--- title: Hotel The Mitsui Hakone Prepares For December Opening date: 2026-09-21T08:30:00+09:00 author: Chris Pickering canonical_url: "https://uchijapan.com/news/hotel-the-mitsui-hakone-prepares-for-december-opening" section: News --- [Resort News](https://uchijapan.com/news/resorts)# Hotel The Mitsui Hakone Prepares For December Opening Sep 21, 2026 - [ ](mailto:?subject=Hotel%20The%20Mitsui%20Hakone%20Prepares%20For%20December%20Opening%20on%20Uchi%20Japan&body=https%3A%2F%2Fuchijapan.com%2Fnews%2Fhotel-the-mitsui-hakone-prepares-for-december-opening "Share by Email") - [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fuchijapan.com%2Fnews%2Fhotel-the-mitsui-hakone-prepares-for-december-opening&title=Hotel%20The%20Mitsui%20Hakone%20Prepares%20For%20December%20Opening&description=Hotel%20The%20Mitsui%20Hakone%20is%20due%20to%20open%20on%2015%20December%202026%2C%20with%20126%20private-onsen%20rooms%20and%20a%20wooded%20setting%20close%20to%20Kowakidani%20Station.&caption=Uchi%20Japan) ![Lake Ashi Hakone](https://d1g90p0r985xbs.cloudfront.net/general/_480x270_crop_center-center_60_line/Lake-Ashi-Hakone.jpg)A new hotel in Kowakudani will give every room a private hot spring bath, with mountain views and a location that lends itself to a longer look around Hakone. [Hotel The Mitsui Hakone](https://www.hotelthemitsui.com/en/hakone/) is preparing to open on 15 December 2026, bringing 126 rooms with private hot spring baths to a wooded site in Kowakudani. The hotel will occupy land once used for Mitsui family villas, with views towards Mount Sengen and a setting within Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, adding a substantial new option for visitors planning an onsen break within reach of Tokyo. Mitsui Fudosan announced the opening date in July, with reservations scheduled to begin that month, and the hotel’s official website continues to show 15 December as the target. It will be the second property under the Hotel The Mitsui name, following Kyoto, and will be operated by Mitsui Fudosan Resort Management. The project also has a partnership with Marriott’s Luxury Collection, giving it an international distribution channel alongside the domestic audience familiar with Hakone. The room layouts put considerable emphasis on spending time indoors without losing a connection to the setting. The published Deluxe Room is 48 square metres with a ten-square-metre balcony, while other categories offer different arrangements of indoor space and outdoor areas. Natural hot spring water comes from the hotel’s own source. For guests who prefer to bathe privately, having that facility in every room makes the onsen experience part of the stay without requiring the use of a communal bath. At the larger end of the range, the Signature Villa is listed at 217 square metres, with a further 120 square metres of terrace space and both indoor and outdoor hot spring baths. It offers a particularly spacious version of the same idea, allowing much of a visit to revolve around the accommodation itself. The published sizes are worth reading carefully when comparing categories, because room area and terrace area are presented separately on the hotel’s website. The shared Thermal Spring Spa provides another way to use the water, with indoor facilities and an outdoor standing bath designed with an infinity edge. Five treatment rooms are planned, including a room for couples. Those facilities sit alongside the private baths rather than replacing them, so guests will have a choice between remaining in their own accommodation and spending time in the hotel’s common wellness spaces. The setting beside the Jakotsu River gives this part of the property a close relationship with the surrounding valley. Kowakudani is also a practical location for exploring Hakone, though it helps to understand the journey beyond the mainline railway. The hotel gives a two-minute walk from Kowakidani Station to its entrance and approximately 50 minutes by Hakone Tozan Railway from Odawara to Kowakidani. Travellers arriving on the Shinkansen therefore still have a mountain transfer to make, which should be allowed for when arranging dinner or choosing an arrival time. The short final walk is a useful detail for visitors who prefer to make the trip by public transport. The railway connects several places that reward a slower visit. Hakone’s official tourism guide describes Miyanoshita as an area with a long history of welcoming international guests, including the Fujiya Hotel, with cafés and antique shops nearby. Further along the line, Chokoku-no-Mori Station serves the Open-Air Museum, while Gora provides the connection towards the cable car. A stay in Kowakudani can therefore include time in neighbouring districts without trying to cover the whole of Hakone in one day. For guests keen to walk straight from the station, the tourism association places Chisuji Falls about fifteen minutes away on foot, along a route that climbs through the residential area before entering the trees. The low, broad waterfall has a markedly different character from the large sightseeing stops around Hakone, and paths continue towards Mount Sengen. For someone staying several nights, that offers the possibility of a morning outdoors followed by an unhurried return to the hotel, with no need to turn every excursion into a full-day circuit. For readers interested in a second home in Hakone, our view is that this opening is also a useful invitation to look more closely at individual neighbourhoods. The town’s appeal can involve a private bath and a mountain outlook, but the experience of spending time there also depends on the route from the station, access to places to eat and the walks available nearby. An overnight stay in Kowakudani would allow a prospective buyer to explore those everyday details while getting to know a part of Hakone beyond its best-known photographs.