Staff/staff member's guide to Hakone] Feel like a traveler on the Tokaido Highway. KAI Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone" to immerse yourself in the charms of Hakone.
The old highway of Hakone hot spring Hot spring ryokan "KAI Hakone", located along the old highway of Hakone-Yumoto Onsen will reopen in August 2025! The "Goraku" is a "gourmet" restaurant that offers a variety of dining options. The hotel has been welcoming travelers as a lodging town on the Tokaido Highway, and the atmosphere of Hakone has been preserved.
All Guest rooms have a river view of the Sukumo River, and the outdoor hot spring looks like a landscape painting with sunlight streaming through the trees, The hotel offers many attractions to enrich your trip, such as "local experiences" that allow you to experience the history of Hakone.
The editorial staff of MICHIKUSA Guide ~ An Original Japan Travel Guide by Hoshino Resorts' Local Staff, who know the Property inside and out, led us on a tour of the property. We will provide you with tips on how to enjoy your trip to Hakone, along with "hidden highlights" that only the Staff/staff members can tell you about.
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Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone
Yuriko Yamaguchi
Joined Hoshino Resorts in 2022. She was in charge of front desk and service work at Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone. She also worked at Hoshino Resorts KAI Okuhida during the renovation of Kai Hakone. Her hobbies are visiting zoos and relaxing in nature.
Staff/staff member
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MICHIKUSA Guide ~ An Original Japan Travel Guide by Hoshino Resorts' Local Staff
I am managing a website that provides recommended information about the area that I know only because I live there.
Experience
Staff/staff member's guide to the museum
Guest room
KAI Signature Rooms "Hakone Gokokochi Rooms" with a sense of tradition and playfulness
Experience Tokaido Highway travelers in a space decorated with art and marquetry
We stayed in a Japanese-style room facing the clear Sukumogawa River. Guest rooms are themed on "Tokaido Highway. As you sink into the sofa in the spacious living room, you are enveloped by the greenery that fills the windows. While reminiscing about the history of the difficult crossing, you can relax in the comfort of a modern inn. This is a space where you can fully enjoy such chic "Hakone comfort.
Mr. Yamaguchi
The modern artwork decorating the walls represents the "sandogasa" or "hikimawashi gappa" that travelers used in the past to protect themselves from rain and snow.
Marquetry room keys and furoshiki (wrapping cloth). Amenities that make your heart skip a beat every time you pick them up.
Guest rooms are furnished with carefully selected items. The room key and tray, which give you the warmth of wood every time you pick them up, are made of marquetry, a traditional craft. Amenities are also well stocked, with a skin care set containing natural herbal medicines, making it easy for guests to stay light.
Particularly impressive is the KAI's original "furoshiki" wrapping cloth for toothbrushes and other items. The style of changing into comfortable clothes and carrying the furoshiki to the hot spring enhances the feeling of being a traveler on the Tokaido Highway.
Mr. Yamaguchi
The colors of the furoshiki are different for each Property, with Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone's color scheme inspired by "fresh greenery and autumn leaves. You can take it home and enjoy it as a souvenir of your trip.
Limited to two rooms. Hakone Gokochi Suites" offer both privacy and comfort.
I was also shown around the "Hakone Gokochi Suite," a Guest room that was just opened in August 2025. The theme of the Guest room is "Adult Family Travel. In addition to a spacious living room, there are two separate bedrooms so that the parents' and children's generations can spend a comfortable time together without disrupting each other's daily rhythms, while maintaining an appropriate sense of distance.
After enjoying family time in the living room, guests can spend time in the bedrooms. Guest rooms have an Outdoor hot spring and a dedicated bathing area, so you can enjoy a hot bath anytime you like.
Mr. Yamaguchi
We recommend this room for adult family travelers, as it allows them to enjoy the pleasure of traveling together while also ensuring private time. Guest/customers have commented that they were able to relax without worrying about each other.
2.Hot spring
The view is like a landscape painting. Public hot spring where you become one with nature.
Semi-outdoor hot spring surrounded by the sound of the river and fresh greenery
The Public hot spring is a half outdoor hot spring with one wall cut out. The view in front of you is like a landscape painting, and you can enjoy bathing while feeling as if you are one with the greenery of Yusaka Mountain and the clear stream of Sukumo River.
The spring water is a sodium chloride spring that is said to be good for treating sensitivity to cold. The salinity of the spring water covers the skin, leaving it moist and smooth and keeping it warm. There is also a sauna and a water bath, which will refresh your body and mind.
Mr. Yamaguchi
You can enjoy different scenery in each of the four seasons: vivid greenery in spring and summer, bright red autumn leaves in fall, and snow-capped leaves in winter. The best time of day throughout the year is around 7:00 a.m., when the hot spring is bathed in the soft morning sun and the surface of the hot spring and the trees sparkle in the light.
Relaxing bath time with the ease of going in empty-handed
Hot spring lovers will be pleased to know that the changing rooms are equipped with a complete set of amenities, including bath towels and face towels as well as lotion made from herbal medicines. There is no need to carry them out of the Guest room, so you can head to the hot spring as often as you like without leaving your hands empty.
At the Yuagari lounge in front of the Public hot spring, you can take a break with an ice lolly or a drink in hand. The "Kataura lemon water" in particular has a refreshing taste unique to Odawara's specialty. The sweet and sour coolness of the water gently soothed my burning body, and I found myself lingering there for quite a while.
URUHASHI GENDAI TUJI" to deepen your knowledge of hot springs and enhance their effects.
At the hotel, there is a full program called "Uruhashi Modern Touji," in which the wisdom of Touji is applied to modern times. Before dinner, you can participate in "ABCs of Hot Spring" where you can learn about the history and bathing methods through illustrations on a cloth. As proof of participation, you will receive a "hot water stamp book" with local stamps.
The next morning, we participated in the "Modern Touji Exercise" held in the courtyard. The sensation of actually putting on straw sandals and stepping on my toes was fresh and a little difficult. It was a precious time to comfortably awaken the body while thinking about the travelers who came and went along the Tokaido Highway.
Mr. Yamaguchi
Each property has its own "hot spring seal" with the name of the hot spring and a motif that is unique to the area. With the "hot-spring stamp book" in hand, visitors can enjoy touring the "kai" throughout the country and collecting memories of their travels.
3.Dining
Each dish is filled with the history of Hakone.
KAI Local Flavors, featuring "Meiji's beef hot pot" as the main dish
Dinner was a KAI Local Flavors meal that incorporated many ingredients associated with history. The main dish, "Meiji no Beef Nabe," was a dish with a miso-based seasoning instead of the usual warishita. This is a taste unique to Hakone, where Westerners and upper class people visited and Western culture was introduced early on.
By listening to the historical background behind the dish, you will be able to enjoy a more profound dining experience. The dinner was a memorable experience that brought us into contact with the culture and history of Hakone.
Mr. Yamaguchi
In reference to the history of the Tokaido Highway, sakihasun is served in a bowl modeled after the "scissors box" once used by the hikippopotamus. In fact, there is a little trick to this container. Please stay and experience it for yourself.
Hakone's local breakfast to start your day off right
KAI's "local breakfast" is a Japanese-style meal that incorporates local ingredients and cooking methods. It begins with a wake-up drink using Hakone's specialty "amazake" (sweet sake), followed by seiro-mushi (steamed rice in a pot) using Odawara-associated fish paste.
The morning meal also brought out Hakone's unique flavor. The breakfast was gentle yet satisfying, and gave me energy to start the day.
Mr. Yamaguchi
Seiro-mushi is a dish that resembles the "yukemuri" of hot springs that soothed the fatigue of travelers on the Tokaido Highway. Enjoy the unique scenery of Hakone at your meal, along with the steam that spreads out the moment you open the lid.
Local Experience
Take a break at the "Sawa Teahouse," which has a different atmosphere during the day and at night.
Located in the courtyard, the "Sawa-jaya" is a space where you can freely relax anytime and as often as you like, upon arrival, after dinner, after taking a hot bath, or before departing. The charm of the Sawa Teahouse is that you can enjoy its different appearances during the day and at night.
During the day, we enjoyed seasonal tea and dumplings at a table overlooking the Sukumo River, surrounded by the murmuring of the river and the sunlight, and had a peaceful time. At night, the lighting changes to a more subdued atmosphere, and after a hot bath, we relax with a cup of herbal tea and a glass of shochu, a liquor associated with Hakone's medicinal herb culture. It was a moment of tranquility where I could savor the afterglow of my trip.
Mr. Yamaguchi
Hakone Road, known as one of the most difficult sections of the Tokaido Highway, was once lined with teahouses where travelers could take a rest. The "Sawa Teahouse" was inspired by these teahouses that welcomed travelers.
Experience "zuku-iki" (marquetry work)
At Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone, you can experience "zuku-zukuri," a kind of marquetry work. The "KAI Cultural Discovery Room," where raw wood before processing is displayed all over the room, is designed in the image of a craftsman's workshop. Here, visitors tried their hand at part of the marquetry production process.
When they actually tried their hand at "zuku-biki," the process of shaving marquetry using a plane, they were surprised at how difficult it is to shave the wood thinly and evenly. Experiencing this delicate process, in which the finish can be altered by the slightest amount of force, the students were once again able to appreciate the precise craftsmanship of the artisans.
The visitors also had the opportunity to make their own original photo frames using the shaved zuku. You can put in a photo taken by a Staff/staff member and take home a memento of your Experience.
Mr. Yamaguchi
The colors and patterns change depending on the type and combination of wood, which in turn form the marquetry design. When you look at the room decorations and room keys again after the Experience, you will be more attached to them.
Store for souvenirs with a wide selection of marquetry goods
After experiencing KAI Cultural Discovery, visit the store. There is a wide variety of marquetry goods available, and perhaps because it was after the Experience, I couldn't help but pick up a few. The shop also sells items used in Guest rooms during your stay, such as room keys and tissue cases, so you can purchase your favorite items as souvenirs.
We also have a selection of sweets and alcoholic beverages in original Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone packages.
Luxurious time to relax in the Travel library
The Travel library attached to the lobby is a Public space with books on Hakone's history, traditional crafts, and marquetry. Guests can relax with a cup of coffee or herbal tea while surrounded by the deep greenery of Yusaka Mountain and the murmuring of the Sukumo River.
It is also a great place to plan how to spend your time in the museum and what you plan to do tomorrow.
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.
Interview with Staff/staff member!
- What is the best thing about Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone for you, Mr. Yamaguchi?
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Mr. Yamaguchi
The magnificent view of Mt. Yusaka and the clear flow of the Sukumo River, which can be seen from everywhere in the hotel. This nature, which changes its expression from season to season, is a source of healing for our Staff/staff members and gives them vitality for their daily lives.
- Do you have any seasonal recommendations for how to spend your time or what season you recommend?
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Mr. Yamaguchi
Surrounded by abundant nature, Yusaka-yama's seasonal changes are beautiful and different every time you visit. Personally, I recommend spring, when the cherry blossoms in front of the entrance come into full bloom around the end of March, which is very beautiful and something I look forward to every year.
- Where do you recommend to stay in Hakone, as you know Hakone so well?
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Mr. Yamaguchi
I recommend "Dakkotte ZOO" at Hakone Garden, located on the shore of Lake Ashi. It is a petting zoo where you can directly interact with the animals. I visit regularly, about once every two months. Please stop by when you are sightseeing in Hakone.
- Lastly, do you have any "exclusive stories about Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone" that Guest/customers may not be aware of, but are a little ingenious?
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Mr. Yamaguchi
The corridor leading to the Public hot spring is decorated with a "Konjaku Sankyo Koryo" design. The design is full of playful touches of modern elements, such as runners from the Hakone Ekiden relay race. Please look for your favorite design during your stay.
Impressions after your stay
I thoroughly enjoyed Hakone's unique charms, such as the "marquetry" and other handicrafts scattered throughout the hotel and the hot springs surrounded by nature. The museum also provided a sense of the history and culture of the Tokaido Highway, which made me feel like a traveler on the Tokaido Highway.


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