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Yokohama to Hakone by Train: Tokaido Line or Shinkansen, the Change at Odawara, and the Freepass Sold at Odawara (2026)

Updated 2026-10-26

No train runs from Yokohama into Hakone. Every route goes through Odawara, and the choice is how to get there. From Yokohama Station, a JR Tokaido Line or Shonan-Shinjuku Line train bound for Odawara does it in about 55 minutes with no change. From Shin-Yokohama, the Tokaido Shinkansen does it in 15 minutes for ¥1,980, but you first need the subway or the Yokohama Line to reach that station. At Odawara the Hakone Tozan Train takes you on to Hakone-Yumoto, 15 minutes, ¥360, and the ticket office there sells the Hakone Freepass from Odawara, ¥6,000, the version Yokohama visitors want. Unless your hotel is next to Shin-Yokohama, the slow train wins: it leaves from the station you are already in and saves you a change. Minutes come from the Kanagawa prefecture's tourism site, fares from JR Central, Yokohama City and Odakyu, all read 2026-10-26. JR East's fare pages block our checker, so the one JR East fare on this page is the one you pay at the gate.

Route map from Yokohama to Hakone. JR Tokaido Line or Shonan-Shinjuku Line from Yokohama Station to Odawara, about 55 minutes, fare paid at the gate. Or the Blue Line subway from Yokohama to Shin-Yokohama, 250 yen, 11 minutes, then the Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama or Hikari to Odawara, 15 minutes, 1,980 yen adult and 980 yen child. From Odawara the Hakone Tozan Train to Hakone-Yumoto, 15 minutes, 360 yen adult and 180 yen child. Odakyu's highway bus from Yokohama Station YCAT stop 5, 2,300 yen, ends at Gotemba Station since 1 April 2026 and no longer enters Hakone.
Dashed blue is the slow JR train, the one circled. Solid blue is the Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama. Red is the Hakone Tozan Train past Odawara.

Two ways to Odawara

From Train Minutes Adult fare Changes before Odawara
Yokohama Station JR Tokaido Line or Shonan-Shinjuku Line, bound for Odawara about 55 at the gate (IC card) none
Shin-Yokohama Tokaido Shinkansen, Kodama or some Hikari 15 ¥1,980 (child ¥980) none, but Shin-Yokohama is 11 minutes from Yokohama by subway

What the Shinkansen buys you

Riding time from Yokohama Station to Hakone-Yumoto:

Ticket table of three ways from Yokohama to Hakone-Yumoto. JR Tokaido Line to Odawara, about 55 minutes, fare at the gate, plus the Hakone Tozan Train, 15 minutes, 360 yen: about 70 minutes of riding with one change. Blue Line subway to Shin-Yokohama 11 minutes 250 yen, Tokaido Shinkansen to Odawara 15 minutes 1,980 yen, Tozan Train 15 minutes 360 yen: 2,590 yen and 41 minutes of riding with two changes. Odakyu highway bus from Yokohama Station YCAT 2,300 yen ends at Gotemba Station since 1 April 2026 and does not reach Hakone. Past Odawara, the 2-day Hakone Freepass sold at Odawara is 6,000 yen adult and 1,500 yen child; the full loop in single tickets is 6,520 yen.
Half an hour of riding is the whole prize. Two changes with luggage eat most of it, which is why the first row is circled.

The Shinkansen saves about half an hour of sitting and adds a change at Shin-Yokohama, where you walk from the subway up to the Shinkansen gates and buy a ticket. On a day trip with a morning start I take the Tokaido Line and spend the fare difference on the Romancecar seat from Odawara, ¥200. The Shinkansen makes sense for two groups: people staying at a hotel by Shin-Yokohama Station, and Japan Rail Pass holders, for whom the fare is already paid.

From Odawara into Hakone

Odawara is where the JR part ends. The Hakone Tozan Train leaves from platforms 7 and 11 behind the Odakyu gate: 15 minutes to Hakone-Yumoto, ¥360 (child ¥180). The Romancecar covers the same stretch in a reserved seat for ¥200 more, sold on the platform when seats remain. Buses to Lake Ashi go from the east exit. Platforms, bus bays and every fare from the station are in Odawara to Hakone.

Buy the Freepass at Odawara, not before

The Hakone Freepass from Odawara costs ¥6,000 for 2 days (child ¥1,500) or ¥6,400 for 3 days (child ¥1,750). It covers the Tozan Train, cable car, ropeway, the Lake Ashi boats and the Tozan buses, but not the JR trains from Yokohama; the Shinjuku version at ¥7,100 adds an Odakyu round trip you cannot use from Yokohama, so skip it. The day you buy it counts as day one, and a day tripper still buys the 2-day pass because there is no 1-day version.

Does it pay on one day? The classic loop (Tozan Train, cable car, ropeway, cruise, bus back to Odawara) costs ¥6,520 in single tickets, so the pass saves ¥520 on a full loop and loses money on anything shorter. The leg-by-leg sums are in Is the Hakone Freepass worth it? and you can test your own plan in the Hakone Freepass calculator.

Is there a bus from Yokohama to Hakone?

Not any more. Odakyu's Haneda Airport / Yokohama – Gotemba / Hakone line used to continue from Gotemba to Togendai on Lake Ashi. Since the 1 April 2026 timetable change every bus on that line starts and ends at Gotemba, and the Gotemba to Togendai section is suspended. From Yokohama Station (YCAT bus stop 5) the fare to Gotemba Station is ¥2,300 (child ¥1,150). Gotemba is on the far side of the mountains from Odawara, so for Hakone the bus now means a bus, then another bus. Take the train.

Japan Rail Pass holders

The pass is a product of the six JR companies, so it covers the Tokaido Line from Yokohama and the Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama (Kodama and Hikari; the pass does not cover Nozomi in any case). It does not cover the Blue Line subway, the Hakone Tozan Train or anything else past Odawara. With the pass, the Shinkansen route costs ¥250 for the subway and ¥360 for the Tozan Train, and the pass makes the fast train the obvious choice.

What I would do

Booking the day

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How long the loop itself takes and where to start it is in the Hakone day trip itinerary. Costs for the whole day from Tokyo, pass included, are in Hakone day trip from Tokyo: cost and route; from Yokohama, replace the Odakyu fares there with the JR fare from this page.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Hakone from Yokohama?

About 55 minutes by JR train from Yokohama Station to Odawara, then 15 minutes on the Hakone Tozan Train to Hakone-Yumoto. Allow about an hour and a half door to door with the change.

Can I take the bullet train from Yokohama to Hakone?

From Shin-Yokohama, yes: Kodama and some Hikari trains reach Odawara in 15 minutes for ¥1,980 in a non-reserved seat. Yokohama Station itself has no Shinkansen platform, so add 11 minutes and ¥250 on the Blue Line subway first.

Is there a direct bus from Yokohama to Hakone?

No. Odakyu's bus from Yokohama Station (YCAT) has ended at Gotemba since 1 April 2026 and no longer runs to Togendai. The train through Odawara is the way.

Which Hakone Freepass should I buy from Yokohama?

The one sold at Odawara: ¥6,000 for 2 days, child ¥1,500. The ¥7,100 Shinjuku version includes an Odakyu round trip from Shinjuku that a Yokohama traveller never rides.

What do children pay?

Children aged 6 to 11 pay half on JR, half on the Blue Line subway, ¥980 on the Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama to Odawara, ¥180 on the Tozan Train to Hakone-Yumoto, and ¥1,500 for the 2-day Freepass from Odawara. Odakyu rounds child fares up to the next ¥10.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-26)

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