Hakone Gora Park was built just before the Yumoto – Gora mountain railway was designed by the Odawara Electric Railway Company (the predecessor to the Hokone Tozan Railway), originally conceived as a symbol for Gora, the terminus of the future mountain railway. The total area of the park, which is located in the center of Gora, was 36,400m², 9,900m² on higher ground devoted to the Japanese garden, and 26,500m² on lower ground given to the French formal garden. The Japanese garden section is now the site of the Hakone Museum of Art, and the lower ground on the other side of the road is the current Hakone Gora Park.

The park, originally designed by Shichigoro Isshiki, one of the leading landscape designers of his generation, is famous for its layout – a symmetrical design with a pond and fountain in the center. Western architecture and landscaping were popular in Japan at the time, and many examples still exist, such as Tokyo Station, parts of Meiji Jingu Gaien Park and parts of Shinjuku Gyoen Park, but Hakone Gora Park is the most important example as it is the only park which has survived in its entirety.

Is the temperature different at the Main Gate and the West Gate?

The park is full of steps and inclines because there is a difference altitude of approximately 40 meters between the Main Gate and the West Gate. It’s hard to believe, but you get to feel the temperature difference as you feel cooler when you go towards the upper (West) gate. In winter it can happen that snow falls in just one part of the park. In summer the higher you go the cooler it gets.