tozan Train station except Tonosawa, at the Sightseeing Service Centers in Odawara and Hakone-Yumoto, and online on EMot. Its weak point is the cable car: Gora to Sounzan is ¥430 extra. For the loop, put your own plan into the Hakone Freepass calculator; every fare on the way, including the children's, is in the Hakone Tozan Railway guide.

Japan Rail Pass holders start paying here

The pass covers the Shinkansen and the Tokaido Line into Odawara and nothing beyond: the Hakone Tozan Train is an Odakyu group line, and the buses belong to Hakone Tozan Bus and Izuhakone. The Odawara version of the Freepass exists for exactly this case, since you do not need the Shinjuku round trip that the ¥7,100 version includes. Only Kodama and Hikari trains stop at Odawara; the Tokyo to Hakone by train guide lists the morning departures.

Back to Odawara at the end of the day

The same lines run in reverse: Tozan Train down from Gora and Yumoto, lines H and T down from the lake. One extra on weekends and holidays is the Ashinoko Liner, a reserved-seat express bus that leaves Moto-Hakone-ko at 16:15 for Odawara on the bypass road; Freepass holders pay ¥500 for the seat, and leftover seats go on sale 20 minutes before departure at the bus counters. After a long day on your feet, a guaranteed seat for the 40-minute ride down is worth the coins. Odawara Castle is 10 minutes on foot from the station if you come down with daylight to spare: the Odawara Castle tickets guide has the ¥1,000 keep ticket and the 16:30 last entry.

Suitcases do not mix well with a 3rd-floor transfer and a mountain train. The Hakone luggage guide covers the lockers and the same-day delivery to Hakone hotels from the Hakone-Yumoto counter.

Pass and tours

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Frequently asked questions

Is there a direct train from Odawara to Gora?

No. Trains from Odawara end at Hakone-Yumoto, where the mountain section begins; cross the platform there for the Gora train. The Odawara to Hakone-Yumoto track carries Odakyu trains as well, which is why the gate at Odawara is shared.

Can I use a Suica or PASMO card on the train and the bus?

Yes, on both. On the Tozan Train tap at the gates. On the Hakone Tozan Bus touch the reader by the numbered-ticket machine when you board and again when you get off. Izuhakone buses take the same cards but no credit cards.

Does the Hakone Freepass work on the bus from bay 5?

No. Bay 5 is Izuhakone Bus. Its own pass, the Hakone Bus Free, costs ¥3,500 for a day. With a Freepass, wait for the Hakone Tozan Bus at bay 3 or 4.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-23)

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