Onsens in Hakone

OK I have spend 2 days researching onsens in Hakone. 4 of us (2 guys, 2 girls) want to visit one, sharing a room. We would like to be able to eat dinner and breakfast together, and enjoy the hot springs together.

However, several obstacles are preventing this.

1) Most hot springs separate men and women from each other

2) The reservable hot springs I have come across are too small to fit 4 people comfortably

3) The ones with hot springs in-room are either too small to even fit 2 people, or are prohibitively expensive.

If someone could suggest 1 or 2 onsens for us, with the ability to reserve a hot spring for 4 people, please let me know. Price range is under 20,000 per person. Even a large communal outdoor hot spring would be nice, as long as it allows men and women to sit together.

It doesn't HAVE to be in Hakone, but somewhere within reasonable travel from Tokyo would be nice.

Thanks in advance!

Reserved bath (Kashikiri-buro) is mostly designed for a couple who want to share the bath and that's why the tub is not so big. I found 2 ryokans near Hakone. They are small inns and it would not be so difficult to reserve a bath. But none of them have English webpage. Please inquire them by fax.

1)Hakone Kisenso (near Hakone Yumoto station)
http://kisenso.com/
Japanese room type C (10-tatami floor) is good for 4.
12750 yen for weekdays and 14850 yen for weekends. (including dinner & breakfast) Reservation for Kashikiri-buro (free of charge) can be made at the check-in. (bath is available for 15:00-22:00, 6:00-9:30)
Please click "‘έΨ˜I“V•—˜C" on the left and you can see the picture.
BTW, the owner of this inn is a professional classic singer and he holds mini-concert twice a month for guests.
FAX : 0460-85-7800
2)Tabi no Yado Umimoto (near Ohiradai, Hakone)
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~umimoto/index0.html
A small inn with only 8 rooms. The room with private bath (‘单“V‚ΜŠΤjis 26500 yen but guests of other rooms can use 2 Kashikiri-buro, Hoshimi i―Œ©jand
TsukimiiŒŽŒ©). Reservation of Kashikiri-buro (free, 45 min) can be made at the check-in. (available for 15:00-20:00)
Price starts from 10300 yen (including dinner and breakfast).
FAX : 0460-87-4126

Wow, if that first one (‘έΨ˜I“V•—˜C) can be reserved for 4 people, it would be PERFECT! The price is good too! Unfortunately, we will not be there during the concerts.

I hope I can reserve this one. Thanks so much for all your help! :D

Just thought I'd follow up, and thank you for your recommendation! I would highly recommend this onsen for anyone who wants to share an outdoor bath with 4-6 people. It was our first time going to a bath, and it was an unforgettable experience.

In fact, I just booked another trip in January for 1 week of onsen-hopping around the Sapporo area, and then 1 week for Tokyo ;)

"It doesn't HAVE to be in Hakone, but somewhere within reasonable travel from Tokyo would be nice."
I visited Onsenkaku several days ago , and highly recommend the place.You may want to check this one out.
Having a bath in rotemburo while snowing is an unforgettable experience.