hailstorm

To be fair, I did receive a welcome card from the GM, and they made no mention of breakfast other than to say that we could change to Japanese breakfast for extra charge of 300 yen.

Nobody was outwardly malicious, but two people I asked couldn't answer a simple question about the surrounding area, and one of them pointed us in the wrong direction to Yunessun, adding about 20 minutes to our commute.

And, other than the calls to housekeeping where they obviously had our information on hand, nobody ever knew or addressed us by name, even the people we saw multiple times...it's not fair to compare the service to GHT or PHT, but the staff isn't even close to the same level as the Tokyo Regency. All interactions felt like dealing with a computer interface as opposed to real people.

price123

Any advice on getting a reply to emails at the hotel? I have tried the general email address, the marketing manager and GM. None have replied.

hailstorm

Have you tried [email protected]?

sfpaul900

This might just be the oddest question I've ever asked, but here goes.

We are staying at a ryokan in Hakone on Sun-Mon, Sept 15-16. (I didn't think the Hyatt was worth the $650 a night, especially when the ryokan is $400 per night and includes 2 meals. I've been to the Hyatt and it's nice, but IMHO, not worth that price).

Anyway, I love the little bar off the Hyatt lobby, but it's only open Saturday nights. They are open, however, on Sundays before national holidays. Since Sept 16 is Respect for the Aged Day (which, as I barge through middle-age, seems an eminently sensible reason for a holiday), I presume the bar will be open Sunday night as well.

Now for the silly question: As a guest of the Hyatt, I wore my yukata everywhere, to the restaurant, to the bar, in the Living Room. I thought it would be fun after dinner to head over from our ryokan for a nightcap at the Hyatt bar, but was wondering if it's appropriate to wear a yukata from another establishment. Of course, we could change back into our street clothes, but it would seem to spoil the mood. I don't want to look like a buffoon (even more than a 6'2" white guys looks in a yukata to begin with) so any etiquette advice would be most appreciated.

RTW1

When in Rome.... But this would be over the limit for me, going outside as a westerner in a Yukata. But you could if you wear the outer jacket..... Still, a bit of a buffoon though :-). But if you're comfortable that the major part.

Maybe some of our Japan based members could share their views?

kuponuts

My guess is that not only the Japanese people, but also the majority of the international community would find this unsightly.

sfpaul900

I have stayed in resort towns before, such as Takayama and in Nagano, where walking around town in your yukata is common, but I think I'll err on the side of caution and change into street clothes should we decide to head over to the Hyatt for a drink.

Thanks for your advice

OsakaWino

The problem is that the area around HR Hakone is not an onsen neighborhood, where of course walking around town in yukata is fine. You would definitely look out of place. The people at the ryokan where you are staying would be much more surprised to see you go out in the yukata that they provide than the Hyatt would see you coming it. As it is not an onsen town, those yukata are not usually intended for outdoor use, rather they often double as sleepwear.

sfpaul900

OsakaWino: Thanks for the explanation. You saved me from being an Ugly American, in more ways than one!

The_Wrath_of_Khan

In the summer it's totally acceptable to wear a jimbe although I normally laugh at gaijin dressed up like they're japanese. I wear my jimbe about once or twice a year during festivals.

*EDIT* I'd never wear a hotel yukata outside of my room.

MikeFromTokyo

The yukatas provided at HR Hakone are designed to be worn throughout the hotel. Separate yukatas are provided for use as sleepwear.

hailstorm

And I hate when people wear them to breakfast, as I saw many people inadvertently dip their sleeves into the food...

OsakaWino

If the ryokan you're staying at is in an osen-gai (an onsen street or neighborhood) like you've seen before and like in your photo, i.e, an area with a number of ryokan and/or onsen hotels with numerous souvenir shops etc. where people walk around in yukata, your ryokan will most likely provide a yukata that is acceptable to be worn outside. But when staying at a ryokan that is not in an onsen-gai, people do not go outside in yukata.

I did not see anything like that in the immediate vicinity of the HR Hakone. I'm sure you know that the surrounding neighborhood is mostly company retreats, private vacation homes, vacation condos, etc. Not even very pleasant to walk around in street clothes, nevermind a yukata.

If you do stay in a area where you are comfortable walking outside in a yukata, you could certainly take a taxi over to the Hyatt for a drink while wearing your yukata. I cannot imagine that the Hyatt staff will think anything of it; my impression was that they have seen a wide range of somewhat eccentric foreigners.

We have always considered September a great time to travel in Japan because it is in between the traditional Japanese travel seasons of August (especially around obon) and October.

hailstorm

The only exception is if there is a festival or fireworks show going on in the area.

onepassjunkie

Ms onepassjunkie and I (currently in loyalty program rehab at the Mileage Plus clinic... ) will be staying four nights at the Hakone Hyatt in December, using my Hyatt Diamond points. I checked the train timetable from NRT to Gora on Hyperdia and it looks like it is a fairly reasonable 3-hour trip (we'll be landing at NRT at 2:40 pm). The only tight spot seems to be the transfer from the NEX train to the Kodama shinkansen at Shinagawa, where we will have a whopping 8 minutes to do so. Does anybody know if this feat is doable with suitcases at that particular station? We don't want to run like maniacs across the whole Shinagawa station; worst case we'll reserve seats on the next Kodama train at NRT.

I plan to buy the Hakone Free Pass in Odawara, where I will have 22 minutes.

Also, could someone please share the name or email address of the Hakone Hyatt GM? I read in this thread that the property does not answer emails...