During Japan’s rainy season, from early/mid June through July, thousands of hydrangea bloom along the narrow track of the Hakone Tozan Railway. The “hydrangea train” is a nice day trip from Tokyo into the mountains. This was day 4 of our Japan trip. It was very peaceful and relaxing. We started the day by taking the bullet train (Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen) from Shinagawa Station to Odawara, which took about 26 minutes. We then took the scenic Hakone Tozan Line to Goya, with a stop off at Hakonen.
The train does a series of switchbacks due to the steep climb. We slowly made our way up, enjoying the greenery, rivers, and hydrangea that are in bloom. The main line of the Hakone Tozan Railway travels from Odawara to Gora, then continues on to Sōunzan via cable car. The portion from Gora to Sōunzan is both the steepest section, as well as the most bursting with hydrangea. We decided to skip the cable car and spend the afternoon in Gora.
Gora was a charming little mountain town. We had lunch at the Gora Brewery (excellent beer and food), wandered the town a bit, then took the Hakone Tozan line back down, changing trains at Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara, where we took a bullet train back to Tokyo.
You can get more information about the Hydrangea Train in this guide from Nippon.com, as well as this guide from Hakonenavi.jp.
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