Ashikari

About Ashikari

Ashikari has been a kaiseki inn for about eighty years. It sits on the slope above the onsen district, looking across to the ridge of the old Hakone crater, and the newer rooms mix sukiya woodwork with big glass and modern furniture.

All 17 rooms have their own open-air bath fed straight from the spring. There are also two large open-air baths: Takane no Yu, which looks over a moss garden to the Hakone mountains, and Kusamakura no Yu, a courtyard bath walled in Manazuru's Komatsu stone. Both open 15:00–24:00 and again until 10:00, switching between men and women. There's a spa, Ajisai, too.

Dinner is kaiseki built on fish landed at Manazuru and Fukuura and vegetables from Ashigara and Mishima, and the menu changes with each of the 24 seasonal divisions of the old calendar. Tell them about allergies, vegetarian or gluten-free needs when you book. They also cook for babies and small children.

The building climbs the hill, so some rooms are reached by about 40 steps in all; call ahead if stairs are hard for you. The nearest bus stop is at the bottom of a steep hill, so take a taxi (about 7 minutes, around ¥1,200) or ask for the free station pickup when you book.

Also in the Onsen guide