On the rim of the old Hakone crater
Mt. Myōjin (Myōjin-ga-take) rises to 1,169 m (3,835 ft) on the boundary of Minami-Ashigara City and Hakone Town in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is not on the Hyakumeizan list, but it forms a key segment of the Hakone outer crater rim — the volcanic ring that loops above the Hakone caldera — alongside its more famous neighbour Mt. Kintoki (1,213 m) and the lower Mt. Myōjō (923 m).
The "Myōjin" of the name comes from Hakone Myōjin, the deity venerated at Saijō-ji temple at the mountain's foot. Saijō-ji (also known by its mountain name Daiyū-zan) is an Edo-era Sōtō Zen complex where Shugendō ascetic practice and Zen training have coexisted since the medieval period. Most of the routes up Myōjin began as pilgrimage paths to the temple, and the link between geography and mountain religion is unusually visible on this hill.
Up from Daiyū-zan Saijō-ji
The most popular and atmospheric route climbs from Daiyū-zan Saijō-ji on the northern side. Take the Izuhakone Railway Daiyū-zan Line to Daiyū-zan Station, then a 10-minute bus or taxi ride to the Dōryōson stop. Walk the cedar-lined approach through the temple precincts to the inner sanctuary, where the actual trail begins. The summit is around 2.5 hours from there, with 800 m of elevation gain.
The trail passes through a mixed deciduous–beech forest, then opens into bamboo grass and shrub in the upper half — a distinctly Kantō kind of mid-elevation trail not often found this close to Tokyo. Saijō-ji is associated with the tengu legend of Dōryō, the wandering ascetic said to have transformed into a tengu on this mountain. Giant wooden geta sandals and other dedicated objects line the lower path, blurring the line between pilgrimage and recreational hiking. Among Myōjin's routes, this is the one that lets visitors feel the mountain-religion roots most clearly.
From Miyagino, Gōra, or Mt. Kintoki
Several Hakone-side approaches exist as well. From Miyagino or Gōra on the Hakone-Tozan Railway, a trail from Myōjin-mizu bus stop reaches the summit in about 2 hours. Pairing this with an overnight at a Gōra ryokan and an afternoon visit to Gōra Park or the Hakone Museum of Art turns the climb into a clean half-day inside a longer Hakone trip.
The connoisseur option is the Kintoki traverse via Yagurasawa-tōge pass. Take the bus to Kintoki-jinja-iriguchi, climb Kintoki first, drop to Yagurasawa-tōge, and continue along the ridge to Myōjin. A full outer-rim traverse — Kintoki → Myōjin → Myōjō → Miyagino — takes around 7 hours and is the local default for serious day-hikes on the Hakone caldera.
Access from central Tokyo: Odakyū Romance Car from Shinjuku to Odawara, about 75 minutes; or Hakone-Tozan Railway through to Gōra in 2 hours. For the Saijō-ji side, the Izuhakone Railway Daiyū-zan Line from JR Odawara station takes about 20 minutes. Proximity to Tokyo is one of Myōjin's main assets.
The Kintoki traverse and the meaning of the rim
Climbing Myōjin alone is a fine half-day; climbing it as part of the Kintoki–Myōjin–Myōjō outer-rim traverse is the way the mountain really works. From Kintoki's sharp summit, the trail drops into Yagurasawa-tōge, rolls gently to Myōjin's broad grass top, drops again over Myōjō's shoulder, and descends to Miyagino. Seven hours, and a whole Hakone caldera read from above.
Myōjin's summit, unlike Kintoki's rocky horn, is a wide flat clearing of Hakone bamboo grass. To the west, Mt. Fuji rises with the Southern Alps just visible behind it; the foreground drops into Suruga Bay. To the east, Sagami Bay and the Miura Peninsula. A 360-degree view from a 1,169 m mountain is unusual anywhere in Kantō, and the absence of a famous-list label keeps the summit visibly quieter than its neighbour.
Gear, ticks and leeches: not zero-effort
Myōjin is a mid-elevation mountain with well-graded trails, but the summit sits 7–10 °C below Hakone town, and ridge wind can be strong. Long sleeves and trousers, a light fleece and a wind shell, and full rain kit are the year-round baseline. Trekking shoes with grip handle the trail much better than street shoes — particularly the clay sections of the Saijō-ji route, which turn slick after rain. A headlamp belongs in the day pack for anyone attempting the outer-rim traverse.
Two species-specific notes: yama-biru land leeches are active in the humid lower forest around Saijō-ji from June through September, and Japan's expanding sika deer population has brought ticks along with it. Tucking trousers into socks, spraying a salt-based leech repellent on shoes and gaiters, and avoiding shorts even on warm days are sensible standards on Myōjin.
A subtler planning trap: don't try to fit Myōjin between Hakone tourist stops. The outer-rim traverse needs a full day, and the Saijō-ji route alone is a half-day with food and shrine time included. Build the climb as the centerpiece, fold in an onsen and a temple visit, and the trip falls into shape.
Hakone-bara, autumn grass, and winter Fuji
Myōjin's calendar runs on flowers, foliage and clear Fuji days. Mid-May to early June brings Hakone-bara (Kanagawa's prefectural flower) and mitsuba-tsutsuji along the Yagurasawa-tōge ridge. Late June into July is hydrangea season at Saijō-ji, where about 2,500 plants reach peak bloom.
From September into October the summit grasslands turn silver with susuki pampas. Late November through early December delivers maple colour at Saijō-ji and through the lower forest. Winter clear days — December to February — give the sharpest Mt. Fuji view of the year, and a small but real subset of hikers come to Myōjin specifically for that. Snow is uncommon but frost heave and icy steps on the descent are routine, so light traction in the pack is worth it.
Myōjin is not a Hyakumeizan, and it is not anyone's most famous Hakone destination. What it is is a rare combination — Mt. Fuji and Sagami Bay from one summit, an hour from Tokyo, with a working Sōtō Zen temple at its foot. The cedar approach, the ridge view, an onsen on the descent: there are not many mountains within 100 km of Shinjuku where a single day delivers all of that.
