Kyoto/Hakone/Tokyo
 

We are travelling to Japan for 10 days arriving Narita on 3rd February at 3pm. Any advice on the best way to get to Kyoto?
From Kyoto we are going to Hakone for 2 nights stay in a ryokan. WI would like to know where to purchase the Hakone Free Pass for a family of three adults.?

Any good advice about the train back to Tokyo from Hakone? We are staying in Harajuku. Thank you

The best way to travel in Japan is by train. Take a look at www.japan-guide.com for the best online resource on Japan. For trains specifically, look at www.hyperdia.com This will give you times, connections and prices. You can buy the Hakone Free Pass at Odawara Station for sure... we bought ours at Shinjuku station in Tokyo, and I'm sure eight could buy them at the station in Kyoto as well. Also, learn about the luggage delivery system - it is wonderful!

Leaving Hakone, be aware that the tiny train can get very crowded. You may watch several trains pass you by because of no space. We opted to take a taxi from our lodgings in Hakone to the Odawara station

Kathie has given you the most crucial things you need to plan your trip -- the links to japan-guide and hyperdia. :-)

I agree with her about the luggage delivery system. Its called takuhaibin; here's the info:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

If you arrive at Narita at 3pm, you've got 2 sensible choices for getting to Kyoto:

1) Fly to Osaka, then take the airport limobus to Kyoto. There are flights to Osaka at 5.00pm (you have plenty of time to make the flights), and then the airport bus will get you to Kyoto station by 8pm. With an overseas air ticket, it's often very inexpensive (around $100) to add on a ticket to Osaka.

2) Take the Narita Express train to Shinagawa station, then connect to the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. The train to Shinagawa takes a little bit more than an hour, then another 2:15 to Kyoto. This gets you to Kyoto at pretty much the exact same time as flying + airport limo, but it also may actually be slightly more expensive.

Sorry, hit Submit too quickly:

You can buy the Hakone Pass at places served by the Odakyu rail company. This includes Odawara and Shinjuku, but not Kyoto. If you're headed to Hakone from Kyoto, take the Shinkansen to Odawara, and but the Hakone Pass when you arrive in Odawara.

When you buy the Hakone Free Pass while at the Odawara Station add the cheap supplement for The Romance train that will take you all the way to Shinjuku station so you can get back into Tokyo. From Shinjuku you can change to the JR line and Harajuku is just a stop away. See this site for the Hakone Free Pass and Odakyu train info

http://www.odakyu.jp/english/

Aloha!

We just went in Dec when Hakone ropeway was closed due to possible minor eruption (and I just checked and it still is), so we bought the Izu Hakone pass (3000 yen) at Odawara station. The pass includes rides on Komagatake Ropeway (which is Not included in Hakone pass), boat ride on Lake Ashi, buses, and other transportation. You may want to consider this instead of the Hakone pass. We also traveled from Kyoto to Hakone, and bought the ticket from Odawara station but if you can buy it from Atami station (which is closer to Kyoto) it will save you more money, since transport from Atami to Hakone is included in the pass.

For your Kyoto to Odawara trip you want to take a Hikari shinkansen with no change of trains. The trip would be only about 2 hours. The catch is that they are infrequent, running every 2 hours starting at 08:33.

There are Kodama trains that make the trip in 3 hours. They make many more stops than the Hikari. Besides the extra travel time, those stops are annoying.

The other options require changes of trains, but could actually be faster than the Kodama trains that make the whole trip.

Here's the timetable for the Hikari and Kodama trains:

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/inter...chday=20160213