I Looked Into The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko
2026-08-30
This blog isn't just about campsites—I've also been looking into day-use hot springs and accommodations. This time, I'm covering something that falls more into the 'hotel vacation' category. Carrying a tent up into the mountains is great, but sometimes I'm in the mood to just relax while gazing out at Lake Ashinoko.
What got me interested in looking into this was finding out that a luxury resort hotel I'd often seen referred to as 'Hakone Prince' actually goes by the name 'The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko.' It seems like it used to go by a different name, so I decided to check the official website to look into that as well.
The hot spring facility called Hakone Kohan no Yu, which has an open-air bath right in front of Lake Ashinoko, seems to be one of this hotel's biggest draws.
That said, the Rakuten Mobile signal came back as a C rating in this check, which isn't a great result.
I've summed up the details below.
What Kind of Hotel Is The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko?
Apparently this is a resort hotel in the Prince Hotels group, located on the shore of Lake Ashinoko in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. It's made up of a Main Building (East Wing and West Wing) and an Annex, and every room reportedly has free Wi-Fi and wired LAN, so as someone who leans more toward staying indoors, I don't think internet access would be much of a worry.
Check-in is stated in the official FAQ as being from 3:00 PM as a general rule, but I couldn't find any specific mention of the standard checkout time on the official site. Travel agency listings often say 11:00 AM, but since this isn't confirmed officially, it's probably best to treat that as just a reference point.
Reservations can apparently be made through the official site's availability search and booking form, or by phone. It also looks like you can book through major OTAs such as Jalan and Rakuten Travel. As for rates, the plans page doesn't display a flat price—it seems you need to enter your dates and run an availability search to find out. Just for reference, based on prices listed on travel sites, it looks like rates for two people in one room generally start somewhere in the 30,000 yen range, though this seems to vary quite a bit depending on the season and plan.
This is the type of place where you can't find out the rates without running an availability search, which made things a bit tricky for me to look into. If you want to compare carefully, it's probably best to open up several OTAs and compare them side by side.
The Hot Spring With a View of Lake Ashinoko: Hakone Kohan no Yu Caught My Eye
The source is called Ashinokohan Takogawa Onsen, and the water type is a simple thermal spring, said to be effective for neuralgia, joint pain, muscle pain, and the like. What caught my attention most was that there's an open-air bath right in front of Lake Ashinoko, along with an indoor bath, a mist sauna, and a cold-water bath.
The bathing hours are split into two sessions, 6:00 AM to 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM to 11:00 PM, and it's closed in between for cleaning. Unfortunately there's no day-use bathing option—it's reserved exclusively for overnight guests. Towels seem to be provided at the hot spring reception desk, so it looks fine to head over empty-handed.
There are also some clearly defined rules worth knowing ahead of time: guests with tattoos aren't permitted to use the baths, mixed bathing isn't allowed for anyone age 7 or older, and photography and recording are strictly prohibited inside the facility.
Checking Out the Rooms and Restaurants
The rooms are split between the Main Building and the Annex, and the size and occupancy seem to vary quite a bit depending on the room type. Based on what I found, here's the lineup:
- Main Building Suite Room: 76 sqm, capacity of 2, apparently located on the 3rd floor of the East/West Wing.
- Main Building Lake View Twin Room: 38 sqm, capacity of 2–3, and it sounds like you can expect a view of the lake.
- Main Building Forest Twin Room: 38 sqm, capacity of 3, apparently facing the forest side.
- Main Building Double Room: 28 sqm, apparently a compact room with a capacity of 2.
- Annex Superior Twin Room: 40.4 sqm, and it seems like it can accommodate up to 4 people if you use the sofa bed.
As for the total number of rooms, general search results turned up a figure of around 135 rooms, but I couldn't confirm this on the official site. I wasn't able to pin down the exact breakdown this time.
Dining options also seem plentiful, including the buffet restaurant Lakeside Grill on the shore of Lake Ashinoko, the classic French restaurant Le Trianon, and the Japanese restaurant Hakone Nadaman Gaden, said to have been founded in the first year of the Tenpo era. As a rough guide, dinner courses range from around 7,000 yen up to over 10,000 yen, while breakfast plans mostly start around 4,000 yen. There's also apparently a lounge and bar with a fireplace, which seems like a nice touch for anyone who wants to relax outside their room rather than staying cooped up inside.
Looking Into Parking and Access
There's an outdoor parking lot with space for 282 cars, which overnight guests can apparently use for free. For day visitors just using the restaurants or facilities, it looks like there's a fee of around 1,000 to 1,200 yen depending on the season (though apparently it becomes free if you spend over a certain amount within the hotel).
If you're heading there by train and bus, the main route seems to be taking an Izu Hakone Bus from Odawara Station or Hakone-Yumoto Station, and I found information saying it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes from Odawara Station. There's also apparently a free shuttle bus for overnight guests only, running to and from the west exit of Odawara Station, though it requires advance reservation and the official site didn't list the specific departure and arrival times. Since I'm not great at driving myself, just having a shuttle service like this available feels like a relief.
Rakuten Mobile Signal Conditions
When I checked this facility's location using the official my Area Connectivity Simulation tool, the overall rating came back as a 'C.'
Given the location on the shore of Lake Ashinoko, the signal situation might feel different depending on exactly where you are. Since free Wi-Fi is apparently available in every room, you probably won't run into major trouble while staying inside the hotel, but if you're also planning to use your phone while getting around or sightseeing nearby, it's worth keeping this rating in mind too.
Honestly, seeing a C rating gives me a little jolt too. Even with in-house Wi-Fi available, if you're the type who worries about connectivity while out and about, it might be reassuring to check this in advance.
