Hakone in April 2025: Highlights, Events & Festivals
While April in Hakone brings warmer days as spring approaches, mornings and evenings remain chilly. As cherry blossoms and other flowers begin to bloom, the town becomes vibrant, with increasing tourist numbers adding to the lively atmosphere.
Hakone, famous for its hot springs, offers an escape from urban chaos. Visitors can relax while enjoying mountains, lakes, flowers, delicious cuisine, and unique art museums.
April 2025 features numerous events showcasing both Hakone's traditions and natural beauty. Let's explore the highlights, basic information, schedules, and access details.
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2025 Year-round Event Schedule in Hakone↓
・Top Hakone Events & Festivals 2025: Your Guide to Celebrations, Parades, and Seasonal Highlights
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Table of Contents
Traditional Events in Hakone (April 2025)
Hakone's Natural Beauty in April
Hakone Art Events in April 2025
Traditional Events in Hakone (April 2025)
Miyagino Suwa Shrine Festival
Source:Hakone Zenzan
Situated on a hilltop overlooking the Miyagino area, this shrine houses local guardian deities. The most significant celebration is the Miyagino Suwa Festival, where priests perform divine ceremonies on April 15th.
The festival's highlight occurs the week before the ceremony, featuring a mikoshi (portable shrine) parade. These shrine-like structures are carried through streets by enthusiastic participants, creating an electrifying atmosphere.
The festival also features numerous food stalls offering Japanese festival cuisine like takoyaki. For those seeking an authentic Japanese festival experience, don't miss the pre-festival events.
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Date: April 15, 2025
Access: 20 minutes by Hakone Tozan Bus (Kojiri-Togendai line) from Hakone-Yumoto Station, then 10-minute walk from Miyagino stop
Admission: Free
Website: https://www.hakone.or.jp/517
Ohiradai Spring Festival (Yamagami Shrine)
Source:Google Maps
Ohiradai, one of Hakone's seventeen hot springs, is renowned for both its onsen and water quality.
The Ohiradai Spring Festival expresses gratitude for the area's never-failing spring water and hot springs. This festival coincides with the peak cherry blossom season.
Like the Miyagino festival, the main attraction is the mikoshi parade. Participants carry the portable shrine through streets, allowing deities to observe the town and bestow their blessings.
The procession features powerful chanting and dynamic mikoshi movements, creating an impressive spectacle worth witnessing in person.
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Date: April 16-17
Access: Take Hakone Tozan Railway to Ohiradai Station from JR Odawara Station or Odakyu Hakone-Yumoto Station
Admission: Free
Website: http://www.ohiradai.net/event.html
Don't Miss the Beautiful Cherry Blossoms at Ohiradai Station!
The cherry blossoms in front of Ohiradai Station are a must-see attraction. The area is famous for its 100 weeping cherry trees (shidarezakura) planted along the railway tracks. These trees are characterized by their soft branches, with countless blossoms adorning the elegantly drooping limbs like natural flower decorations.
The Hakone Tozan Railway trains enhance this spectacular view. The combination of colorful trains and cherry blossoms creates a fairy-tale-like scenery. During the Hakone Spring Festival 2025 (April 1-15), special evening illuminations will highlight these magnificent trees.
Viewing the cherry blossoms from inside the Hakone Tozan Railway is highly recommended. As mentioned, Ohiradai's cherry trees line the tracks, offering passengers views of beautiful blossoms against Hakone's vast natural landscape.
Hakone's Natural Beauty in April
Source:Hakone Navi
Japanese culture includes "hanami," the tradition of viewing cherry blossoms while enjoying food and drinks with others. People often bring bento boxes or have BBQs under falling petals. The 2025 Hakone Cherry Blossom Festival will feature special hanami events throughout April.
Hakone, known for its pristine nature, offers an enhanced hanami experience with its clean mountain air. Here are four prime cherry blossom viewing spots in Hakone:
Onshi-Hakone Park
Originally a former imperial villa site, Onshi-Hakone Park offers well-maintained gardens and flowers. The park provides views of Lake Ashi and Mt. Fuji, combining Hakone's magnificent nature with delicate cherry blossoms.
The lakeside observatory features white Oshima cherry trees, while the parking area showcases deep pink Mame cherry trees. This location offers the latest-blooming cherry blossoms in Hakone, perfect for late April visitors during the 2025 season.
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Access: About 33 minutes by Hakone Tozan Bus from Hakone-Yumoto Station (Odakyu Line) to "Onshi-Koen-mae" stop
Admission: Free
Website: https://kanagawa-park.or.jp/onsisite/index.html
Lake Ashi, Hakone
Source:PR TIMES
Lake Ashi is Hakone's premier tourist destination, famous for its reflections of Mount Fuji on the water's surface. The main attraction is hakone-en, located along the lakeshore, offering spectacular views and activities.
For Spring 2025, don't miss the "Lakeside Single Cherry Tree" festival event. This remarkable sight features five clustered cherry trees creating the illusion of one massive tree, spanning 23 meters wide and 12 meters tall.
These five Oshima cherry trees showcase delicate pink petals. The formation combines the charm of Oshima blossoms with the grandeur of a giant tree. Many visitors enjoy hanami (flower viewing) picnics in the surrounding plaza during the April 2025 festival season.
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Access: 1 hour 20 minutes by Izu Hakone Bus from Odawara Station (Tokaido Shinkansen)
Admission: Free
Website: https://www.princehotels.co.jp/amuse/hakone-en/information/eigyo.html
Hakone Gora Park
Source:Hakone Navi
HAKONE GORA PARK, Japan's first French-style garden established a century ago, hosts a special cherry blossom event in April 2025. The park features fountains, seasonal flowers, and traditional craft experiences.
During the spring festival, various cherry varieties bloom simultaneously: Somei Yoshino, Mountain Cherry, Kobigan Cherry, and Okame Cherry. The different pink hues create a stunning gradient effect. The unique combination of French garden design and Japanese cherry blossoms offers a distinctive viewing experience.
A highlight of the 2025 festival is the rare Yaenomamezakura cherry tree, known for its small, delicate flowers.
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Access: 5-minute walk from Gora Station (Hakone Tozan Railway)
1-minute walk from Koen-shimo Station (Hakone Tozan Cable Car)
Admission: Adults: 650 yen, Elementary school and under: Free
Website: https://www.hakone-tozan.co.jp/gorapark/
Miyagino-Hayakawa Embankment
The Miyagino-Hayakawa Embankment ranks among Hakone's most popular cherry blossom viewing spots. The 600-meter-long cherry tree tunnel comprises 120 Somei Yoshino trees, the most iconic Japanese cherry variety featured in anime and films.
During the April 2025 festival season, visitors can walk through a tunnel of cherry blossoms along the Hayakawa River. The experience of falling petals combined with the river's gentle sounds creates a magical atmosphere. Watch as cherry petals float downstream, creating a mesmerizing natural display.
Cherry Blossoms at Miyagino-Sakawa Embankment: A Must-See Night Illumination!
One of cherry blossoms' most captivating aspects is how they present different faces depending on location, season, and time. My top recommendation in Hakone is the nighttime view at Miyagino-Sakawa Embankment. After dark, the cherry blossoms are illuminated with special lighting.
Viewing from afar, the cherry blossoms appear to float in the darkness, creating a mystical atmosphere. Walking through the illuminated cherry tree tunnel is also highly recommended.
The gentle, peaceful daytime ambiance transforms completely, giving way to a solemn and dreamlike environment. The contrast between the illuminated blossoms and the darkness of night creates a stunning visual effect.
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Access:
- From Odawara Station (Odakyu Line): Take Hakone Tozan Bus (bound for Togendai) for about 40 minutes, get off at "Miyagino" bus stop, 3-minute walk
- From Hakone-Yumoto Station: Take Hakone Tozan Bus (bound for Togendai) for about 20 minutes, get off at "Miyagino" bus stop, 3-minute walk
- From Gora Station: 15-minute walk
Admission: Free
Website: https://miyaginokiga.com/event01.html
Hakone Art Events in April 2025
Venetian Glass and Carnival World (Until April 13)
Source:Official website
Venice hosts one of the world's three major carnivals, famous for participants wearing distinctive costumes and masks. This exhibition brings the Venetian carnival theme to Hakone.
Upon receiving your mask-shaped entrance ticket, you'll enter a world that captures Venice's essence. The highlight is the decorative glassware and compotes that would grace carnival banquet tables. These pieces showcase glassmakers' expertise through their intricate, orderly, yet brilliant decorations. Their beauty becomes more apparent the longer you look.
The exhibition also features glass figurines depicting carnival participants and photographs capturing carnival scenes.
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Dates: January 25 (Sat) - April 13 (Sun), 2025
Access:
- From Tokyo Station: Shinkansen (40 min) → Odawara Station → Hakone Tozan Bus bound for Kojiri-Togendai (40 min) → Hakone Glass Forest
- From Shinjuku Station: Odakyu Romance Car (90 min) → Hakone-Yumoto Station → Hakone Tozan Bus bound for Kojiri-Togendai (25 min) → Hakone Glass Forest
- From Hakone-Yumoto Station: Hakone Tozan Railway (40 min) → Gora Station → Sightseeing Facility Bus (Route S or M) (20 min) → Glass Forest
Admission: Adults ¥1,800, University/High School Students ¥1,300, Elementary/Junior High School Students ¥600 (tax included)
Website: https://www.hakone-garasunomori.jp/event/2025_festival/
