Our family is staying in Tokyo for a couple of days before heading to Hakone and then on to Kyoto and beyond. Our hotel is closest to the Akasaka Mitsuke Station (which is apparently on the Ginza Line/Marunouchi Line). It is also not far from the Akasaka Station (on the Chiyoda Line).
We need to travel to Hakone as we are staying at a hotel called Hotel Green Plaza Gora there and wonder what sequence of subway and rail lines we need to get there. We have purchased 7 day Japan Rail passes, but understand that this pass may not get us all the way to Hakone.
Any help would be appreciated. Thought I would try here first rather than the hotel as I understand their English is spotty.
Thank you.
0
Comments
It's not difficult. First, for your couple of days in Tokyo if you are going around the city, a 2-3 day subway day pass can be a good money saver.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
You can take the subway to either Tokyo Stn or Shinagawa and then get the Kodama bullet train to Odawara to go to Hakone. The time difference for either is minimal. Other bullet trains do no stop at Odawara so make sure it is a Kodama train.
If you'd like to see an example routing, see here:
https://bit.ly/2Hiy066
To give yourself the most time, you might want to activate your JR Pass with your departure date to Hakone and beyond a few days ahead of time.
From Odawara, you can buy the Hakone Free Pass.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
The Hakone Loop Course
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
is a common way to see the area and takes a full day.
When you finish with Hakone, you can save some time by going to Mishima instead of Odawara and catching the next bullet train for Kyoto.
You can see regular fares, routes and schedules on Hyperdia.
http://www.hyperdia.com
Under "More Options", be sure to uncheck the Nozomi box since you can't ride that train using the pass.
You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos
There are also loads of other tips on
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/the-best-japan-travel-tips/
Best regards.
Hotel Green Plaza Gora runs their own free shuttle buses between the hotel and Gora station.
From Gora: 15:00, and 15:30
To Gora: 10:30, and 11:00
https://www.hgp.co.jp/inf/Z15/hgp/access.html
The reservation is required. You may use their contact information shown here.
http://www.hotelgreenplazahakone.com/en-gb/
The following is a sample to get on the 15:00 shuttle bus. The Route 2 via JR Tokyo would be better to make a time to get on a Shinkansen train. At Shinagawa, Shinkansen trains stop for a shorter time. Unfortunately, for both at Tokyo and Shinagawa, Shinkansen platforms are at the other side of the station from the subway station. If you care about traveling through a large station with the luggage, you may dare to take Route 3 via Shimbashi to ride a direct local train to Odawara.
https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/?p=0&xpd=1&from=Akasaka-Mitsuke&to=Gora&date=04/18/2018&time=15:00&ft=1&ic=0&us=1&up=0&ut=0&nzm=0&sub_lang=nosub&estt=Gora
This is a sample to get a 10:30 shuttle bus from the Hakone Hotel. You could take a direct Hikari Shinkansen to Kyoto (Route 2).
https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/?p=0&from=Gora&to=Kyoto&date=04/18/2018&time=10:30&ft=0&ic=0&ut=0&up=0&us=1&nzm=0&sub_lang=nosub
This is a case for a morning departure from Tokyo. Your destination should be Kami-Gora, not Gora. You need to transfer to a cable car at Gora. In this case, you need a five-minute walk from the Kami-Gora station. I assume a leaving time of 9:00 to avoid a morning rush in a weekday in Tokyo. In this case, take a Route 1 (via Shimbashi) or Route 2 (via Tokyo). The Limited Express Train run by Odakyu Railway listed on Route 3 (via Shinjuku) is not covered by a Japan Rail Pass.
https://world.jorudan.co.jp/mln/en/?p=0&xpd=1&from=Akasaka-Mitsuke&to=Kami-Gora&date=04/18/2018&time=09:00&ft=0&ic=0&us=1&up=0&ut=0&nzm=0&sub_lang=nosub&estf=Akasaka-Mitsuke&estt=Kami-Gora
http://www.hakone-tozan.co.jp/en/