Gora Park, run by Odakyu Hakone in Gora, Hakone, stays open into the evening on Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16, 2026, for a special nighttime event called "GORA PARK Summer Night."
During the event, the park sells special evening menus in the summer dusk, including draft beer, wine, and its signature sandwiches, alongside kids' activities such as pressed-flower bookmark making and an all-you-can-grab candy scoop. It's an evening out the whole family can enjoy together.
On Sunday, August 16, timed to coincide with the "Hakone Gora Onsen Daimonji-yaki" bonfire event, the park also sets up reservation-only paid seating for a relaxed fireworks-viewing experience, plus free seating. From the park's viewing seats, visitors can take in the Daimonji-yaki bonfire — a traditional event held since 1921 — together with around 2,000 fireworks.
An overview of "GORA PARK Summer Night" follows below.
Event Overview
Dates: Saturday, August 15, 2026 (canceled in case of severe weather) and Sunday, August 16, 2026 (postponed or canceled if the "Hakone Gora Onsen Daimonji-yaki" is postponed or canceled due to weather)
Hours: 5:00 PM – 8:30 PM (last admission 7:30 PM; the west gate closes at 4:30 PM)
Note: Separate park admission is required.
Kids' Activities at Isshikido Saryo
Hands-on activities and games for children run throughout the nighttime opening.
Dates & Hours: August 15 (Sat) and 16 (Sun), 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Location: Inside Isshikido Saryo
Activities:
- Pressed-flower bookmark making — Combine colorful pressed flowers to create an original bookmark.
- Bottle Flip Challenge (prize: candy; participation prize: a balloon art) — Flip a plastic bottle in the air and land it upright. Each player gets 3 tries, and one success wins a prize.
- All-you-can-grab candy scoop — Using a scoop, take as much candy as you can grab in 5 seconds.
Who Can Join: Children (elementary school age and under)
How to Join: Each activity requires 1–2 tickets depending on the content.
Fee: ¥300 per sheet (3 tickets), sold at the souvenir shop from 5:00 PM, with no purchase limit.
Evening Menu at Isshikido Saryo
During the event, Isshikido Saryo offers a special evening menu built around its signature chicken ham sandwich, alongside snacks, alcoholic drinks, and floats.
Hours: August 15 (Sat) and 16 (Sun), 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM (last order 8:10 PM). The restaurant closes at 4:00 PM and reopens at 5:30 PM. Takeout items may be brought inside, but indoor dine-in menu items are not sold during this reopening.
Menu highlights (tax included):
- Draft beer (Sapporo Black Label) — ¥600
- Barton & Guestier Bel Mer Chardonnay (white) — ¥600
- Barton & Guestier Bel Mer Cabernet Sauvignon (red) — ¥600
- Ramune (bottled) — ¥350
- Smoked chicken ham sandwich (half size) — ¥750
- Mini herb frankfurter — ¥700
- Garlic toast stick — ¥500
- Boiled edamame — ¥500
Special Fireworks Viewing Seats, August 16
Reserved seating lets visitors watch the Daimonji-yaki bonfire up close in a relaxed, spacious setting, with a complimentary drink from the takeout counter included.
Date: Sunday, August 16, 2026
Seats: 20 seats, in the area beside the Himalayan cedar at the center of the park
Price: Adults ¥3,300; children ¥1,800 (includes 1 drink)
How to Reserve: Advance reservations open August 1 via the Hakone Tozan Train Online Store; pay at the main gate ticket counter on the day.
Reservation site: https://htr-merch.stores.jp/
Sales Period: August 1 (Sat) – August 14 (Fri), noon
Other notes:
- Free seating is also available (approximately 80 seats).
- Seats are not assigned; free seating is first-come, first-served from 4:30 PM.
- Any advance-reservation seats left unsold are sold on the day at the paid viewing area.
- Day-of pricing: adults ¥3,800; children ¥2,300 (includes 1 drink)
- If the event is postponed, advance reservations become void and seats are sold only at the ticket counter on the postponed date.
- Postponed-date pricing: adults ¥3,300; children ¥1,800 (includes 1 drink)
Visiting Gora Park
Hours: March – November, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (last admission 4:30 PM); December – February, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM (last admission 4:00 PM)
Closed: Open year-round, with three maintenance closures per year.
Admission: Adults ¥650 (tax included); free for elementary school age and under, and free for dogs.
- Free admission with the Hakone Free Pass, Nonbiri Kippu, or Owakudani Kippu, including digital tickets.
- Same-day and next-day re-entry is allowed with your receipt shown at the gate.
- This re-entry allowance does not apply to holders of the combined Gora Park–Hakone Museum of Art admission ticket.
About Gora Park
Located at Gora, the terminus of the Hakone Tozan Train line, Gora Park opened in 1914 (Taisho 3) as Japan's first French formal garden. While French formal gardens are typically built on flat, expansive grounds with a symmetrical, geometric arrangement of fountains and ponds, Gora Park was built into a hillside instead.
The park was originally planned alongside the development of the surrounding Gora area, and became a favorite of villa residents and the many passengers who began using the Hakone Tozan Railway, which opened five years after the park itself. Today, still surrounded by the same open sky and mountains as in the past, the park offers visitors a variety of experiences throughout the day, with the hands-on workshop facility "Hakone Craft House" opening in 2004, followed later by the sandwich restaurant "Isshikido Saryo."
