Number plates of the state of Hakone, Kawagoeland

The state of Hakone in Kawagoeland required its residents to display number plates. All passenger number plates carry only the state name, which is "HAKONE" in English only. The state of Hakone's number plates are transferrable plates. The state of Hakone recycles serials, in order to avoid running out of combinations. The Hakone Department of Transportation issues "The Hakone Registration Number Book", a book of vehicle registration numbers.

## History

### Early number plates

Hakone's early number plates contained just a sequence number only, with the legend "HAKONE (year)" on the left side. They were issued annually, like the United States. Hakone became the first state of Kawagoeland to issue number plates, in 1900. In other states, number plates were issued by insurance companies until around between 1905 and 1918 when other states began issuing plates.

* **1900:** Golden numbers on a black metal, "HAKONE 1900" on the left
* **1901:** Silver numbers on a black metal, "HAKONE 1901" on the left
* **1902:** Black numbers on a golden metal, "HAKONE 1902" on the left
* **1903:** Black numbers on a silver metal, "HAKONE 1903" on the left
* **1904:** White numbers on a blue porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1904" on the left
* **1905:** White numbers on a red porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1905" on the left
* **1906:** White numbers on a purple porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1906" on the left
* **1907:** Blue numbers on a white porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1907" on the left
* **1908:** White numbers on a blue porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1908" on the left
* **1909:** Purple numbers on a white porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1909" on the left
* **1910:** White numbers on a purple porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1910" on the left
* **1911:** Yellow numbers on a black porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1911" on the left
* **1912:** Black numbers on a yellow porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1912" on the left
* **1913:** White numbers on a black porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1913" on the left
* **1914:** Black numbers on a white porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1914" on the left
* **1915:** Green numbers on a white porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1915" on the left
* **1916:** White numbers on a green porcelain metal, "HAKONE 1916" on the left
* **1917:** Embossed orange numbers on a black metal, "HAKONE 1917" on the left
* **1918:** Embossed black numbers on an orange metal, "HAKONE 1918" on the left
* **1919:** Embossed purple numbers on a white metal, "HAKONE 1919" on the left
* **1920:** Embossed green numbers on a yellow metal, "HAKONE 1920" on the left
* **1921:** Embossed yellow numbers on a red metal, "HAKONE 1921" on the left
* **1922:** Embossed white numbers on a blue metal, "HAKONE 1922" on the left
* **1923:** Embossed white numbers on a green metal, "HAKONE 1923" on the left
* **1924:** Embossed red numbers on a white metal, "HAKONE 1924" on the left
* **1925:** Embossed yellow numbers on a blue metal, "HAKONE 1925" on the bottom

The first number plate issued in the state of Hakone.
### Present-day series

The year of 1926 became the first year to use the format still in use today, in the form *A-B*, where *A* stood for the county (one to two digits) and *B* stood for the serial number between one and six digits. Several counties are now up to use a serial number that is one letter followed by between three and six digits because the rising number of cars, and the city of Hakone now introduces the format *1-ABC234*. Stacked county codes have been used since 1981.

From 1926 until 1946, Hakone used red-on-white for even years and white-on-red for odd years. From 1946 until 1966, Hakone used white-on-blue for even years and blue-on-white for odd years. Issuing of annual plates was discontinued in 1966. The witch silhouette began appearing in 1926.

From 1966 until 1978, plates appeared in white-on-green. Today, the state of Hakone issues plates in colours pumpkin orange and black (the Halloween colours).

Current number plate format for the county of Hakone (1).
## Special plates

These plates are the same as above, however, but the witch graphic is replaced by a small capital letter.

* **Bus:** The city of Hakone reserves the format A-1234-H for use in its buses; it corresponds to the fleet number of the bus (one or two letters followed by an allocated slot number). In other cities or towns with bus systems, the format is *X*b1234.
* **Handicapped:** The format is *X*hc1234, where X is the county.
* **Trailer:** The format is *X*t1234, where *X* is the county.
* **Trams (and formerly trolleybuses):** Trams are required to have a number plate in the form *X*tx1234, where *X* is the county. However, in the state of Hakone, they bear the plate in the form A-1234-TR; it corresponds to the fleet number.