Experience Luxury and Tradition at Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu: Private Onsen Retreat in the Heart of Japan's Nature

Surrounded by mountains, Hakone is a popular tourist destination where you can easily enjoy nature while being within day-trip distance from Tokyo. It also has numerous tourist attractions including historic shrines, art museums, sightseeing boats, and ropeways, making it bustling with visitors on both weekdays and weekends.

Did you know that Hakone is also famous as a hot spring resort with various natural springs, with accommodation facilities scattered throughout where you can fully enjoy hot springs? The soothing hot springs provide deep relaxation from the bottom of your heart, and you'll find yourself soaking longer than expected!

This time, we'll introduce the ryokan "Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu," which boasts one of Hakone's most luxurious experiences and enjoys tremendous popularity among tourists.

Magical Trip's tour earned Tripadvisor's 'Best of the Best' award

Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu is an Exquisite Ryokan in Kowakudani with Open-Air Baths in Every Room

Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu is an exquisite ryokan located in Kowakudani where every room features an open-air bath using Kowakudani hot spring water. Since opening in 2017, it has been providing services focused on rest and recovery to heal both mind and body, with the concept of "nature and Japanese hospitality."

In addition to the open-air baths in guest rooms, you can also enjoy open-air baths at two different types of large public baths within the facility. "UKIGUMO" offers an infinity hot spring where the open-air bath and sky blend into the spectacular scenery of Hakone's outer rim mountains (a hot spring where the edge of the bathtub appears to merge seamlessly with the landscape), while "KURUMAZAWA" allows you to enjoy bathing while being healed by negative ions from the waterfall flowing right in front of you.

Detailed Explanation of Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu's Attractions, Including Their Special Features

Every Room Has an Open-Air Bath, Allowing Blissful Time with Family or Loved Ones

From here, we'll explain in detail the three attractions of Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu, including their special features. These are attractions you can only experience here, and you'll want to make a reservation immediately!

The first attraction is that every room has an open-air bath, allowing you to spend blissful time with family or loved ones in your room. Since you don't need to worry about others' eyes, you can enjoy bathing with a sense of privacy. Unlike the large public baths that have time restrictions, you can also enjoy the hot springs at your preferred timing, whether early morning or late at night, which is another attractive point.

I enjoyed the hot springs at various times, and I liked the early morning bath the most. Taking a hot spring bath while basking in the sunrise was a luxurious experience that remains so vividly in my memory that I can still recall it clearly today.

Since this is an experience you rarely get in daily life, please try getting up early and giving it a challenge.

Experience the Ultimate Stay with Exquisite Service and Exquisite Cuisine

The second attraction is experiencing the ultimate stay with exquisite service and exquisite cuisine. There are four restaurants available:

・Dining Hakone
・Teppanyaki・Shabu-shabu Geihinkan
・Soba Kihinkan
・Library Lounge

I used "Dining Hakone" where you can enjoy a buffet. With over 50 varieties of menu items using premium ingredients like sea urchin and salmon roe, you'll be overwhelmed by the choices.

My recommendation is the sushi ordered from the live kitchen where the chef prepares it after you order. The toppings are thick and the freshly made sushi has an exquisite taste - I had seconds three times!

You can receive attentive service at any restaurant, so you'll be able to spend highly satisfying meal times.

Multiple Room and Open-Air Bath Types Available, Allowing You to Stay in a Guest Room That Matches Your Preferences

The third attraction is that multiple room and open-air bath types are available, allowing you to stay in a guest room that matches your preferences. There are three main room types:

・Standard rooms (ravine side・outer rim mountain side)
・Top floor rooms
・Special rooms

From the standard "standard rooms" to the "top floor rooms" with high ceilings and open spaces, to the luxurious "special rooms," there are guest rooms available where you can fully enjoy your Hakone experience. Each has a different concept, making it easy to choose according to your purpose and group size.

Room introductions will be explained in detail in the next section.

Introduction of Various Guest Rooms Available at Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu by Type!

From here, we'll introduce the various guest rooms available at Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu by type. The rooms are filled with thoughtful touches designed for guests' comfort.

Japanese-Style Rooms with Beds

In Japanese-style rooms with beds, beds are placed on tatami (traditional Japanese flooring material) essential to Japanese rooms, so you can enjoy the benefits of both Japanese and Western-style rooms. In typical tatami rooms, you generally need to lay out futon (Japanese-specific bedding) when sleeping, but since beds are provided, you can lie down immediately, which is convenient.

Tatami also has moderate elasticity and a texture that feels good on your feet, so you can feel relaxing effects just by walking barefoot on it. Tatami is comfortable whether you sit directly on it or lie down, so please try lying down on the tatami during short breaks. You'll be freed from daily busyness and feel peaceful.

Traditional Japanese-Style Rooms Where You Can Also Relax on the Floor

Traditional Japanese-style rooms where you can also relax on the floor are also available and are popular among tourists who usually live more on floors, as they find them comfortable.

Even though the floor level is low, the tasteful Japanese-style interior and shoji (traditional Japanese sliding doors made by stretching shoji paper over a framework with crosspieces - a uniquely Japanese architectural feature) evoke Japanese traditional culture, allowing you to spend relaxing time while feeling the Japanese spirit.

The substantial chairs placed on the floor have excellent seating comfort and are reputed to make you not want to get up once you sit down. Sometimes, try putting your smartphone on the desk, leaning back in the chair, and spending relaxing time gazing at the scenery.

Top Floor Guest Rooms Combining Open Spaces with Wonderful Views

In the top floor guest rooms that combine open spaces with wonderful views, you'll experience unprecedented comfort. With higher ceilings than standard types, these rooms take advantage of the top floor's height, offering spectacular Hakone views from anywhere, which is another attractive point.

What deserves attention in the top floor rooms is the "ikoi" (rest) space created behind the beds. The "ikoi" with tatami flooring has cushioned benches placed there, creating a hideaway-like atmosphere that receives favorable reviews.

Why not spend your own personal time sitting on the bench while listening to your favorite music or reading a book you've been working on?

There are also special guest rooms limited to 6 rooms, named after places in Hakone!

There are special guest rooms limited to 6 rooms, named after places in Hakone. Divided into themes of "era × culture" and "nature × seasons" with 3 rooms each, you can enjoy spaces with different atmospheres.

Miyanoshita (Meiji Era Style)

Miyanoshita is a room with the concept of "Western Romance of the Meiji Era." It's designed to express the Western longing that people of that time held, characterized by a Western-style room base with Japanese essence incorporated here and there.

In the spacious guest room, Hakone yosegi-zaiku (a traditional Hakone craft that creates geometric patterns by combining different colored woods) flooring is used, and you can view the great nature through large windows, allowing you to fully enjoy the essence of Hakone.

It's also noteworthy that there's a space for foot baths in the outdoor open-air bath. Since foot baths allow you to bathe with just your legs below the knees, you can casually enjoy hot springs during rest breaks between sightseeing.

Owakudani (Image of Magnificent Nature)

Owakudani is a room with the concept of "magnificent nature." The room features many brown-based interior decorations, along with naguri-processed flooring (a traditional Japanese processing technique that intentionally creates unevenness on wood surfaces), a rough rock bath reminiscent of Owakudani, and a private garden where you can experience Hakone's "magnificent nature," which has earned a good reputation.

If you stay in Owakudani, we definitely want you to use the three wave speakers that are specially installed only in Owakudani. Wave speakers allow you to enjoy music with a sense of presence, so please try playing your favorite music for an ultimate relaxation time.

Kowakudani (Taisho Era Style)

Kowakudani is a room with a modern atmosphere that takes pride in its concept of "Taisho Romance" (a unique atmosphere and culture that became popular in Japan, fusing Western culture with traditional Japanese culture).

At the room's entrance, wallpaper featuring camellias designed by Takeshita Yumej, a representative painter of the Taisho era, is used. Additionally, ichimatsu patterns (traditional Japanese patterns with squares arranged like a go board) are applied to the interior wallpaper and garden floor stones, allowing you to experience the "haikara" (imitating Western dress and lifestyle) of that time.

The room design, which evokes the founding days of Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu, has a gorgeous quality and is a room we'd like to recommend to women.

Access to Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu

Address: 1297 Ninotaira, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
Access: Take the Izu Hakone Bus from Hakone-Yumoto Station and get off at Ten-yu Station, immediately nearby
Official website: https://www.ten-yu.com/

Recommended Tourist Attractions Around Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu Explained by a Writer Who Frequently Visits Hakone

Here, I'll explain the recommended tourist attractions around Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu as someone who frequently visits Hakone. These are all famous spots packed with attractions!

Okada Museum of Art

The Okada Museum of Art is a museum that permanently displays approximately 450 works from a wide range of genres, including ceramics, Buddhist statues, and Buddhist paintings, spanning from ancient times to the present, with a focus on Japan, China, and Korea. The exhibition rooms are designed with floors, walls, and ceilings unified in black, and the lighting is dimmed to effectively showcase these valuable works.

Beyond appreciating historical works, you can also enjoy strolling through gardens designed with the concept of "~Spring Water and Vitality of Trees~ Garden Space Where You Can Feel Nature's Blessings," relaxing at the foot bath café, and shopping at the museum shop, allowing you to fully enjoy the world of art from various perspectives.

〈Store Information〉
Address: 493-1 Kowakudani, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
Business Hours: 9:00-17:00
Regular Holiday: Irregular holidays
Phone Number: 0460-87-3931
Official Website: http://www.okada-museum.com/

Hakone Kowakien Horai-en Garden

Hakone Kowakien Horai-en Garden is a historic Japanese garden opened in the Taisho era by the founder of Kowakuen Onsen Mikawaya Ryokan. The approximately 5,000-tsubo garden has about 30 varieties and thousands of azalea plants, making it known as one of Hakone's premier azalea viewing spots. I once visited during peak azalea bloom and was captivated by the vibrant contrast of the azaleas' bright pink, red, and white colors against the green leaves, losing track of time as I gazed at them.

The garden offers not only azaleas but also cherry blossoms in spring and autumn foliage in fall. From mid-June to early July, firefly viewing tours are also held. Why not stroll through the garden and enjoy the seasonal natural scenery throughout the four seasons?

〈Store Information〉
Address: 503 Kowakudani, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
Business Hours: 24 hours
Regular Holiday: None
Phone Number: 0460-85-0261
Official Website: https://www.hakone.or.jp/7478

Hakone Kowakien Yunessun

Hakone Kowakien Yunessun is a hot spring theme park where you can enjoy a variety of hot springs, baths, and pools while wearing swimwear.

Indoors, there's Japan's first coffee bath made by low-temperature extraction of coffee with hot spring water, a flowing pool, and outdoors there are water slides and open-air baths with stunning views. It's popular with families. The most popular facility is the water slide "Rocky's Splash," which just opened in 2025. "Rocky's Splash" consists of two courses: the "Boshatto Line" where you can enjoy Hakone's scenery and the "Colorful Line" where you pass through rings of light, offering a new sensation slider experience.

There are also saunas and rest areas, so you can definitely enjoy a full day of fun!

〈Store Information〉
Address: 1297 Ninotaira, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
Business Hours: 10:00-18:00
Regular Holiday: Irregular holidays
Phone Number: 0465-22-5489
Official Website: https://www.yunessun.com/

For Those Looking for a Kowakudani Hotel Where You Can Relax All Day, "Hakone Hotel Kowakien" is Also Recommended!

For those looking for a hotel in Kowakudani where you can relax all day, "Hakone Hotel Kowakien" is also recommended. "Hakone Hotel Kowakien" is a hotel that just reopened in 2023 with the concept of "a hotel where you can experience hot springs, nature, and dining in unity with Yunessun."

At the hotel, you can bathe while enjoying Hakone's spectacular views from the open-air bath on the top floor (which is rare in Hakone), stroll through well-maintained Japanese gardens, and enjoy exquisite cuisine at the buffet. The facilities within the hotel alone are so enriching that you won't get bored.

Inside the hotel, children can play in dedicated play spaces, and in summer, outdoor pools and splash pools are available, making it comfortable for families with children as well.