Nestled in the rich natural surroundings of Sengokuhara in Hakone, the forest resort hotel Hakone Retreat före & villa 1/f (located in Sengokuhara, Hakone Town, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture) is holding a yukata experience timed to the mid-autumn moon season, in collaboration with salon mizu, a Miura Peninsula-based studio offering kimono dressing lessons and other Japanese cultural experiences.
The yukata, long cherished as a garment for Japanese summers, is reimagined here as something to enjoy with ease while traveling. Rather than treating it as attire reserved only for special occasions, the experience invites guests to wear a yukata as a way of connecting with Japanese culture and the season during their stay.
Wrapped in a yukata within the forest-filled, nature-attuned spaces of Hakone Retreat, guests can stroll the grounds or take photographs surrounded by nature. Choosing the color and pattern of the yukata and pairing it with an obi lets guests enjoy the scenery of Hakone from a perspective a little different from an ordinary stay.
As the season turns toward the mid-autumn moon, guests can also look up at the moon in the autumn night sky, spending a quiet Hakone evening steeped in seasonal atmosphere unique to Japan.
Around the small act of wearing a yukata, the nature, architecture, and season of Hakone Retreat come together, turning the experience into more than just enjoying an outfit — it becomes a way of savoring the time spent in the place itself.
Enjoying Japanese Attire With Ease While Traveling
This experience is created by salon mizu, based on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture, which operates under the concept of "wearing the seasons, a kimono lifestyle." After working in the world of Japanese cuisine as an itamae (Japanese chef), its founder became captivated by the beauty of Japanese culture through an encounter with tea ceremony, and now runs kimono dressing lessons, a members-only salon, on-location dressing services, and Japanese cultural experience programs. Valuing the shifting of the seasons and a sense of nature's rhythm, salon mizu proposes a richer everyday life and heartfelt experiences through kimono and Japanese culture.
For this yukata experience, two plans are available: a "Self-Dressing Plan" that lets first-time wearers enjoy dressing themselves with ease, and a "Creator-Styled Plan" where a yukata stylist and creator handles the dressing. Guests can try dressing themselves as a way of engaging with Japanese culture, or leave the styling to a professional and spend a special time amid Hakone's nature and architecture — choosing the approach that suits their travel style and interests.
Two Ways to Enjoy the Yukata Experience
(1) Self-Dressing Plan: Dress Yourself and Enjoy Japanese Culture on the Road
Guests rent a yukata, obi, and geta, and dress themselves while following an instructional video on their smartphone. Because guests can go at their own pace, the plan is approachable even for first-timers, making it a good fit for overseas guests who want to experience Japanese culture up close.
Choosing a yukata, matching it with an obi, and dressing yourself — the process itself becomes part of the travel memory of engaging with Japanese culture. After changing, guests are free to explore the grounds of Hakone Retreat and the surrounding nature, spending travel time a little different from usual.
Price: ¥9,900 per person (tax included)
(2) Creator-Styled Plan: Wear a Beautifully Dressed Yukata and Take In the Scenery of Hakone
This special plan offers dressing by a yukata stylist and creator. The obi is tied in a style arranged for each guest, and once dressed, guests can stroll the grounds of Hakone Retreat and take photographs in their beautifully styled yukata.
Modern, quiet architecture paired with the soft presence of a yukata. The green of the forest against the colors and patterns of the yukata. The breeze felt while walking through nature, and the movement of swaying sleeves. Layering these different elements together offers a way to enjoy Hakone's nature and spaces from a perspective a little different from usual.
Beyond capturing the moment in photographs, the plan is also about enjoying the time spent wearing a yukata itself.
Price: ¥13,200 per person (tax included)
Nature and Architecture, All Part of the Yukata Experience
One of the appeals of Hakone Retreat före & villa 1/f is its setting, where rich nature and architecture come together in harmony. The green of the forest, the breeze passing through the trees, and light that shifts with the time of day surround quiet, modern architecture. Adding a figure dressed in a yukata to this scene layers traditional Japanese attire over the contemporary resort space.
The straight lines and materials of the architecture meet the soft movement of yukata fabric. The color and pattern of the yukata stand out against the green of the forest. The breeze felt in nature, and the movement of swaying sleeves. Through the familiar Japanese garment of the yukata, guests can enjoy the scenery of Hakone from a perspective a little different from an ordinary stay.
salon mizu, taking part in this collaboration, resonates deeply with Hakone Retreat's concept of "a space where rich nature and architecture harmonize, allowing guests to return to their true selves." The overlap between salon mizu's own belief in "feeling the changing seasons and bringing the beauty of Japanese tradition into everyday life" and the world Hakone Retreat offers is what made this new experience possible.
The Mid-Autumn Moon: Feeling the Season's Character
The mid-autumn moon also serves as an important seasonal backdrop for this experience. Looking up at the moon in the autumn night sky invites thoughts on the passing of the seasons. In the quiet surroundings of Hakone's forest, guests become more attuned to the night air and the beauty of moonlight that can go unnoticed in daily life. Wearing a yukata and spending unhurried time in nature lets guests take in the wind, light, sound, and air on the skin in a way that feels a little different from usual. Rather than "experiencing" something in a hurried way, it is time spent savoring the season itself. Under salon mizu's concept of "wearing the seasons," the experience invites guests to step away from the busyness of daily life and gently open up their senses. As the mid-autumn moon approaches, this experience proposes a Hakone-only moment for connecting with Japan's seasons and culture through the yukata.
Wearing a Yukata Changes the View of Your Stay
Wearing a yukata while traveling is not simply about enjoying an outfit different from the everyday. Even familiar surroundings can look a little different once dressed in a yukata — noticing the breeze while walking through the forest, paying attention to the materials of the architecture and the way light falls, or slowly taking in the transition from dusk into night. The small act of wearing a yukata changes how guests see the scenery and feel the passing of time during their stay. Through encounters with local culture, nature, and the season, Hakone Retreat aims to offer each guest a stay where they can spend time that feels like their own.
This yukata experience is another way to enjoy Japanese culture and the season together with the nature and architecture of Hakone Retreat, adding a new layer to the stay.
Yukata Experience Details
- Date: September 25, 2026 (Friday)
- Eligibility: Hotel guests only
- Self-Dressing Plan: Includes a full yukata rental set, an original dressing lesson video, and on-the-day touch-up support from a dressing professional. Guests follow a practical instructional video to try dressing themselves, and a dressing professional checks the finished look and offers touch-ups as needed — combining the enjoyment of dressing oneself with the reassurance of professional support. Price: ¥9,900 per person (tax included).
- Creator-Styled Plan: Includes a rental set from a carefully selected yukata collection and full styling and dressing by a professional. A yukata is selected especially for the day, and a dressing professional styles each guest individually, paying attention to details such as how the obi is tied. Guests can enjoy photography and a stroll through the grounds in a beautifully dressed yukata, leaving the styling — something difficult to achieve on one's own — to a professional for a special experience. Price: ¥13,200 per person (tax included).
Yukata, obi, and geta are available in limited types. Program content is subject to change. Depending on weather and other conditions, the content or location of the experience may be changed or cancelled.
Creator Ambassador — salon mizu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salon_mizu
Website: https://lit.link/salonmizu111
Based on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture, salon mizu runs kimono dressing lessons and a members-only salon under the concept of "wearing the seasons, a kimono lifestyle." After working as an itamae in the world of Japanese cuisine, its founder became captivated by the beauty of Japanese culture through an encounter with tea ceremony. Drawing on a sense of nature's rhythm cultivated partly through surfing, she now leads kimono dressing lessons and Japanese cultural experience programs as an instructor, while also working as a dressing professional providing on-location dressing services. Staying close to each person's lifestyle, she proposes a richer everyday life and heartfelt experiences that cherish one's own sensibility through kimono.
About the Creator Ambassador Program
Working with creators across music, art, craft, workshops, film, and photography, the Creator Ambassador Program aims to generate new value through stays and experiences. For the first cohort of 2026, 23 collaborating creators have been selected, each bringing their own perspective and worldview to express the unique atmosphere and sense of time that the hotel offers. The program values both the freedom of the creators' ideas and the creation of spaces where experiences and connections can open up to guests. The work of linking the appeal of Hakone as a place with the possibilities of creativity is set to continue.
About Hakone Retreat före & villa 1/f
Surrounded by the rich natural environment of Sengokuhara in the Hakone mountain range, Hakone Retreat före & villa 1/f offers a special relaxation space soothed by nature through the seasons. The property consists of the modern hotel "före" with 37 rooms and the independent cottage "villa 1/f" with 18 units, with 7 new villa units completed in August 2024. On-site facilities include WOODSIDE dining, which serves wood-fire cuisine; the Japanese restaurant Tawaraishi; cafe & lounge; the onsen ONSEN f; and the spa könoha spa. At free bird & terrace, guests can relax inclusively with drinks and seasonal welcome services amid the shifting plants and trees of each season, the color of the sky, and the scent of the wind. The overall design evokes the atmosphere of a Nordic resort.
- Website: https://www.hakone-retreat.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hakone.retreat/
