Guide · When to go

Best time to visit Hakone: flowers, leaves and quiet months

The best time to visit Hakone depends on what you want to see. Here is the year month by month: flowers, colours, rain, temperatures and the dates the crowds come.

Check availabilityfrom $50 · free to cancel

Editorial team, hakone-tour.comUpdated October 22, 2026about 6 min to read22 sources

The tour this guide is about Day tour from Tokyo to Hakone and the Fuji lakes 4.9 (872 reviews) 1 dayOne-way Hakone Ropeway ticket includedGuide in English and Chinese from$50per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01For colour: Fall colours run early October to early December.¹
02For flowers: Cherry late March to early April; hydrangeas late May to late July.² ³
03Wettest: June to October bring the most rain at the Hakone station.⁴
04Avoid: Golden Week, Obon from 10 to 16 August, peak leaf weekends.⁵ ⁶
05Quietest: Winter, with snowy days and hot baths at their best.⁷

Hakone through the year

There is no single best time to visit Hakone, because the valley changes so much from season to season. Odakyu Hakone counts spring as March to May, summer as June to August, fall as September to November and winter as December to February, and each brings its own flowers, colours and crowds.⁸

Height matters as much as the calendar. Odakyu Hakone gives average temperatures for the Hakone-Yumoto area of 15°C in spring, 25°C in summer, 15°C in fall and 7°C in winter, and notes that Lake Ashi and Owakudani are usually 3 to 4°C cooler.⁹ The temperatures in the table on this page come from Odawara at the foot of the mountains, so expect the upper valley to be colder.

Rain is the other constant. The Japan Meteorological Agency's normals for its Hakone station, high in the caldera, count 16 rainy days of 1 mm or more in June and 15 in September.⁴ Plan an indoor fallback for wet days, such as a museum or a long bath. Mountain weather can change quickly, so a wet morning can still turn into a clear afternoon at the top of the valley.¹⁰

A year of colour

What blooms when in Hakone

Late Mar to early Apr

Cherry blossom

Blossom moves from Yumoto up to the lake.²
Early Apr to late May

Azaleas

Gardens and hillsides in flower.¹¹
Late May to late Jul

Hydrangeas

Along the railway around mid-June.³ ¹²
Early Sep to early Nov

Silver grass

The Sengokuhara plains turn gold.¹³ ¹⁴
Early Oct to early Dec

Fall colours

Leaves are best viewed in November.¹ ¹⁵
Winter

Snow and lights

Snowy days and illuminated areas.⁷

Spring: cherry blossom and azaleas

Cherry blossoms reach Hakone from late March to early April, and azaleas follow from early April to late May.² ¹¹ The blossom moves uphill with the warmth, so trees by the lake can still be in flower when those in Yumoto have finished.

Spring days are mild, but Odakyu Hakone warns that early mornings and evenings are cold and recommends long sleeves and a cardigan.¹⁶ At Odawara the average daily high in April is 18.9°C and the low 9.2°C; up in the mountains it is colder.⁴

Spring is one of the ideal hiking seasons, according to the Hakone Tourist Association, which makes it a good time for the old Tokaido road.¹⁰ The main thing to avoid is Golden Week, from late April to early May, when Odakyu Hakone expects Hakone to be crowded.⁵ Outside that week, spring weekdays are a pleasant time to walk, with fresh green leaves and long, bright afternoons.

Month by month

Darkness and rainy days in Hakone

Hours without sunDays with precipitationSeason

Bars give the sunless hours at mid-month, a figure we work out ourselves; the line counts rainy days of 1 mm or more at the Japan Meteorological Agency's Hakone station, 1991 to 2020.⁴

Climate

Temperatures, rain and daylight by month

Month	Daylight (h)	Darkness (h)	High / low	Wet days	In Hakone
Jan	10	14	11 / 1 °C	8	Snowy days possible
Feb	10.9	13.1	11 / 1 °C	9	Snowy days possible
Mar	11.9	12.1	14 / 4 °C	13	Cherry blossom, late
Apr	13	11	19 / 9 °C	13	Cherry, azaleas
May	14	10	23 / 14 °C	13	Azaleas, hydrangeas
Jun	14.5	9.5	25 / 18 °C	16	Hydrangeas
Jul	14.3	9.7	29 / 22 °C	16	Hydrangeas
Aug	13.5	10.5	31 / 23 °C	13	Obon crowds
Sep	12.5	11.5	27 / 20 °C	15	Silver grass
Oct	11.4	12.6	22 / 14 °C	13	Silver grass, colour
Nov	10.3	13.7	17 / 8 °C	10	Fall colours peak
Dec	9.8	14.2	13 / 3 °C	7	Snowy days possible

Highs and lows are Japan Meteorological Agency normals for Odawara at the foot of the mountains, rainy days of 1 mm or more are for its Hakone station at 855 m, 1991 to 2020; Gora and the lake run cooler, and we work out the day length ourselves.⁴ Season according to Odakyu Hakone.⁸

Pick your season

Spring, summer or autumn

Flowers

Spring

March to May

Cherry: Late Mar to early Apr
Azaleas: Early Apr to late May
Avoid: Golden Week

See the months

Hydrangeas

Early summer

June and July

Hydrangeas: Late May to late Jul
Rain: 16 days in June
Air: Cooler than Tokyo

See the months

Leaves

Autumn

September to November

Fall colours: Early Oct to early Dec
Best: November
Grass: Silver grass to early Nov

See the months

Decision helper

Which month suits you?

Pick what you most want from Hakone

I want autumn colour I want cherry blossom I want hydrangeas on the railway I want the fewest people I want to hike

November

Odakyu Hakone calls it the best month for the leaves.¹⁵

Late March to early April

That is when the blossoms reach the Hakone valley.²

Mid-June

When the line is known as the Hydrangea Railway.¹²

Winter weekdays

Avoid Golden Week, Obon and the November leaves.⁵ ⁶ ¹⁵

Spring or autumn

The Hakone Tourist Association names both as ideal.¹⁰

However, Lake Ashi and the Owakudani area have high elevations and are usually around 3-4℃ lower.

Odakyu Hakone (hakonenavi)Source 9

Early summer: hydrangeas and rain

Hydrangea season in Hakone runs from late May to late July.³ Along the Hakone Tozan Railway they bloom around mid-June, when the line is nicknamed the Hydrangea Railway, and at Amidaji temple above Tonosawa from late June to mid July.¹² ¹⁷

This is also the stretch with the most rainy days. At the Hakone station, June brings 420.4 mm of rain over 16 rainy days, and July 425.3 mm over 16.⁴ Hydrangeas love rain, and a misty day on the mountain railway can be lovely, but views of Fuji are rare and paths are slippery.

Summer temperatures in Hakone are lower than in Tokyo, which is why the area grew as a summer retreat.¹⁸ At Odawara the average daily high is 29°C in July and 30.6°C in August; the mountains above are cooler.⁴ Obon, from 10 to 16 August, is one of the busiest weeks of the year.⁶

Checklist

What to wear by season

Spring and autumn

Long sleeves and a cardigan for mornings
A light rain jacket
Sturdy shoes for wet paths

Summer and winter

Light clothes, a layer for the lake
A thick coat, hat and gloves in winter
Layers: the elevation varies

Video

Exploring Hidden Hakone in Autumn: Stunning Fall Colors Day Trip from Tokyo

Nothing loads until you tap play.

Autumn and Hakone fall foliage

Hakone fall foliage runs from early October to early December, and Odakyu Hakone says the scenery is best in November, when many people visit for the leaves.¹ ¹⁵ The colour starts high on the mountains and works its way down to Yumoto, so you can follow it downhill over a few weeks. Gardens such as Gora Park and the moss garden of the Hakone Museum of Art add maples to the mix, which makes the Gora area a good base in the season.

Silver grass is the other autumn sight, from early September to early November.¹³ The Sengokuhara silver grass plains are among the best in the Kanto region and one of the scenes that define autumn in Hakone.¹⁴ Hiking is at its best now too: autumn is the other ideal hiking season.¹⁰

September is still wet, with 448.7 mm of rain at the Hakone station, the highest monthly total in its normals, while November drops to 197.1 mm.⁴ On 3 November the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu procession fills Yumoto, a good reason to time a visit if you like festivals.¹⁹

Hakone in winter

Hakone in winter is quieter, colder and, on a clear day, at its most atmospheric. Odakyu Hakone notes there are snowy days in winter and that several areas are illuminated.⁷ It advises a thick coat, with layers because the elevation varies from place to place.²⁰

At Odawara the average daily high in January is 10.6°C and the low 0.6°C; at Lake Ashi and Owakudani it is colder still.⁴ ⁹ Rain is lowest in winter, with 7 rainy days in December and 8 in January at the Hakone station.⁴

Winter is the season for hot springs. An outdoor bath with cold air on your face is one of the great pleasures of a Japanese winter, and Hakone's ryokan are made for it. Note the Hakone Ekiden relay on 2 and 3 January, when traffic is restricted in some areas.²¹ ²²

Crowds, holidays and the day tour

If you can choose your dates, avoid the peaks. Odakyu Hakone forecasts crowds for Golden Week from late April to early May, Obon from 10 to 16 August, and the autumn leaves in November.⁵ ⁶ ¹⁵ Weekdays outside those weeks are far easier.

The coach tour this site sells adds its own warnings. It lists 8 to 16 August 2026 as peak holiday season with frequent traffic jams and asks guests not to book dinners, flights or shinkansen trains on the tour day. On weekends and public holidays its route and stop times may change with traffic or early closures.

Winter brings a different change: the torii of Hakone Shrine is closed from 29 December to 10 February, and in that period the tour gives the extra time to the shrine itself. Mount Fuji views are never guaranteed in any month, as the listing says plainly.

So when should you go?

For flowers and mild weather, go in spring, outside Golden Week. For the most colour, go in November, early in the week. For hydrangeas and the mountain railway at its prettiest, go in mid-June and accept some rain. For quiet, hot baths and crisp air, go in winter.

Whatever the month, plan around the weather rather than against it. Keep a flexible day, start early, and have a museum, a bath or a ryokan dinner as your rainy-day plan. Hakone is at its best when you give it time to clear. Even on a grey day the forests, temples and baths reward a visit, so do not write off a cloudy morning.

If you only have one day, any season works for the coach tour, which runs the famous upper loop and returns you to Tokyo the same evening. Book it with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and you can still change plans if the forecast turns.

Your Hakone day