Which Hakone route is best?

I will be going to Hakone by Romance car with Hakone freepass on Nov 16. Depart Shinjuku station at 9:48am. Can anyone advise which route to take to see the best of Mt. Fuji.

A: Hakone Yumoto, Moto Hakone,cruise Lake Ashi, Owakudani,Gora, Owdawara and back to Shinjuku

or

B: Hakone Yumoto, Gora, Owdawara, Lake Ashi, Moto Hakone and back to Shinjuku.

Do I get to view the highest point of Mt. Fuji at the time of my arrival in Hakone?

A view of Fuji san is best from the ropeway and from Owakudani, plus same places in MotoHakone have Fuji view. But only on a cloudless day. It is said to be less cloudy in the morning then in the afternoon. So B may give better chances for view of Fuji san.

Thanks Peter for your advise. Look like I have to set off earlier so as not to miss the good view in the morning. =)

This is always a debatable question. First, to have enough time in Hakone, I'd leave on an earlier train. The Odakyu people recommend taking your "A" routing as they say the earlier the better for seeing Fuji, and you can get a fine view from the boat on Ashi no Ko. We were there in May, and the clouds parted while we were on the boat and we had a good view. However, Peter is also correct in saying that the view from Owakudani is good. In fact, our best view was probably from there. But don't forget that there is much more to see at Hakone than just Fuji. Leave earlier and have more time to enjoy it.

Thanks, Tay. May I know what time did you depart from Shinjuku station? If I would to take the 8.53am express romance car, will I be caught in the crowd as the morning rush hour is 8 to 9am. One more question - is the Odakyu Ticket Office easy to find? My concern here is that Shinjuku station will be very crowded during the morning peak hour and fear that might not be able to allocate the office and miss the train. Thanks =)

Here is a link to a diagram of the Shinjuku station showing the Odyaku office.

http://www.odakyu.jp/english/center/images/map_ssc.pdf

Hope it helps!

I currently work on my schedul efor Oct. 2nd.: Depart 07:56 from Tokyo station to Odawara. take the SHINKANSEN KODAMA 533A (36 min. ) to Odawara. Arrive 08:32. Buy Hakone weekday pass (several variations exist). Depart 08:48 from Odawara to HAKONEYUMOTO with ODAKYU LTD EXPRESS HAKONE. Depart 09:08 from HAKONEYUMOTO to CHOKOKU-NO-MORI with HAKONE TOZAN RAILRAOD, train #421

We took the romance car from Shinjuku at about 7:30 AM. But here's the thing - the Odakyu office that handles reservations and tickets in anything other than the Japanese language doesn't open in time for a train that early. So, you'll need to pick up the tickets the day before. I believe the office is open until 6:00 PM, but it would be better to check that on their web site. Here's another tip: Odakyu will accept reservations with a credit card guarantee several months in advance of your trip. Again, check their web site and send them and email. They respond very quickly. That way, you'll have a shot at seats in the very front of the train, ie, an "engineer's eye view", since the engineer sits above you in a separate compartment on most romance car trains!
As far as finding the office, we found it a bit problematic, but with help from folks in the station, we found it. The Japanese and foreign desks are right next to each other, the one for foreigners on the left. I don't think the map shown earlier is much of a help; at least it didn't help us much. But, if you pick up tickets the day before, you'll have plenty of time to find the office and get used to the station lay-out as well. Good luck! PS: Even leaving early is no guarantee of seeing Fuji, but at that time of year you'll have a fighting chance.

Thanks for all your useful tips on Hakone. Now I have a clearer picture of how to go about collecting the tickets and which route to take to view Mt. Fuji and time to set off. Thanks so much for all your help and time spent replying my queries. All these useful info and advise really help me alot in planning a better holiday trip for my family. May all of you have a blessed day! =)