About

Yuko, the Hakone-area local behind Local Days

I live near Hakone in Kanagawa, Japan, and I visit the area regularly.

Local Days is my personal guide to Hakone, based on places I have actually visited, photographed, and experienced myself.

I write about onsen, ryokan, hotels, cafés, restaurants, walks, and seasonal places around Hakone.

My goal is to help international visitors choose where to go, where to stay, and how to enjoy Hakone with more confidence.

I’m not a travel agency or an official tourism site. I write from a local point of view, sharing honest impressions, practical details, and small things that are often hard to know before visiting.

Most of the photos on this site are taken by me, unless otherwise noted.

Lake Ashi with Mt. Fuji in the distance and the red torii gate of Hakone Shrine
Classic Kikka-so building, the former Imperial Villa at Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita, Hakone
A quiet café corner at RoheN Hakone-Yumoto, one of the local places I visited and photographed in Hakone.