Overview

ESPACIO The Hakone Geihinkan Rin-Poh-Ki-Ryu offers an exceptionally private stay in a hidden valley beneath Miyanoshita. From the upper reception, a private cable car carries you around 100 metres down through the forest. The five-minute journey leads to nine detached villas beside the Hayakawa River.

Art, architecture, hot spring culture, and personal service shape the entire experience. Each villa displays work by Japanese artists and craftspeople, using materials such as kumiko woodwork, lacquer, plaster, washi, and karakami paper. The designs draw inspiration from the Kirin, Phoenix, Tortoise, and Dragon represented in the property’s name.

You remain close to Miyanoshita Station and Hakone’s museums, ropeways, lakes, and volcanic landscapes. Once you descend into the valley, however, the river, trees, and private villa setting create a world that feels separate from the busier sightseeing routes.

Accommodation

The property has nine villas, each with its own design, artwork, living and dining area, terrace, indoor bath, outdoor bath, and plunge pool. Every bath receives natural water from the private Dogashima Onsen source.

One-bedroom villas include Kizuna, Sora, Hinata, and Musubi. These villas measure approximately 92㎡ to 96㎡, including their terraces, and have two 140-centimetre-wide beds arranged in a Hollywood twin layout. Musubi is the property’s only barrier-free villa.

Larger choices include Ao, Daichi, Kirameki, and Uruwashi. These villas provide two sleeping spaces and measure between approximately 141㎡ and 195㎡. Ao, Daichi, and Kirameki each include four beds, two indoor baths, one outdoor bath, a plunge pool, and a private sauna.

Uruwashi combines a bedroom, sunken kotatsu, tea room, two indoor baths, an outdoor bath, and a plunge pool. It does not include a sauna.

Takumi is the flagship villa and covers 385㎡ across three levels. It includes two Hollywood twin bedrooms, two indoor baths, outdoor bathing, a jet bath, two plunge pools, a sauna, hot stone bath, party room, and private karaoke room.

Dining

Dinner and breakfast are served inside your villa rather than in a shared restaurant. This keeps the dining experience private and allows you to enjoy each course without leaving your accommodation.

Dinner follows the traditions of Kyoto cuisine and cha-kaiseki hospitality. Seasonal ingredients from Hakone and other parts of Japan appear through carefully prepared courses, artistic tableware, and small details designed to engage all five senses.

You can add a sake pairing supervised by sake sommelier Keita Akaboshi. Each sake is selected to complement the food and tableware, turning dinner into a complete culinary experience rather than a simple meal.

Breakfast continues the focus on Japanese cooking. Traditional techniques, seasonal flavours, and careful presentation create a balanced morning meal served within the comfort of your villa.

Onsen and wellness

Every villa receives natural water directly from the property’s exclusive Dogashima Onsen source. This historic spring is one of the original Seven Hot Springs of Hakone and has a history of more than 700 years.

The water flows directly into each villa without dilution through a heat exchanger or the addition of other water. It is classified as a sodium chloride spring and is known for holding warmth after bathing.

Each villa includes both indoor and open-air hot spring bathing, allowing you to soak at any time in complete privacy. A plunge pool is also provided in every villa.

Ao, Daichi, Kirameki, Sora, and Takumi include private saunas. Kizuna, Hinata, Musubi, and Uruwashi do not have saunas.

ESPACIO SPA provides another level of relaxation. Treatments take place in a private space for two and include Bamford facials, hot stone body treatments, oil massages, foot baths, and seasonal ESPACIO therapies.

When you book an eligible spa treatment, you can also use the spa’s indoor bath, Hakone lava cave open-air bath, sauna, and bedrock bath made with ancient Austrian marble.

Guests with tattoos

Tattoos are accepted in the indoor and open-air hot spring baths inside your villa. All villa bathing facilities are private, so you can soak freely without covering your tattoos.

Facilities

Your arrival begins at the upper reception beside the historic Tokaido route. Reproductions of armour associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Date Masamune introduce the connection between Hakone, travelling warriors, and hot spring culture.

A private cable car takes you from the reception to the valley floor in around five minutes. At the lower level, a courtyard made with stone from the original site welcomes you before you continue to your villa.

Artwork appears throughout the property and inside every villa. You can see kumiko woodwork, karakami paper, textiles, metal sculpture, plasterwork, lacquer, clay, and washi created by leading Japanese artists and craftspeople.

Personal touches include a choice of patterned yukata, chopsticks made from seasonal Japanese woods, an aroma diffuser inspired by Hakone’s landscape, and a room key decorated with seasonal photography that you may take home.

Activities

Miyanoshita Station is around five minutes away on foot, giving you access to the Hakone Tozan Railway and the wider Hakone transport network.

The Hakone Open-Air Museum combines large sculptures, indoor galleries, and mountain scenery. Owakudani offers a dramatic volcanic landscape with active steam vents and access to the Hakone Ropeway.

For views of Lake Ashi and Mount Fuji, you can visit Onshi-Hakone Park before continuing to Hakone Shrine. The shrine’s forest paths and lakeside torii gate create one of Hakone’s best-known scenes.

The Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands introduces you to plants from Japanese marshes, forests, grasslands, and alpine environments. You can also explore art museums around Sengokuhara or follow sections of the historic Tokaido route.

After sightseeing, the private cable car returns you to the valley, where dinner, your outdoor bath, and the sound of the Hayakawa River await.

Additional features

The property offers nine private villas, in-villa dinner and breakfast, private Dogashima Onsen baths, plunge pools, selected villas with saunas, an overnight-only spa, complimentary station transfers, free valet parking, and a private cable car connecting the upper reception with the valley. Check-in begins at 15:00 and ends at 19:00, while check-out is by 11:00. Miyanoshita Station is approximately five minutes away on foot, and Miyanoshita bus stop is around two minutes away. The property is entirely non-smoking and does not accept pets.