Odawara

Odawara (小田原) is a city in Kanagawa prefecture in eastern Japan. It is on the coast of Sagami Bay, about 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Tokyo. Odawara is near Hakone, a major hot springs destination and is along the historic Tokaido road between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto.

Understand



 * Odawara-Guide is an English guide site by the local tourism association.
 * The city' s official site has a modest multi-lingual section on tourism.

By plane

 * Narita Airport: the fastest way to get to Odawara - especially useful if you have a valid Japan Rail Pass - is the JR Narita Express to Shinagawa station, then walk on over to the Shinkansen platforms and take the next Kodama (こだま) all-stations service two stops to Odawara. This takes 1 hour, 45 minutes and the journey is fully covered by the pass. Without a rail pass, the journey costs ¥6,280 with an additional surcharge if you used reserved seating on the Kodama.


 * The alternative by train is to transfer to a local JR Tokaido Line train at Shinagawa, which brings the fare down to ¥4600 and increases the journey time to 2½ hours.


 * Haneda Airport: take the Keikyu Railway to Yokohama and transfer to the JR Tokaido Line for Odawara (about 90 minutes, ¥1,420).

If you have a reservation at a ryokan in or around Odawara, unless your plane lands in the morning, it is recommended that you spend your first evening in Tokyo or Yokohama, or else you might miss out on (and be charged for) dinner at the ryokan, or worse, you may be locked out of (and be charged for) your room at the ryokan's curfew time, if there is one.


 * The Mount Fuji-Shizuoka Airport in Shizuoka serves a few international flights from other points in Asia. Bus service to Shizuoka station takes 55 minutes and costs ¥1000; from here, Kodama bullet trains run to Odawara in 45-50 minutes (¥3,300 unreserved seat).

By JR
Odawara is a major transit hub for several rail lines: It is a stop on the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train line and the regular JR Tokaido Line local services. The private Odakyu railway operates trains from here to Shinjuku, while trains on the Hakone Tozan Line run up to the hot springs gateway of Hakone-Yumoto. Finally, the Izu-Hakone railway offers access to the Buddhist temple at Daiyuzan.

The fastest way to get from Tokyo Station to Odawara is to use the Tokaido Shinkansen Kodama (こだま) all-stations service, taking it three stops to Odawara. At a hefty price of ¥3130 for an unreserved seat, the trip to Odawara lasts only 35 minutes.

Select Hikari (ひかり) services stop at Odawara as well - direct services run to Odawara every 2 hours from Osaka (2 hours 15 minutes, ¥12,300), Kyoto (2 hours, ¥11,800) and Nagoya (70 minutes, ¥8700). At other times of the day, taking a Hikari service and changing en route to a Kodama will most likely be the fastest way to Odawara.

All JR journeys are covered by the Japan Rail Pass, but the regional JR East Rail Pass will not cover the Tokaido Shinkansen.

By Odakyu
The Odakyu Railway (formerly named Odawara Kyuko Dentetsu) operates mainline services from Shinjuku station to Odawara. Commuter services take approximately 90 minutes (some runs slightly faster) for a fare of only ¥850. For an added surcharge of ¥870, you can go in one of Odakyu's flagship "Romance Car" express trains which offer reserved seating and a slightly faster journey. You can choose from the Hakone (はこね) service which stops in Odawara en route to Hakone, or the Sagami (さがみ) which terminates in Odawara. At the end of the day, some of these services may be called Home Way (ホームウェイ).

By bus
Overnight buses operate to Odawara from Kyoto (9 hours) and Osaka (10½ hours). Fares start at ¥5500 for travel Monday-Thursday, with higher fares on other days and on holidays.

Do
Karaoke is popular, and there are many lounges with all-you-can-drink packages. There's an arcade near Odawara Station that has purikura machines, which are popular with kids these days, along with other arcade games.

Eat

 * Kamaboko. Kamaboko is a special product of Odawara. Kamaboko is made in various shapes, by boiling or steaming fish paste (surimi). There are many famous Kamaboko shops in Odawara.
 * Himono. Himono is dried fish, and Odawara is well known for its himono made of Aji (a type of horse mackerel)
 * Umeboshi. Farmers around Odawara cultivate plums that are used to make traditional sour pickles called umeboshi.
 * Odawaradon. Odawaradon is a ricebowl dish that is offered in many restaurants in Odawara using typical local products such as kamaboko and umeboshi.
 * Odawara-kei Ramen.
 * Odawara-kei Tantanmen.

Go next

 * Hakone - the popular hot springs destination and one of Japan's main tourist attractions
 * Yugawara, Manazuru &mdash; for hot springs and coastal resort, eating sashimi and mikan, views of Manazuru Peninsula, some festivals (Matsuri).
 * Mount Fuji - the national symbol of Japan, open for climbing in the summer months
 * Minamiashigara
 * Nakai
 * Ninomiya
 * Atami
 * Izunokuni
 * Ito