7 Recommended Onsen Ryokan in Hakone’s Gora Area

Table of Contents

1. Features of Gora Onsen

2. Toki no Yu Setsugetsuka

3. Merveille Hakone Gora

4. Tensui Saryo

5. Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora

6. Hakone Yutowa

7. Hotel Paipu no Kemuri Plus

8. Yutorelo-an

The development of Gora Onsen began during the Meiji era. In addition to drawing water from the Sounzan hot spring sources (known as “hells”), successful drilling after World War II led to the expansion of the area’s hot spring supply.

As of January 2024, Gora Onsen has 46 hot spring sources, categorized into three different types of water.

Gora is often called the “five-colored pastel onsen” because of the varying hues of its waters. Visitors can enjoy a wide range of health benefits just within this area.

After checking in, first change into a samue or a colored yukata. You can choose your favorite color of yukata, which will add a splash of color to your travel memories. The garden, which utilizes the sloped terrain, changes its appearance with each season and soothes the hearts of visitors. There are 158 guest rooms of four types to meet all needs, from individual travelers to groups, and all of them have an open-air bath made of cypress. The bedding consists of generously sized beds, allowing you to spend a relaxing time even inside your room.

The onsen draws from two spring sources: Gora Onsen and Owakudani Gora Onsen. In addition to the large bathhouse with a big open-air bath, the private baths that can be used for free are also appealing. You can choose from two types of dinner, and yonaki soba (nightly noodles) is also prepared as a late-night snack. Enjoy strolling through the prized garden or visiting the spa—there are many ways to have fun. With its location just a one-minute walk from Gora Station, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of the easy access to Hakone’s various attractions.

Warming and soothing the hearts and bodies of its visitors. “Merveille Hakone Gora” is an inn with such a kind concept. The interior is designed with the image of rocks and stones, which is the origin of the name Gora. The inn has a reputation for its many services that allow you to feel the healing power of the Gora earth.

Your relaxation time at “Merveille Hakone Gora” begins the moment you check in. The guest rooms are varied, from standard Western-style rooms to Loft Twins and Suites with private open-air baths. The onsen is a mixed spring from Owakudani and Sounzan, with many benefits including recovery from fatigue, muscle pain, and sensitivity to cold. The grand public bath also has a jet bath, so you can fully refresh from your daily fatigue.

For dinner, depending on the plan, you can choose from two types of kaiseki cuisine or a gozen set meal. Both are creative Japanese cuisine, and the consideration for being able to accommodate allergies for certain ingredients is a nice touch. The medicinal cuisine bar is open almost continuously during check-in hours, where you can enjoy authentic medicinal teas. Before going to bed, have a liqueur or medicinal liquor of your choice that invites a comfortable and deep sleep. In the “AKARI Library,” you can spend a quiet time in a warm light.

Sofas by artisans from Hida Takayama, bamboo lampshades, interiors remade from antique obi sashes, and paintings. “Tensui Saryo” is a hot spring inn where all of Japan’s beauty is studded throughout not only these furnishings but also the meals. Let’s refresh to our heart’s content in a surreal space where you can play with various forms of “Japanese beauty.”

The face of Tensui Saryo, so to speak, is the footbath café & bar “Machi-yoi.” This is the starting point of the surreal experience at Tensui Saryo, and you’ll want to enjoy a footbath and a drink here first. As the inn’s theme is Japanese beauty, the guest rooms in the main building are primarily Japanese-style, while the detached wing has Japanese-Western style rooms. The onsen is mainly the cloudy water of Owakudani, which is also highly effective for beautiful skin, and you can enjoy it free-flowing from the source in the open-air bath of the grand public bath. In the open-air baths of the detached rooms, you can soak in the waters of Kiga Onsen, which has a different water quality.

For meals, let’s also enjoy the live kitchen. The main dish changes with the seasons. The dishes are enhanced by a variety of representative Japanese tableware, such as Kutani and Arita ware. Of course, you can also enjoy the beauty of the carefully selected ingredients themselves. With a full range of healing facilities such as a spa and stone sauna, you are sure to have a fulfilling, extraordinary experience at “Tensui Saryo.”

A modern hideaway in Gora. That is “Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora.” Step into the hotel, and you’ll find a stylish space everywhere. In addition to guestrooms with private onsen baths in every room, this retreat-style accommodation also features a restaurant, fitness center, and thermal spring facilities—offering everything you need for a truly relaxing escape.

Artwork that evokes Hakone’s nature and local culture. These are placed in various parts of the contemporary-style guest rooms, blending in perfectly with the modern rooms to create a unique space. All guest rooms come with an open-air bath where you can enjoy natural hot spring water. At dinner time, enjoy the best entertainment of savoring Hakone in a modern space.

Hotel Indigo does not have a typical gender-separated grand public bath. The thermal spring, which you enter wearing a swimsuit, is a relaxing space with a large screen and couches. With your significant other, or with close friends. Time is likely to fly by in an instant. And pay attention to the inn’s concept of “Neighborhood Story.” The neighborhood map, filled with the wonders of Gora, is a must-see.

A Japanese-modern inn a 5-minute walk from Gora Station. The slightly unusual name “Yutowa” is a fusion of “you” and “wa” (ring/circle). Along with the image of “yu” (hot water), which is typical of Hakone, “Hakone Yutowa” is an inn where you can feel the desire for guests to spend a colorful time.

The 72 guest rooms include hotel types that can accommodate everyone from couples to groups, and condominium types perfect for long-term stays. The hotel type also includes universally designed accessible rooms. The onsen is Ninotaira Onsen, also known as a “beauty-enhancing spring,” and the grand public bath for women has an impressive chic space where colorful light streams in through large and small windows. The therapeutic indications for the water quality include cuts, peripheral circulatory disorders, sensitivity to cold, depressive states, and dry skin, allowing Hakone’s kindness to seep into both mind and body.

Dinner is a half-buffet style where you choose one main dish at your table. The buffet corner features dishes and desserts that can be enjoyed by all generations. There are also various condiments, a welcome service for those who want to add an accent to the flavor. There is also a free-drink corner that includes alcohol. In addition, you can spend a relaxing time in the spa lounge, which has a footbath, or in the library lounge, which houses about 700 books, where you can not only read but also connect a new “ring” of friends by chatting with other travelers. Hakone Yutowa is an inn where your “ring” of connections will greatly expand.

Gora, which has long been developed as a high-end villa area, has many attractions. “Hotel Paipu no Kemuri Plus,” with its excellent access just a 1-minute walk from Gora Station, is an inn where you can enjoy a quality time in Gora at a reasonable price.

The building, with an exterior reminiscent of a mountain lodge, has a chic lobby waiting for you once you step inside. The rooms are functional and spacious Western-style rooms, with three types: twin, triple, and fourth. The baths use Gora Onsen’s sodium chloride spring water, which has the wonderful effect of making your skin smooth, in addition to improving sensitivity to cold and helping with muscle pain and bruises. Private baths are also available.

Dinner is a buffet style, with 40 kinds of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes and desserts. Among them, the roast beef is very well-regarded and is a dish highly recommended by the hotel. All-you-can-drink draft beer and wine are also available, so you can have a lively and enjoyable time. The delicious croissants served for breakfast are also a charm. Providing resort-hotel quality service at a reasonable price. That is what “Hotel Paipu no Kemuri Plus” achieves.

Take the cable car three stops from Gora Station, and you will be in Naka-Gora, also known as the inner parlor of Gora. Get off on the left side and walk for about 2 minutes in the quiet atmosphere, and you will find the Japanese-modern onsen inn “Yutorelo-an.”

The guest rooms boast eight variations, from the special room with an open-air bath on the top floor to compact and functional Western-style twin or Japanese-style rooms. The onsen, also known as a “beauty-enhancing spring,” is also great because it helps you stay warm after bathing. The chloride spring, a blend of two hot springs from Kami-Gora and Sounzan, is also known for its high healing power for wounds. “Yutorelo-an” is equipped with four private open-air baths, where couples and groups can spend special time together.

After your bath, enjoy the view from the window in the relaxation space. There are many deciduous trees around “Yutorelo-an,” and the beauty of the fresh green in spring and the autumn leaves season is exceptional. The dinner, where you can enjoy kaiseki cuisine using seasonal ingredients, is of course a highlight, but the breakfast, with its focus on local production for local consumption, is also something to look forward to. Some ingredients can be handled for allergies, so it’s a good idea to inquire in advance.

Gora, which began its development as a high-grade villa area, is now the second largest onsen area in Hakone after Yumoto. Gora, which was loved by many political and financial figures, as well as cultural figures, has many museums and no shortage of attractions, such as the “Hakone Gora Park,” which was the first French-style garden in Japan.

Such is the variety of onsen inns in the Gora area. You are sure to find an inn that is a perfect fit for your wishes.

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