Gora Kadan

The wooded slope above Gora once held the summer villa of the Kan'in-no-miya branch of Japan's imperial family. That building and its gardens now form Gora Kadan, a ryokan that keeps the hush of the original estate while running to modern standards as part of Relais & Chateaux. Corridors of pale timber open onto maple and cryptomeria; the mountain is never more than a sliding screen away.

Rooms are generous by ryokan measure, and several have their own open-air hot-spring bath on a private deck, fed by Hakone's volcanic springs. There are communal indoor and outdoor baths as well, plus a small spa and a heated pool for guests who want something less traditional.

Dinner is the heart of a stay: a long kaiseki sequence built around whatever the season is doing, plated on lacquer and local ceramics and served in-room or in a private dining room. Breakfast the next morning is the Japanese set-piece of grilled fish, rice and pickles. Tokyo is roughly ninety minutes away by train and car, which makes this one of the easiest true ryokan experiences to reach.