town, Kanagawa ken (prefecture), south-central Honshu, Japan. It lies on the southern bank of Lake Ashino, in the caldera of the extinct volcano Mount Hakone. The town, a post station during the Tokugawa period (1603–1868), is now the tourist base for Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. A favourite hot-spring and sight-seeing resort, Hakone is well served by roads and railways. Pop. (2000) 15,829.