inspo & info

As repeat Hakone visitors, we've put together our bucket-list of the top 25 things to see, do and experience in Hakone - from onsen and water parks, gardens and nature trails, to art museums, temples, shrines and natural spectacles. And of course not forgetting those amazing views (also of Mount Fuji and even Tokyo Skytree if the weather is on your side). We've included plenty of kid-friendly activities to keep the little ones busy too.

Visiting a matcha farm is a bucket-list experience for tea lovers in Japan, but timing is everything. Go during the wrong month and you might find the fields covered in black tarps - or completely bare. Here is a practical guide to finding the best matcha farms, the ultimate season to see them, and how to book the best local tours.

Most first-time visitors to Japan shell out thousands of yen to queue at Shibuya Sky or Tokyo Skytree, but the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (東京都庁舎, Tōkyō-to Chōsha) in the heart of Shinjuku offers some of the city's most spectacular - and entirely free - panoramic views. This isn't just a tourist platform; it's a bustling, working government office, but the twin observation decks are open to the public for 360-degree vistas of the sprawling metropolis.