Hakone is best known for hot springs, mountain scenery and views of Mount Fuji, but we found another reason to explore the area: Nobu Matsuhisa’s connection to the Itoh Dining and Gora Brewery group.

The group currently includes six Hakone establishments: Itoh Dining by Nobu, Gora Brewery & Grill, Gora Brewery Public House, Pub Stop, Beer Bar and Brewers Cafe.

We somehow managed to visit five of the six in a single day.

The only one we missed was Itoh Dining by Nobu.

What started as a casual brewery stop quickly became a full Hakone food-and-drink crawl.

The Nobu Connection in Hakone

This isn’t a collection of traditional Nobu restaurants like Nobu Tokyo or Nobu Malibu.

Instead, chef Keisuke Itoh’s restaurant group has a long-standing collaboration with Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, and that influence is most obvious at Itoh Dining by Nobu and Gora Brewery & Grill.

The current Gora Brewery & Grill menu even states that the restaurant is a collaboration with Nobu Matsuhisa and includes a dedicated “NOBU Style” section.

That made us curious enough to see just how different the group’s Hakone locations were from one another.

Stop 1: Gora Brewery Public House

Hakone-Yumoto

This was the logical place to begin because Public House sits near the gateway to Hakone.

The restaurant describes itself as “Hakone Port Tap & Table,” combining craft beer with pizza, seafood and borderless dishes influenced by both Italian and Japanese cooking.

We went straight for the beer flight and pairing plate.

This was one of my favorite ways to understand Gora Brewery because you could taste several styles side by side rather than committing to one beer.

Our flight included a range from light and crisp beers to darker, maltier styles.

The pairing plate was equally fun, with several small bites designed to work with the different beers.

Stop 2: Beer Bar by Gora Brewery

Kowakudani

Beer Bar was almost the opposite experience.

Small, casual and tucked into a red wooden building surrounded by greenery, it felt more like a neighborhood beer stop than a restaurant.

We ordered tacos with our beers, making this one of the more relaxed stops of the day.

Our take:
Come here for the casual atmosphere and a beer rather than a full meal. It’s an easy stop before continuing through Hakone.

The seafood presentation also showed that Public House is more ambitious than a typical brewpub.

Our take:
Come here if you want the best combination of food + beer tasting in an easy-to-reach Hakone-Yumoto location.

Stop 3: Brewers Cafe

Brewers Cafe sits in the same red-building complex and offers a more relaxed café atmosphere.

This is the stop I would use for something lighter — coffee, a draft or canned beer, or a quick bite between larger meals.

We ordered the French toast, which turned out to be one of the surprises of the day. It was easily one of our favorite dishes of the crawl.

Our take:
Brewers Cafe is worth stopping at even if you aren't looking for another beer. Come for a quick break, but don't overlook the French toast.

Stop 4: Pub Stop

Pub Stop is another casual Gora Brewery concept, built more around beer and comfort food than fine dining.

By this point in our crawl, we weren't looking for another full meal, so we shared a pizza before continuing to Gora Brewery & Grill.

Of the five stops, this felt like the most straightforward place to grab a beer and something casual to eat.

Our take:
Pub Stop works best if you want an easy meal and a beer rather than a destination dining experience.

Stop 5: Gora Brewery & Grill

We saved the most anticipated stop for last.

Gora Brewery & Grill is where the connection to Nobu Matsuhisa becomes much clearer.

The menu identifies the restaurant as a collaboration with Nobu Matsuhisa and includes a dedicated Nobu Style section, along with Japanese-influenced dishes such as dry miso salad, grilled tuna and salmon with black truffle.

The setting is also completely different from the earlier stops. The restaurant overlooks a lush Japanese garden, making this feel much more like a destination restaurant than a brewery taproom.

After spending the day moving between Gora Brewery's more casual concepts, this was the natural place to finish with a proper dinner.

Our take:
If you only visit one of the five, make it Gora Brewery & Grill. It offers the strongest combination of food, setting and the Nobu connection.

The One We Missed: Itoh Dining by Nobu

The sixth establishment is Itoh Dining by Nobu, the group's high-end teppanyaki restaurant.

Unlike the casual brewery concepts, this is the restaurant most directly associated with the Nobu name and focuses on premium ingredients and teppanyaki.

We didn't make it there on this trip.

After visiting the other five locations in one day, though, it now feels like the obvious reason to return.

Which Stop Was Our Favorite?

After visiting all five, we'd choose differently depending on what we were looking for:

Best overall food: Gora Brewery & Grill
Best beer experience: Gora Brewery Public House
Most casual/fun stop: Beer Bar
Best quick stop: Brewers Cafe
Best casual meal: Pub Stop

The biggest surprise was how different the five locations felt.

This isn't one brewery concept copied across Hakone. Each has its own personality, ranging from a tiny casual beer bar and cafe to a full Nobu-influenced restaurant.

Can You Visit All Five in One Day?

Yes.

We did.

But I would only recommend it if you treat the day as a crawl rather than ordering full meals at every stop.

Our ideal strategy would be:

Public House → Beer Bar → Brewers Cafe → Pub Stop → Gora Brewery & Grill

Have a beer, tasting or small bite at the first four stops, then make Gora Brewery & Grill your proper meal.

That lets you experience how different the five concepts are without turning the day into an eating endurance event.

Is It Worth Doing?

For most visitors to Hakone, there's no reason to go out of your way to visit all five.

But if you enjoy Nobu, craft beer and unusual food-and-drink experiences, this is a surprisingly fun way to spend a day in Hakone.

It also gave us a completely different way to explore an area better known for hot springs, Mount Fuji views and sightseeing.

We came for one brewery.

We ended up visiting five.

And now we still have one left.

HAKONE Travel Guide

JAPAN Travel Guide