Hakone Park Volunteers

Hakone's approximately 80 official park volunteers are local experts who conduct monthly or bimonthly inspection tours around the Visitor Center, Lake Ashi, and Owakudani, tracking which plants are blooming, which birds are nesting, and any other notable conditions. Their reports are posted on the Visitor Center wall and are updated throughout the year, giving useful, current information before any hike or outdoor outing. Records from the program, which has been running since 1985, are archived at the center and available on request. Volunteers also lead free two-hour guided walks, starting at 10 a.m. on the second and fourth Friday of each month.