The Hakone Ropeway is an experience unto itself. First you take an old school switchback train up the mountain. Then you take a unique cable car up, and finally the ropeway (gondola) where you go over Hakone, Mt. Fuji in the distance and some neat sulphur spots. Finally you take a pirate-style ship over back to the town area. A very cool experience but do note that the cost of this is separate from your JR Rail Pass, but we felt the entire package was totally worth it for the experience. Highly recommend checking it out for the sites and experiences. If you found this helpful, please indicate with thumbs up so I know where to focus my future review efforts!

Long ropeway transit - excellent views of the geothermal "hell". We got a small view of Mt. Fuji, but on the right day, it would be outstanding. Best way to get over to the Lake from the train stations... Well worth it. I would recommend getting the Hakone Pass as it make it much easier to take the cable car, ropeway, sightseeing tour, etc

We used our pass to take the ropeway up to the Okuwadani station. That was as far was we wanted to go on this trip since we previously visited Lake Ashii. Luckily we had good timing when we arrived so we only had to wait in the queue for about 15 minutes or so. Boarding was quick and efficient. We ended up sharing our gondola with three other people. As we lifted out of the station the ride was quite smooth. The panorama views were excellent on a mostly clear day. However as we got higher, the winds started picking up but the gondola was quite stable as it was supported on parallel cables. the whistling of wind was just a small indicator of what was to come when we got off at the station (got blown around). Sitting on the left side going up gave us an aerial view of all the steam venting going on in Owakudani. When it came time to ride back down our the queue was even shorter and we boarded immediately. At Souza Station we grabbed a snack and drink and enjoyed the views without the wind. It was so much nicer and modern versus the last time years ago.

Amazing experience. We were very lucky. Out of the 3 days of our Hakone pass, the ropeway was down for 2.5 days due to strong winds - we managed to catch it at least once during one morning. The views were stunning, especially across Owakudani (volcanic activity) where one could smell the sulfur strongly. We could also see Mt Fuji clearly throughout that morning. We would have just use it everyday if we could (if it was not closed due to strong winds).

The set up to get on and off with the Hakone Pass is very well done. the cars are clean and the staff are good at organizing people on and off the cars, On a good day it would be a great ride with plenty of views. Unfortunately for us the day we went it was not just over cast but the clouds were all around us so we just went through clouds with nothing to see at all.

We were lucky with the weather and had reasonably good views of Mt. Fuji after disembarking from the cable car. The ropeway ride itself is mildly exciting, and passes over steaming sulpher vents on the way to the top. If the weather is cloudy, however, I would strongly recommend to skip the cablecar to the top; you won't see anything to warrant the expense.

The trip was fun. But on our day we lucked out as it was so cloudy and misty. Visibility was only metres. No views of Fuji and we could only smell the steam vents. We got the Hakone free pass which was worth it for travelling around the region.

Because it was going to rain the next day, we rushed over to the ropeway to get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji (just barely but the best view of our entire stay). Thought it was a roundtrip ride so I didn't take as many pictures of the lake. The other family in our carriage was nice enough to take out photos and we did the same for them. The scenery was unique -- the steam rising from the ground, the sulphur smell but we didn't get to the black eggs. We stayed on the tram. It was a very scene ride.

We were lucky to visit Hakone during 2 perfectly clear days in mid April. The gondola AKA Ropeway was enjoying full visitor attendance when we reached the top around 2pm on our first day. We also enjoyed it more, early in the morning when it was much less crowded, we had the gondola to ourselves and more enjoyable! We enjoyed the trip twice because we purchased the Hakone & Kamakura 3 day pass from the Odakyu Site-seeing Centre. Worked out perfectly for us. On our clear days, we were graced with views of Mt Fuji, the sulfer craters and clear skies. Blessed we were! If the weather if fair, this is a must visit while in Hakone!

Cloudy and rainy weather made it impossible to view anything but also meant it wasn’t crowded. They are efficient in getting people on and I never had to wait. Lots of signage so easy to follow. I enjoyed the concept of the loop. When you get in, sit by the window facing the views for best photos. If you sit in the middle or opposite side you won’t get as good of pictures.