I Looked Into Gora Kasen

On this blog, I've been looking into various places to stop by whenever I get in the mood to skip camping and go for a "hokans" (hotel + vacance) stay instead. This time, I'm continuing that series with another writeup.

This time I looked into Gora Kasen, a long-established ryokan in Gora, Hakone. I came across mention of guests riding a private inclined elevator up to the inn, and I got curious about how exactly you get from the cable car station to the ryokan, so I decided to dig into it.

The Inn You Reach via a Private Inclined Elevator from Sounzan Station

Apparently, Gora Kasen is a ryokan located up on a hillside in the Gora area of Hakone Town, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture. As for access, it seems there's a route where you take the Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Sounzan Station, then ride the ryokan's own private inclined elevator up to the inn. Rather than a standard elevator that goes straight up, it appears to be the type that moves along a slope, and the entrance seems to be located past the parking lot as you exit the station building. I couldn't confirm the operating hours or how frequently it runs on the official website, but being able to transfer straight from the station up to a hilltop inn felt like it gives the approach a bit of a special feel.

There also seems to be a free shuttle service from Gora Station, apparently running from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM for pickups and from 9:15 AM onward for drop-offs. That said, there are a few things worth confirming in advance, such as apparently needing to call the ryokan after arriving, or possibly having to share the ride with other guests. Access by car is also possible, with a free parking lot in front of the entrance for up to 15 vehicles, apparently. The slope at the entrance seems fairly steep, so if you're driving a low-clearance car, it might be worth being a little careful.

Open-Air Baths in Every Room, Plus Plenty of Amenities for Indoor Types

The guest rooms apparently come in five types across 20 rooms total: special rooms, semi-special rooms, bed-style rooms, and Japanese-style rooms. And it seems like a major feature of this inn is that every single room comes with its own open-air bath fed by a private hot spring source (a sodium bicarbonate spring). Even on a day when all you want to do is stay in your room and soak in the hot spring, this place seems like it would satisfy that pretty fully.

• Room types: five categories total across 20 rooms — Special Rooms (82㎡ and 75㎡), Semi-Special Rooms (62㎡, with a deck-style open-air bath), Bed-Style Rooms (36㎡), and Japanese-Style Rooms (36㎡)
• Large communal bath (the name is written slightly differently across sources, roughly "Sounkakurezato no Yu"): apparently equipped with two open-air baths each for men and women, including a rock bath, with a calcium-sodium-magnesium sulfate-bicarbonate spring at a water temperature of around 49.3°C
• In-house facilities: apparently include a lounge with a single-slab counter made from ancient buried zelkova wood, a lobby with a traditional sunken hearth, an esthetic salon, and a shop selling items like Yosegi marquetry crafts
• Wi-Fi: free in all guest rooms and the lobby, apparently. However, there's no wired LAN, and there was also a note saying individual support isn't provided for connection issues
• Meals: Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine is served in a dedicated dining area divided into private rooms, and breakfast is apparently a colorful Japanese-style spread

The inn is connected by tatami-floored corridors, and it seems designed so you can walk barefoot from your room to the dining area and the large communal bath. Being able to go the whole stay without wearing shoes might be a nice point for indoor types like myself. That said, I couldn't find any mention on the official website about whether private baths are available or whether the large communal bath has an indoor section, so I wasn't able to confirm those details. If you're curious, it's probably worth asking when you make a reservation.

Komorin

Hearing that every room has its own open-air bath, this looks like a pretty ideal inn for someone like me who doesn't want to leave the room. I also kind of want to try that inclined elevator at least once.

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

When I checked the location of this facility using the official "My Area Connectivity Simulation" tool, the overall rating came back as a "C."

Being up on a hillside in Gora may be a factor, but it seems fair to say the signal reception here isn't exactly great. The ryokan's phone contact info even included a note saying connections aren't possible from areas shown as out of range, so it seems like this whole area might have some unevenness in signal coverage. If you're the type who wants to stay reachable for work during your stay, it's probably reassuring to check the signal on your own device beforehand.

Komorin

Honestly, getting a C rating is a bit concerning. Even if I plan not to look at my phone much during a hokans stay, I'm the type who gets uneasy once I actually can't get signal, so personally I think I'd check in advance before heading there.

Wrapping Up

To sum it up again, Gora Kasen struck me as an inn with a real sense of specialness — every room has its own open-air bath fed by a private hot spring source, and you ride a private inclined elevator up to reach it. The inside is also connected by tatami-floored corridors, so it looks like a place where you could settle in comfortably even if you don't want to leave your room much.

On the other hand, the Rakuten Mobile signal came back as a C rating, so that's probably worth keeping in mind beforehand. If you're concerned about it, you can check using the official Rakuten Mobile tool, so it might be reassuring to take a look before you head out.

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Related Links

• Official Site