kdd

Hi,

We are planning a daytrip to Hakone from Tokyo. Our plan is to go as far as Owakudani and then return. While there is a lot of info on how to get to Owakudani, I don't see much said about the return journey. Wondering what the best way is to do the return trip to Tokyo. Is there a bus that would take us from Owakudani directly to say Odawara? Or, should we just retrace the journey and do the cablecar, Hokone Tozan railway etc on the way back too?

Thanks.

rkkwan

No bus from Owakudani, but if you continue on the ropeway down to Togendai, there's the "A" bus that goes all the way back to Odawara. It runs about every 20 minutes and takes an hour.

kdd

Hi,

So if we go only as far as say Gora or Owakudani, the best thing to do is to continue on to Tongedai and take the bus? Or, is it easier to take the same cablecars/railways on the onward journey back to Odawara? My guidebook says there is a bus that goes all the way from Tongedai to Shinjuku which might be a good option. How does one go about ensuring a seat on these buses?

Thanks

rkkwan

Yes, there is the Hakone Highway Bus that goes from Togendai directly back to Shinjuku. Takes 2:15, so it is a bit faster than going back to Odawara. It runs every 30 minutes in the afternoon at :00 and :30 Sorry, but I don't know how to ensure a seat.

For comparison, if you take that "A" bus from Togendai, it takes 42 minutes to get to Hakone-Yumoto. And if you take the Romance Car, it's about 90 minutes back to Shinjuku. Plus connection time.

But back to Owakudani. From there, it is 8 minutes back to Sounzan, then 9 minutes down to Gora by the cable car, and then 34 minutes from Gora to Hakone-Yumoto. So, actual travel time is 51 minutes, but you may have to wait up to 15-20 minutes for the cable car, and the cable car doesn't necessarily connects immediately with the Tozen train, etc...

On the other hand, it's 16 minutes from Owakudani down to Togendai. From there, you may have to wait up to 30 minutes for the Highway Bus back to Shinjuku. Or up to 20 minutes for the "A" bus back to Hakone-Yumoto or Odawara, and then wait for the train back.

I've only visited Hakone once recently, and I'm basing these on that experience and the timetable I have on hand. I can't say which will be the fastest way from Owakudani. But I'll say if you only want to go as far as Gora, then you should just backtrack.

Hope that helps.

kdd

Great info! Thank you.

If we leave Shinjuku by the Romance car around 9 am. and do only 2 stops along the way - Hakone Open air museum (2 hrs) and Owakudani (1 hr?), at what time could we realistically expect to reach Tongedai, taking all the travel and connection times into consideration?

Thanks

DonTopaz

Sorry, I can't help re:Tongedai.

I'd agree w/rkkwan that retracing your route to Odawara is the most sensible solution. To go from Odawara to Shinjuku, you can typically save 15-20 mins by taking the JR shinkansen to Shinagawa, then transfer to the Yamanote line to go to Shinjuku. The Romance car is more comfortable -- it's more or less like any other train, but you don't have to change.

rkkwan

kdd - The schedule for the Romance Car is different on weekdays and weekends. Say you're going on a weekday and take the 8:53a train from Shinjuku, you'll arrive Hakone-Yumoto 10:35a. It connects immediately to the 10:38a Tozan train, arriving at Chokokunomori at 11:16a. If you spend 2 hours at the Open Air Museum, that takes you to 1:30p. You can just walk to Gora in a few minutes and then the cable car takes 9 minutes (but runs only every 15) to Sounzan and then 8 minutes up to Owakudani. So, you can get there around 2p.

hawaiiantraveler

kdd - Have you seen this site yet? Should answer all of your transport questions. Bottom line is that you can catch a bus to just about anywhere from just about every stop along the line in the Hakone area. If not you can always backtrack on any means of transport in the area. We did this on the ropeway several times to get good pictures of Mt Fuji.

http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/

Aloha!

kdd

Hi,

Is it the Odakyu Hakone Highway bus that goes from Tongedai to Shinjuku? Not the Hakone Tozan bus, correct? Does the Hakone Free pass work on the Odayku Hakone highway bus?

Also, given the limited time, is Owakudani worth a stop? Is it a long trek from the ropeway stop to the hot springs in Owakudani?

Thanks

kdd

I am now thinking we will just for the whole circuit, so go down to Lake Ashi, do the boat ride and then take the bus-train back to Shinjuku. Probably can get back by 10 pm which would be a long day. After reading a few trip reports I get the feeling that it is quite doable without really having to rush from from point to point. Is this correct?

rkkwan

You can easily get back to Shinjuku by 10p, even if you do the whole circuit. No rush.