Tokyo - Kyoto on Japan Rail
 

We plan to visit Japan in November and will travel from Tokyo to Kyoto by rail, but intend to stop by Odawara to visit Hakone for a day. The Japan-Guide web site says that if the travel is greater than 100Km, you have two days to complete the journey and stopping over is possible. Has anyone done this before and how does it work? Do you lose your reserved seat on the continuation part of the journey?
I also get the impression that if you pre-purcahse a non-reserved ticket for a certain day you can take any train during the day that goes that way? Does the non-reserved cars ever get full? I heard ordinary Japanese seldom reserve their seats.
Your help is much appreciated.

Reserved seats are a separate purchase. Am fairly certain that you would have to pay for reserved seats twice: one reserved seat ticket for Tokyo to Odawara and another for the next day to Kyoto. I haven't done this but my understanding is that you use the same fare ticket on both days (that is the way it would have to work).

You don't buy an "unreserved ticket", you buy a "fare ticket" a here-to-there ticket. You can then buy a reserved seat ticket. Or not. You can use the fare ticket to ride in an unreserved car on any train, but the reserved seat ticket applies to a specific train.

Sometimes all of the seats in the unreserved seats are full and you have to stand. You don't necessarily need a reserved seat for Tokyo to Odawara - you have a chance of getting an empty seat in Tokyo as it is the origin of the train, and anyway it is a short trip.

Getting a reserved seat for Odawara-Kyoto is a good idea because the train will be loaded up in Tokyo and not many passengers getting off at Odawara (there are cheaper options for pax who are making that trip).

Suppose you start at Shinjuku. They will give you a ticket to take the JR Chuo line local to Tokyo and another ticket for Tokyo to Kyoto and then up to 2 reserved seat tickets (if you choose to buy them).

Thanks you mrwunrfl.
Sounds like the fare ticket and the reserve tickets are separate tickets. Can you buy them separately?
Say I buy the Tokyo-Kyoto fare ticket, go to Odawara on the unreserved train as you suggested, then when I continue the Journey the next day, I buy the reserve ticket at the Odawara station for whichever train that I decide to take, provided there are still seats in the reserved sections. This way, I don't tie myself to a specific time of departure from Hakone.
There are so many trains to go from Odawara to Kyoto, I can't imagine that all of them will be full, can it?

Many of the train options from Odawara to Kyoto would involve Kodama shinkansen. Those trains make many stops and you really don't want one of those.

There are basically four ways to get from Odawara to Kyoto by shinkansen:

1) via Kodama train from Odawara traveling in the direction of Kyoto. That would most likely involve a change of trains, likely at Nagoya. You really don't want to board a Kodama train that is bound for Nagoya or Kyoto.

2) backtrack from Odawara to Shin-Yokoama and then get a Nozomi shinkansen from there, blowing by Odawara on the way to Kyoto.

3) via Hikari train from Odawara with a change of trains, again probably at Nagoya

4) via Hikari train from Odawara with no change of trains to Kyoto.

This webpage http://tinyurl.com/mbz9ake lists the trains from Odawara bound to Kyoto. Two hours on Hikari or three hours on Kodama.

Reserved seats only cost about 700 yen, so you don't have too much to lose if you miss the train. Reserved seats are going to be like unreserved seats: they are mostly (if not all) taken in Tokyo or Shinagawa or Shin-Yokohama to points south and west of Odawara.

Read this: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2018.html
The sample tickets shown include a supplement ticket for 2920 with a reserved seat. That price includes the optional reserved seat fee plus the required surcharge (a limited express surcharge).

Again, when I have purchased a ticket I used it same day. I haven't done a stopover like you are planning, so am not sure how it works. What I would do would be to make it clear when I purchase the ticket that I would be traveling over two days (e.g. point at a calendar). Then I would buy the ticket without a reserved seat. Next thing, in a separate transaction, would be to buy a reserved seat and if I don't make that train then, oh well, I am out 710 yen. It would be a gamble worth taking, imo.

I also have never done this but I agree with mrwunrfl that you need to make clear your intentions as the base fare is one ticket and a supplement/limited express fee with or without a reserved seat will be necessary for each leg of your journey.

There was a similar question on japan-guide.com - see Uji's answer:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/que...y.html?0+92360
second from bottom....

Uji is reliable. If I did the math right then you would save a total of 300 yen.

If you go to hyperdia.com and do a search then it shows the Fare and the Seat Fee. By default, the Seat Fee includes the reserved seat charge plus the supplement/surcharge. Choose "Unreserved" on the dropdown and the Seat Fee will show just the supplement.

On the dropdown, it shows three choices Green Car, Reserved seat, Unreserved seat. The difference between the prices for Reserved and Unreserved is the actual reserved seat charge.

Thank you mrwunrfl, The japan-guide page you gave is very comprehensive. I spent quite some time on japan-guide but never come across this page. Thanks

What other rail travel are you doing? If there's a substantial amount, get the Japan Rail pass.

Kodamas are not only slow because they're local, they're also the oldest train sets on the Tokyo-Osaka shinkansen line.