Five reasons to stay at Geospot Motohakone

Home to a whopping 17 different hot springs, each with its own therapeutic qualities and traditional benefits, Hakone has attracted travellers with its onsen for centuries. At Geospot, the healing baths are the star of the show. Each of the facility’s four two-storey, 98-square-metre buildings sleeps up to six people and includes its own onsen bath that draws water from the Motohakone spring. In the private bath, let free-flowing sulfurous spring water soothe your body after a day of exploring the nearby mountains, lakes and rivers, while you admire the nature right outside the windows.

Combining volcanic heat and cool mountain air, Hakone is a place of extremes, where parts of the landscape can appear positively hostile at times. You’re safe from the elements at Geospot’s private saunas, which offer a moment of retreat, warmth and quiet reflection. The steam rooms are designed to provide rhythmic changes in temperature and depth of relaxation. Outside on the terrace, you can cool off in the mountain air or brave a cold plunge.

Vegetables and animals such as wild boar and deer in the mountains and forests of Hakone and Odawara form part of the area’s way of life and seasonal rhythms. Geospot guests can experience this connection first hand by cooking locally sourced game and fresh greens over an outdoor barbecue under the stars. The meal can be paired with craft beer from Hakone’s own Gora Brewery or your picks from a carefully curated selection of natural wines.

During the Edo period (1603–1868), the Tokaido road between Kyoto and Edo (today’s Tokyo) was the most important highway in the country for travel, trade and official movement. In Hakone, a part of the Tokaido known as the Hachiri Road is still walkable today – and allows you to follow in the footsteps of feudal lords, diplomats and worshipers. It’s one of the few places in Japan where you can still experience all of the essential features of an Edo-period journey along the Tokaido. Geospot can connect guests with guides for a trek along the Hachiri Road. The hotel also offers a range of other activities, including a local fly-fishing experience.

Architect Fumihiko Sano’s design for Geospot Motohakone echoes the area’s history as a highway townscape and the gateway to Hakone Shrine, a sanctuary with more than a thousand years of history. The buildings’ natural materials, like cedar and cypress, and traditional minimalism evoke the teahouse-style carpentry that Sano was trained on. With a nod to Hakone’s culture of fine art, works by local artisans are featured throughout the space, and the plasterwork is made with local soil.

Geospot Motohakone is accessible from Tokyo by car or public transport in roughly 90 minutes. 103-243 Oshiba, Motohakone, Hakone, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa. geo-spot.com/motohakone/?lang=en. info@geo-spot.com.