Best way to do the Hakone sightseeing loop?

We will be doing the Hakone Loop in April.
Which direction do you suggest that will be less crowded with tourists?

Start early, avoid the weekends/national holidays if possible, and as long as the current suspension of the Hakone Tozan Railway continues (substitute buses available), probably going counter-clockwise would be quicker, as you get through the traffic congestion (of course buses have far less capacity compared to the trains) early in the day.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5200.html

But it would also depend on where you want to spend a lot of time, so please plan your visit well :)

Clockwise.
I avoid the anit-clock-wise route - worse connections and more people.

Thanks for the replies:
One counterclockwise and another clockwise.
That's why I'm confused.
We plan to see the following:
Hakone sightseeing cruise, Hakone ropeway,
and Owakudani (black eggs).

I do the course several times per year. I also note the crowds and where the bottle-necks are. There are more on the counter-clockwise course, and I've seen queues literally hundreds of meters long at Owakudani snaking out of the building - no thanks.
The main point I actively avoid which is most evident on the anti-clockwise course is waiting at Togendai for the boat. It's boring and nothing to do, and the wait can easily be more than 1/2 hour. The Hakone-Machi side is a much nicer place to kill time.

Clockwise is the least traveled direction. So less lines and waiting. Anti-clockwise is the common run. Most travel up the railway first.

Thanks!
Clockwise it is.

Clockwise is the least traveled direction.
That is not the reason I gave, but it also appears to be true based on my experience travelling to the region the past few years.