Hakone Kowakien Tenyu
Sleek contemporary Japanese — tatami floors and shoji screens paired with modern beds, bold mountain views, and a quiet formality that stops short of stuffy. The scale (150 rooms) means it can feel more hotel than ryokan during busy periods, but the onsen experience and food hold up.
Set an alarm for sunrise and get in your room's private onsen — watching the mountains light up at dawn is the highlight most guests mention most vividly
Why It Matters
Every room has a private open-air hot spring bath — no sharing required, any time of day or night. The two communal baths are exceptional: UKIGUMO is a true infinity onsen over the Hakone mountain range, KURUMAZAWA sits directly in front of a waterfall. The on-site AN-SPA Hakone won the World Luxury Spa Awards 2024 Country prize. And the Teppan-yaki Geihinkan and Soba Kihinkan restaurants are housed in nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property buildings from the Taisho era.
Opened in April 2017, Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu is a large-format modern ryokan in the Kowakudani area, built on the concept of 'harmony of nature and Japanese hospitality.' At 150 rooms, it's far bigger than a traditional inn — but it delivers many of the same rituals: every single guest room comes with its own private open-air onsen bath fed by Kowakudani hot spring water, and dinner means carefully composed kaiseki cuisine or a premium buffet with premium bluefin tuna, Japanese beef, and spiny lobster. Guests also get free admission to the adjacent Yunessun hot spring theme park.
Where You'll Stay
6 room types available
Executive Suite Room with Open-air Bath
Top-floor suites with higher ceilings, a dedicated dining area, and a full balcony. The elevated position and ceiling height make the views feel even more expansive. Behind the beds is a small 'ikoi' rest space with tatami flooring and cushioned benches — a hideaway within the room. Room meals are available for Executive Suite guests who prefer not to go to the restaurant.
Maisonette Room with Open-air Bath
Steps up from the Superior with a proper sofa and seating area — enough room for four guests. Layout feels noticeably more like a living space than just a bedroom. The private open-air onsen bath is the same draw. Good pick for families or groups who want to actually sit and spread out between soaks.
Special Room — Kowakudani
Taisho Romance theme — the Japanese-Western cultural fusion aesthetic from the early 20th century. Entrance features wallpaper designed with camellia motifs by Taisho-era painter Takeshita Yumeji. Garden floor stones use ichimatsu (checkerboard) patterns. Considered the most ornate of the special rooms, popular with guests who appreciate heritage design.
Special Room — Miyanoshita
One of only 6 named special rooms. Concept is 'Western Romance of the Meiji Era' — a Western-style base with Japanese craft details woven in. Floors use Hakone yosegi-zaiku, the traditional geometric woodwork the region is famous for. Outdoor terrace includes a foot bath area in addition to the standard private open-air onsen. Large windows frame the surrounding nature.
Special Room — Owakudani
Themed around the 'magnificent nature' of Owakudani volcano. Brown-toned interiors with naguri-processed wood flooring (intentionally textured traditional technique), a rough rock bath inspired by volcanic terrain, and a private garden. Unique to this room: three wave speakers installed for surround-sound music during your soak.
Superior Room with Open-air Bath
The entry-level room, and still genuinely spacious. Beds sit on tatami flooring — you get the feel and smell of Japanese rooms without the futon-on-floor setup. Each has its own private open-air onsen bath on the balcony, with views of either the Hakone mountain range or the forested ravine. Mountain-side and ravine-side views are both popular; some guests prefer the ravine for intimacy.
The Property
Eat & Drink
4 venues on property
Restaurant
Spa & Wellness
Treatment Menu
On Property
How you'll actually spend your days.
Free shuttle bus running between Ten-yu and Gora Station, 9:00–16:40. Gora is the hub for the Hakone Tozan rack railway up to Sounzan and the ropeway to Owakudani and Lake Ashi. Useful for day trips into the wider Hakone area without needing a car.
The property has an on-site Japanese garden for morning and evening walks. Within it sits a small Hakone Onsen Shrine — enshrined for business prosperity and marriage. Low-key and atmospheric, particularly in the early morning before other guests are about.
The adjacent hot spring theme park is free for Ten-yu guests — a 5-minute walk or connected by covered passage. Yunessun features quirky swim-suit onsen (coffee bath, wine bath, green tea bath), water slides (including the new 2025 Rocky's Splash), and the more traditional Mori no Yu section with outdoor and indoor naked-bathing onsen. A full day's distraction without leaving the Kowakien complex.
The second communal open-air bath, positioned directly in front of a natural waterfall. Soaking while the waterfall roars a few meters away is a different experience from UKIGUMO — more immersive forest energy than sky-and-mountain panorama. Facilities rotate between male and female from midnight.
Every guest room has its own private open-air onsen fed by Kowakudani hot spring water. No time restrictions and no sharing. Available 24 hours. Sunrise soaks from the balcony bath are what guests talk about most — the light hitting the mountain range from a private tub is genuinely hard to replicate elsewhere.
The communal open-air hot spring where the edge of the tub appears to dissolve into the Hakone outer rim mountain panorama — a true infinity onsen. Male and female facilities switch at midnight, so guests can experience both sides over a stay. Sauna also available. No tattoos permitted.
Complimentary tea, drinks, and ice cream available in the lobby and lounge area throughout the stay — a small detail that guests consistently mention positively in reviews.
Amenities & Practical Info
The details that matter for planning.
Available for Executive Suite guests.
24-hour front desk provides free luggage storage.
Amenity and beverage vending machines on even-numbered floors, fully cashless.
Trouser press, iron, and conversion adapter available to rent; can be pre-arranged for room delivery.
Guests are provided kimono/yukata robes to wear around the hotel — a standard ryokan practice, and most guests use them.
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