Tokyo-3 Is Hakone, and You Can Visit Without Getting in the Robot

What you're looking at

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995) puts Tokyo-3, its fortress city, on the north shore of Lake Ashi around Sengokuhara in Hakone. Hakone-Yumoto's old station building appears as "Shin-Hakone-Yumoto" in TV episodes 4 and 19, the panorama in episode 2 is the view from Mt. Kintoki, and Gora lent its name to the "Gora Absolute Defense Line."

Getting there

The Odakyu Romancecar runs from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in as little as 75 minutes. The classic loop then heads uphill on the Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora, and on by cable car and ropeway to Togendai on the lake.

Before you go

• Most of the merch has moved on. Hakone's Evangelion promotion started with an Eva map in 2009 and peaked in the first half of 2020, when Togendai wore a "Tokyo-3 Station" sub-name. The last Eva-wrapped bus, painted as Unit-02, ran until October 14, 2024. We found no tie-ins for 2025 or 2026.
• Mountain weather is real. The ropeway and the lake can be fogged in, and services can stop in bad weather. Check before you commit to the loop.
• Mt. Kintoki is a proper hike, not a stroll. Wear real shoes for the episode 2 view.

Also nearby

• Hakone-Yumoto Station, for the "Shin-Hakone-Yumoto" scenes.
• Gora, the name behind the Absolute Defense Line. In early 2020, Gora Park even displayed a Lance of Longinus.
• Sengokuhara, the area the series uses for Tokyo-3 itself.