I Looked Into Hakone Yutowa

This blog mainly focuses on campsites, but for those days when I decide "let's skip camping and do a staycation instead," I'm also researching accommodation options that could work as a detour destination.

This time, I looked into "Hakone Yutowa," located in the Gora area of Hakone. What got me interested was learning that it has two types of accommodation—Japanese-modern-style guest rooms and a condominium building—and I wanted to see what a place where you can cook your own meals is actually like.

I Looked Into What Kind of Place "Hakone Yutowa" Is

This is a lodging facility located in the Gora area of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. It seems to have a total of 72 rooms: 62 hotel-type rooms split between an East Building and a West Building, plus 10 rooms in a separate condominium building. The concept apparently involves a "Japanese-modern" style combining tatami flooring with Western-style beds, which struck me as a design that lets you enjoy both the calm feel of a Japanese room and the comfort of a proper bed.

Check-in is apparently at 3:00 PM and check-out at 10:00 AM, with early check-in and late check-out available for an extra fee of 2,000 yen per hour. Reservations can apparently be made through the dedicated system on the official website, as well as through major travel booking sites in some cases. As for rates, I came across information suggesting plans starting from 16,800 yen per person (including two meals) for a standard twin room, and from 20,800 yen per person for a condominium room, though I couldn't directly confirm pricing on the official booking system itself, so it's probably best to treat these as rough estimates. There's also apparently a separate bathing tax of 150 yen per person on top of the room rate.

Komorin

Having both a hotel building and a condominium building is nice since you can pick based on your mood or group size. I'm more of an indoor type, so I found myself drawn to the condominium option where you can hole up in the room and cook for yourself.

The Room Types Seem to Be Divided Fairly Finely

The core room type is the Standard Twin Room (48 rooms, roughly 30 square meters, sleeps up to 3), which apparently comes with two beds measuring 120cm by 200cm plus a sofa bed, along with a shower booth and a washlet toilet. There also seem to be Semi-Double Rooms without a bathtub (5 rooms), Superior Twin Room A with a bathtub at roughly 42 square meters (5 rooms), and a single Triple Room on a corner of the East Building's 4th floor with a balcony overlooking the courtyard area with its bonfire feature. I wasn't able to find dedicated pages for Superior Twin Room B or the accessible room, so the details on those remain unclear.

The condominium building has 6 units of Condominium A at roughly 48 square meters, featuring a mini kitchen (microwave, induction cooktop, cooking utensils, and a full set of dishware) along with a bath that has a hot spring view. Condominiums B, C, and D add up to 10 rooms total, and all of them apparently come fully equipped with a kitchen and cooking utensils. Every room, regardless of type, comes with air conditioning, a TV, a refrigerator, free Wi-Fi, a hair dryer, a security safe, and an air purifier. The entire facility is non-smoking, though each building apparently has a designated smoking room.

Checking Out the Communal Bath and Private Bath Facilities

The large communal bath is located on the 2nd floor of the West Building, and the water is apparently a sodium chloride hot spring. The women's bath seems to include an indoor hot spring bath plus a microbubble bath and sauna, while the men's bath includes an indoor hot spring bath, an alternating bath, and a sauna. There's apparently no open-air bath, though, so this might be a point where preferences differ.

There are also two private baths on the 3rd floor of the West Building that guests can use for free for 30 minutes without a reservation. These are also apparently open to day-trip visitors for a fee that varies by day of the week. There seem to be several communal spaces where you can relax outside your room as well, including a library lounge, a spa lounge, and a courtyard area with a foot bath and bonfire pit. Free parking is available for 42 cars, but it's apparently located about 150 meters from the East Building, so if you're driving, expect a bit of a walk. Pets are apparently not allowed.

Nearby Sightseeing and Food Options

I couldn't find a dedicated page for nearby sightseeing or dining on the official website, but based on outside sources, Hakone Gora Park and the Hakone Open-Air Museum both seem to be within walking distance, while the Pola Museum of Art and the Hakone Glass Forest Museum appear to require a short drive. A lot of this distance and travel time information is unverified, so if you actually plan to visit, it might be worth double-checking with a map app beforehand.

Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions

When I checked this location using Rakuten Mobile's official "My Area Connectivity Simulation" tool, the overall rating came back as "C." That could be useful information if you want to check the signal situation before staying. In-room Wi-Fi is apparently free to use, so that would likely be the way to handle connectivity during your stay.

Komorin

Honestly, that C rating is a bit concerning. I use Rakuten Mobile myself, so if I actually stayed here, I think I'd plan around relying on Wi-Fi.

Wrapping Up

Putting it all together, my impression of Hakone Yutowa was that it's a place offering a wide range of ways to stay, letting you choose between Japanese-modern-style guest rooms and a condominium building with a kitchen. There's no open-air bath, but it seems well-equipped with relaxing facilities like the private baths and the foot bath in the courtyard area, and it struck me as a comfortable spot even for someone like me who leans toward staying indoors.

The Rakuten Mobile signal came back rated as "C," so it might be worth checking on the connectivity side of things beforehand to get a clearer picture. If you're curious, you can check it yourself using Rakuten Mobile's official tool, so it might be worth taking a look as a reference when you're considering a stay.

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Related Links

• Official Site