Kominka Hakone Entire Traditional House

I want to start by saying that the host has been super friendly and helpful from the very moment we booked the house on Booking.com. They gave us a lot of great tips and recommendations on where to eat, what to see, and the best times to visit. Sadly, we only stayed for one night, I honestly would have loved to stay a bit longer, as Hakone is much bigger than we thought and covers a huge area! The Property & Amenities As is standard in Japan, the house policy doesn't allow you to wear shoes inside the property. There is a lobby area where you can comfortably leave your suitcases and shoes. The house itself is very old, but it still has everything you need. There is only one bedroom with a double bed, but the property can accommodate up to 5 people, as you can also sleep in the main living room using the provided futon beds. The dining room has comfortable sofas, a table, a fridge, and great entertainment options like guitars, a vinyl player, and even some gym equipment in case you want to work out while on vacation. The hosts provided a Polaroid camera so you can take a picture of your group and leave it on the fridge. We actually forgot to take ours, but I think it’s a beautiful touch that creates a real sense of community! There is also a guest diary where you can leave feedback and read what previous guests had to say. The kitchen features a DeLonghi coffee machine with ground coffee so you can make a nice espresso at home. The bathroom cabinet was also fully stocked with everything you could need and more. The property is also fully equipped with AC.

There were a few things I didn't enjoy as much, mostly regarding the layout and privacy: The Toilet: The toilet is in a very tiny space with a very small "baby" sink. The Shower & Privacy: The shower is located in the same room as the kitchen, meaning there is no privacy at all if you are staying with friends and happen to be shy. The Sinks: Because of the layout, the only proper sink where you can comfortably brush your teeth is the large kitchen sink. Location: We struggled a bit to find the location provided by Booking.com. It took us around 20 minutes to finally find it, and we only did so thanks to some Japanese road workers nearby who helped us out. Tip for future guests: If you save the actual address directly into Google Maps, you won't have a problem finding it. I reported this to the hosts, so hopefully, they can fix the Booking.com location issue as soon as possible.

Loved this property! It is so nicely decorated, and it was wonderful to smell the flowers when walking in. The whole place was squeaky clean. We loved listening to music on the record player as well. Close to train station.

Everything was PERFECT

Host: Even before I staying in the property, I was really impressed by the host, Ryu, hospitality and helpful gestures. From sharing information regarding the house and surrounding area, even gave us feedback on our Hakone's itinerary to offered us to help booked the private onsen that we planned to go. On the night of our stay, we also got a quick response when we're confused about the appliances usage. Property: My 4 year old son really loved the overall house! From its spacious tatami room with bean bag, cozy master room, bathtub, even the small sink at the toilet where he can use for washing hand and brushing teeth when usually there are no sink that reachable for him. It really compensate the long and tiring day he spent on queueing all the Hakone tourist attraction. For my husband and me, we really like the living area between hallway and the kitchen, it's our lounge area to eat and chat and the ambience similar with warm home cafe. The amenities were comprehensive and great, from toiletries to skincare! We also really like the collection of the available cute plate and cups, it makes our combini haul's dinner elevate LOL. Overall the property were wonderful, we were able to experience traditional japanese house with great convenience that the host prepare at the property. Absolutely going back here if we're back to Hakone one day!

It's located around residential area so you'll need to walk further to find things to eat at midnight (it's literally quiet and dark after 7 pm around the area), but the host is really helpful that you can ask him recommendation of restaurants that open till night and the estimated distance from the property. We actually found a really close yakitori place but it prohibit underage children and they were full, so we opted to walk to find convenience store across some school (but once again, it's really dark). The property and stuffs were clean but as it's a traditional house with woods, tatami and such materials, if you're sensitive with dust you'll need open the window and let it circulate a bit. But overall no concerns during our stay.

Traditional house, nice kitchen, nice area

Maybe a bit of oil snd salt eoulw be good so guests do not have to go and buy everything for just one or two meals