A Japanese friend of ours recommended this hotel to us during our trip to Japan last December. As we were finalizing our itinerary then, we tried to persuade him if we could skip the Hakone leg since we only had a few days to spare for this trip and we would then be adding this to our Tokyo and Kyoto leg. He wouldn't hear any of it so we included this in our final itinerary because of his persistence.

Thank God, we listened to him. HAKONE should be in one's must-visit place in our lifetime and Hotel Green Plaza definitely did not disappoint! The hotel itself is not new but the rooms are very clean and well-maintained. Our japanese-friend told us that this used to be exclusively catering to their members only until they decided to offer the hotel's services to the public.

Hotel Green Plaza is on top of a mountain and you can bask at the grandeur of Mt. Fuji from their viewing deck just outside their restaurant. If you're lucky, you will have Mt Fuji to your heart's content even as you're enjoying the 'onsen' with free-flowing sake on the women's onset! 😊 Mt Fuji is said to be very kind and gracious during winter and that's when me and my husband were there! 😍

The hotel rate is a bit expensive but it's definitely worth every penny you spend! The rate comes with breakfast and dinner. The buffet breakfast was excellent. For dinner, we have to choose between French or Japanese food. Obviously, We opted for Japanese food and thank God we did! You have to inform them of your choice upon check-in including the time you would want to have these. Thank God, we opted for a Japanese-themed dinner during our 3-night stay there. They prepared a 'kaiseki' meal for us and it was one experience we will never forget. A kaiseki meal is a bit like a Michelin-starred meal: both will likely feature labor-intensive preparations, use the choicest ingredients depending on the season and would be a bit-pricey but the experience was truly priceless!

The hotel's location is very near the rope way so it was very convenient for us to check-out Hakone's beautiful sights. During winter, the rope way closes by 5pm so we planned our daily activities with this in mind. We were back in our hotel by 4pm just in time to enjoy the onsen and to to enjoy our dinner all dressed-up in kimonos which they provide. 😊

We definitely recommend Hotel Green Plaza and Hakone in general! Can't wait to visit it again!!!

Saw Mt Fuji after breakfast, just walk out to the terrace outside the restaurant and there it was it all its spendour. Pros - Great place to stay in very convenient and near the ropeway stop with indoor and outdoor onsens.

Saw Mt Fuji after breakfast, just walk out to the terrace outside the restaurant and there it was it all its spendour. Pros - Great place to stay in very convenient and near the ropeway stop with indoor and outdoor onsens. Cons - Rooms are old and kind of faded and the bathrooms are small typical of Japanese hotels. By the way the onsen is closed from 10am to 5pm ie middle of the day no onsen when I was there. Wanted a last soak before leaving in mid morning and was told it was closed. To be fair I think the front desk told me when I was checking in but couldn't quite manage to remember all the timings for dinner, breakfast and onsen.
Getting to the hotel - the ropeway stops running at around 5pm, I missed that and had to take a bus there just outside Souzan ropeway/train station. Stood in the rain for 20mins waiting for the bus and was panicking in case in doesn't come. The last bus is also quite early around 7 plus if I recall correctly. So be careful about the timing if you are taking public transport.
Also you kind of have to eat dinner at the hotel, there is nothing around it within walking distance, no shops. restaurants etc.