In your room you’ll find such luxuries as steam saunas and rotenburo stone baths – outdoor hot springs. The samurai would recognise the décor too, with traditional futons, tatami mat floors and timber furnishings recalling the rural charm of feudal Japan. The suites and private verandah also host picture-perfect views of Hakone’s national-park beauty – it’s a land where ancient shrines dot shimmering lakes and mountains backdrop great swathes of old-growth forests. It’s scenery invited into Gora Kadan by the sculpted greenery of your private garden – one for each suite.
As you’d imagine, this isn’t the place for beauty salons and late-night bars. Instead, baths heated by Hakone’s bubbling volcanicity soothe any sightseeing aches and the rice-paper walls of the treatment rooms offer the chance of an authentic Japanese massage with views out over the traditional gardens. Lastly, the pool and Jacuzzi offer more modern comforts.