You will love HR Hakone, it is a great place to relax and has excellent service.

From Shinjuku one would take the Odakyu "Romance Car limited express" train to Hakone Yumoto station. This is not a JR line so for Hakone it is irrelevant whether or not one has the JR rail pass, as the pass only works on JR lines.

From Hakone Yumoto station to access the hotel you can take a switchback train up to Gora station, where the hotel will send a shuttle van to pick you up- even though this is slower than a taxi I recommend doing it at least once as it is a fun experience. If you are arriving in the evening or want to save time, a taxi is the fastest way to/from Yumoto station, and the hotel sometimes has special offers giving guests a free taxi ride once per stay.

Since I imagine you will be in Hakone for at least a couple of days, I recommend getting the "Hakone Free Pass"- this will allow you unlimited use of the hakone public transportation- busses, cool cable cars, a ship that takes you across like Ashi-Noko. Not only will this save money, but it will be nice to not have to puchase individual tickets with coins each time you go somewhere. This pass can be obtained at the stations in Hakone, but it might be easier to purchase it when you get your romance car tickets.

I highly recommend Tenzan onsen in Hakone, which is a wonderful open air onsen very popular with Japanese of all ages. The hotel`s onsen bath is beautiful but is indoor only- you should really get the experience of an open air bath.

There is an open air museum nearby that has Rhodin sculptures that you must see

You should try local foods such as onsen eggs, mochi, and soba noodles when you going around during the day.

The cable car/ ship ride across the lake wondrful

There is a famous temple near the lake (can`t remember the name) you will see red "Tori" (Japanese style wooden archways in front of temples) in the water near the shore where the temple is.

The food at the hotel is very good (especially the french restaurant) which is a very nice Hyatt Style open kitchen layout. The other in hotel dinner option is Sushi, which is also pretty good. The in hotel dining is expensive for dinner- be prepared to pay $100 per person for the course menue (exclusive of drinks).

As an alternative there are many good restaurants (concierge can recommend) near Hakone Yumoto station- the catch is that round trip taxi fare to the restaruants will also cost quite a bit of money. If you will be out all day what I might suggest is finishing your sightseeing tour near Hakone Yumoto station via public transport- then take a nice bath at an onsen like Tenzan- take the bus from Tenzan to the station area where you can have a nice dinner, and then return to the hotel by taxi, thus avoiding having to pay round trip taxi far to and from the hotel.

During the day there is complimentary Champagne, wine, and beer in the lobby along with hors d`oeuvres. Other items and light meals can be ordered in the lobby lounge at extra cost.

Basically, at HR Hakone the "living room" is like a grand club, but at this hotel every guest is a "club guest"

Enjoy your time in Hakone, and feel free to PM me if you have questions about travel in Japan.

Regards

Mike