Mrs Papas

Hi there,

Nice to see that you're already planning so far ahead of time :)

Both Kanazawa and Hiroshima are destinations that can add up in train fares, and potentially a JR Pass could be a very good match here. Having said that, the most important part would be timing of your travel. For example, if you could do travel between Tokyo - Kanazawa - Hiroshima - Hakone within a week, then the 7-day JR Pass is worth considering. If you would take longer, then it may be better to buy normal tickets.

For the best use out of your pass, use the JR Pass does longer distance travel. Like Tokyo - Kanazawa but it's fine to buy normal tickets for shorter distances, such as Hakone - Tokyo or local travel.

The JR Pass does include unlimited free stopovers, so making a stopover at Kyoto or Osaka would be no problem at all.

Best regards,
Daniel

Hi Daniel
Thanks for your reply...got a tad busy these days, now about to resume the Japan planning for April 2026.

Got flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo on April 5, arriving very early in the morning (around 6:45am), planning to get on the train from Narita Airport shorty after arrival & heading straight to Hiroshima (be there till April 7) then to Kanasawa, planning to be there till April 9/ 10, then head to Hakone for a few days, plan to be at Tokyo from April 12 to 14, flying back from Haneda on April 14.
Someone told me from Hakone, there is a Hakone Free Pass (including Ropeway) , would I be able to use that to get to Tokyo form Hakone on the last part my itinerary?
- Where to get detail information for the Hakone Free Pass? What is its limitation?

Using the JR calculator, find out its best to get the JR pass.....but not able to find Hakone on the calculator ?
If start the JR Pass on April 5 (Tokyo to Hiroshima), when will be the last day to use the 7 days pass?
- April 11 or April 12?
- If I can utilize the Hakone Free Pass to Tokyo, is it still worth it to buy the 7 Day JR pass?

How easy is to get the Shinkansen tickets on the spot? .......will have 1 piece of luggage for each
How to get tickets ahead of travel so that we can have the luggage seats?

Hi Daniel San

How soon would I expect a reply from you to my last question?

Thanks

Ellen

Hi Ellen,

Thank you for your patience here :) I'd be happy to further answer your questions.

Someone told me from Hakone, there is a Hakone Free Pass (including Ropeway) , would I be able to use that to get to Tokyo form Hakone on the last part my itinerary? Yes, there are different versions of the Hakone Free Pass, one will include the Odakyu train back to Shinjuku in Tokyo. Full details are here.

For Hakone, I recommend using the station Odawara as this is the Shinkansen station for Hakone.

Personally, I typically buy tickets 1 day ahead of time. This gives me enough flexibility and I can still select the seats I like, such as a window seat. Still, even if you need do to it at the station, then be done just before departure. However, ticket lines can take 20 min or so just to queue so come a little earlier. This is also where you can select seats and luggage reservations.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hello

Looks like with a 7 days JR pass, & if we are to start using the JR pass on April 5 (from Narita Airport to Hiroshima) the last day of the pass would be on April 11 ....as per current plan, we should still be in Hakone and heading to Tokyo on April 12.
Guess we will use the Hakone Free Pass for that last strip.

Thanks for the link of the Hakone Free Pass...appreciate it much,

My nest question is, is there a site that I can check the schedule & prices of each of our trip train?
1. Narita to Hiroshima
2. Hiroshima to Kanazawa
3. Kanazawa to Hakone
4. Hakone to Tokyo

How soon can we book seats on these trains? Is it still early for any booking for April 2026?

btw, Is it easier to get the tickets at the station?
-Don't mind to be there a bit early (Thanks for your tip) thus a train schedule would be helpful.

Hi again!

Hyperdia.com is still a good website to check ticket pricing, there's also Navitime and Jorudan that you can use.

Train seats are released 1 months before departure, so please be a little more patient to book :) Typically, the easiest way is to just get tickets at the station, but these days it can also be done online.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hi
As we continue our planning for this Japan trip to visit Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Hakone and Tokyo, days of our travel to/from these places are beyond the 7 days (April 5- first trip from Narita Airport to Hiroshima then last trip would be from Hakone to Tokyo on April 12) so, most likely we will be getting individual train tickets (either shinkansen or regular trains) for all these destinations....heard horror story about long queque / no proper seat for luggage etc at ticket office, so please help with the following questions:
1. If we know the travel day, would it be possible to buy tickets for the next destination once we arrives at our stop?
i.e. say upon arrival at Hiroshima, we get tickets for Kanazawa & at Kanazawa, get tickets for Hakone at Hakone, get tickets for Tokyo? 2. What is the best type of tickets with luggage storage?
3. Difference between reserved seat, non reserved seat and green car?
4. Once tickets are purchased, is it possible to make changes mainly time ? Are tickets usable for all times within the same day ?

Thanks for your clarificaton.

Hello
Still waiting patiently for your rely for my last question posted 3 days ago .....in the mean time, i have another question in regard to the train from Narita Airport to Hiroshima when we arrived on April 5, 2025 early in the morning.
Just learned that there is NO bulletin trains that originated from Narita Airport, so how difficult it is to get on the train from Narita Airport and then somehow transfer to shinkansen station to reach Hiroshima?
- What is the route (eg what train to take from Airport and what station to get the shinkansen) and do you have the schedule available? as we arrived at Narita around 7am, what time is the next train that we should aim for to be at Hiroshima a decent time.

Continue to look forward for your reply at your earliest convenience.

Hello Daniel san or to whom it may concern;

Still waiting for a reply from you on my last 2 posts which was posted 7 days ago and 4 days ago respectively.

Truly like to get a reply from you so that I can finalize details for my 2026 Japan trip.
After your reply, I still have some transportation questions that need your help.

Thank you.

Good Monday Morning,

Apologies, I had written a reply for you last Monday but not sure if I forgot to post it.

1.) Train tickets can be purchased at any JR Station in Japan, so as soon as you know what trains you want, this can be done.

2.) Each Shinkansen car has a few spots for over sized luggage, these can be reserved at a fee when making the seat reservation. The luggage compartment is at the end of each train car and not tied to any seat in particular.

3.) Green Class is First Class, while a reserved seat entitles you to a seat, while a non-reserved seat will not.

4.) Most tickets can be changed once. If you miss your train, then typically you are allowed to travel on the next train but can only use a non-reserved seat.

5.) For going from Narita Airport to Hiroshima, you would take the Narita Express to Tokyo station, then transfer there to the Shinkansen bound for Hiroshima. Train schedules are released about 3 months before travel, so right now the April time tables are not yet available. Trains are very regular on this route (as often as every 10 minutes) and this is not something to worry about.

Hope this helps :)
Daniel

Hi Daniel San.....

Thanks you for your response, you provided very detailed information and now I will continue my trip planning.
Pretty sure I will have more transportation questions and will posted it here for your answer.

Thanks again for your information and will connect again soon.

Hi Daniel San

I am finally resume my Japan trip planning after the Christmas / New Year holidays.
Within these days, I have booked all the various hotels in Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Hakone and Tokyo for our Japan trip starting April 5 to April 14.
Do have the following transportation questions and sincerely hope you can help to provide some answers or suggest more efficient ways:

We will be arriving on April 5 (around 7am) to Narita Airport from Hong Kong.
Next place to visit is Hiroshima - learned that there is no shinkansen station at Narita Airport, so we have to get to Shinagawa Station from airport to catch the train to Hiroshima.

Question 1: How do we get from Narita Airport to Shinagawa Station? Is it via a special train, please help with details!!
Question 2. Can we get shinkansen tickets at the Airport or we have to wait till we get to Shinagawa Station?
Question 3. Do you have the Shinkansen schedule from Shinagawa to Hiroshima? is there a website that I can get this info?
Question 4. Do you recommend we purchase shinkansen ticket in advance / is there help at the Shinagawa Shinkansen Station who speaks English?

We are to stay in Hiroshima from April 5 to April 8....then on April 8, we are heading to Kanazawa.
Question 5. Are there shinakansen service from Hiroshima to Kanazawa?
Question 6. Can we purchase this ticket (Hiroshima to Kanazawa) immediately when we get to Hiroshima?

Looking forward for your answer of the above questions. Then I will ask my next set of questions from Kanazawa to Hakone.

Hi again!

It's great to see your plans coming together for Japan. Let's have a look at your questions.

1.) From Narita Airport, you can take the Narita Express to either Shinagawa or Tokyo stations and get on the Shinkansen there. The Narita Express is fast and only for Airport traffic, meaning you don't share the space with any commuters.

2.) Tickets can be reserved for the entire route directly at the airport but you may want to check timetables ahead of time. If your arrival is late (after 18:00 at NRT), then it may be safer to book a hotel for the first night at the airport or Tokyo and travel on the next day.

3.) You can check Google Maps, Jourudan on Navitime.

4.) If you want to travel directly on your arrival day, then I suggest buying tickets on arrival. Because in case of airline delays, it could become difficult. There's a very helpful tourism desk by JR at Tokyo station (near the Marunouchi exit) where you can book any ticket you want and they speak very good English but I'm sure it won't be a problem at Shinagawa or Narita Airport either.

5.) The route would be a Shinkansen from Hiroshima to either Shin-Osaka or Kyoto station, then the Thunderbird ltd express to Kanazawa.

6.) Seats can be purchased at any JR Station at any time within 30 days before travel.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hi Daniel San
It’s getting pretty close to our trip and after some research via internet & consultation with others …..I still have the following questions and sincerely hope you can provide some detail information / clarification:

From Narita Airport to Shinagawa Station:
Using the Narita Express to get to the station, can we use the Suica Card or cash only?
From Shinagawa Station to Hiroshima
-Will be getting the shinkansen from the Shinagawa station….plan to get the ticket on the same day. Do you think this is possible and do you know the price and how much advance time we should allow?
-If you can provide the shinkansen schedule would be very helpful .

From Hiroshima to Kanazawa
Since there is no direct shinkansen from Hiroshima to Kanazawa, we will need to do a transfer at either Shin Osaka or Kyoto station, and then take the Thunder Express to Tsuruga; since the other two friends are heading to Kyoto after Hiroshima, we thought we would also travel with them to Kyoto and make the transfer from there to Tsuruga
Is this a good choice and how difficult is to get the Thunder Express from Kyoto?
Do we have time to make the transfer? Again, any schedule for the Thunder Express?

Would we be able to purchase this Hiroshima to Kanazawa ticket upon arrival at Hiroshima?
-We are only staying in Hiroshima for 3 nights and heading to Kyoto (2 of us) and Kanazawa (us 2) on the 4th day. So the travel is to be done within a few days, so tickets should be available.

From Kanazawa to Hakone
This is the most confusing part of our trip before heading to Tokyo for our homeward flight.
Lots of people said we should travel from Tokyo to Hakone as Kanazawa and Hakone are on two different sides of the mountaineous areas. However, we prefer to leave Tokyo last as we are flying home (Canada) from there – Haneda Airport.

So it is difficult to travel from Kanazawa to Hakone?
Looks like we may have to take the shinkansen from Kanazawa to Odawara pass through Tokyo Station – do we have enough time to make the transfer at Tokyo Station?
Heard that Tokyo Station is huge and difficult to navigate…..Is it possible for you to descript our route within the station in detail?
We will be staying in Hakone Yutowa and the hotel recommend us to take the Hakone Tozan Railway from Odawara Station to Gora Station.... after that it’s a few minutes walk to reach the hotel.
How difficult is to get the Hakone Tozan Railway from Odawara Station? Any time constraint?
Is the Hakone Tozan Railway part of the Hakone Free Pass? Should we consider to purchase this pass as we will be staying in Hakone for a few days and most likely would be doing the famous Hakone Loop.

Appreciate your guidance in this travel / transportation plan.
Our route is:
Landing in Tokyo Narita Airport early morning on April 5 .....Heading to Hiroshima same day and stay there till April 8.
Then head to Kanazawa from April 8 to April 10 while friends go to Kyoto.
We will then head to Hakone on April 10 , back to Tokyo to meet up with friends on April 12, flying home to Canada on April 14 afternoon together.
On the travel days such as April 8, 10 & 12, really appreciate schedule for the transportation if possible, aiming to reach the next destination in decent time.

Lots of questions and sincerely looking forward to your early reply.
Regards & Thanks

Ellen Papas

Hi Daniel San...any chance of getting a reply soon for my loads of questions sent 8 days ago?

Hi there,

I'm currently on a business trip to Japan and not involved with the forum at the moment.

Still, I've seen your questions and will reply as time allows. Please give me some time.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hello Ellen,

Thank you for your patience - writing you from Japan now.

The Narita Express can be bought by creditcard, cash or IC card (like Suica) directly at the station. It should be no problem to take the Shinkansen form Shinagawa, assuming you travel during the day. The price to to Hiroshima would be roughly 18-20.000yen and trains depart very frequently, about every 10minutes or so. For time tables I recommend using: jorudan.co.jp or even just Google maps.

The Tsuruga transfer is pretty easy, it's just a matter of following the signs. Same for the Thunderbird at Kyoto station.

Kanazawa to Hakone, is a little harder unfortunately. You'll have to take the Shinkansen to either Tokyo or travel back to Kyoto and then use the Tokaido Shinkansen to Odawara station - which is the gateway for Hakone. Train tickets can be purchased at any time, but I do recommend doing so 2-3 days ahead of time.

I would also give you the same advice for navigating Tokyo station. Only look at the signs posted and you can't go wrong, people often get distracted by everything else going on. So just keep your mission in mind and you're good. It would be hard to give you a full guide, as it will depend on what platform you arrive and depart but just keep the signs in might and you can't go wrong - Japan is very well organized.

For Hakone, the general advice is that the Hakone Pass is good value if you do the loop. Even better is that it allows you to backtrack for free if you particularly enjoyed a ride or part of the landscape. Trains and transport is very frequent, again every 10 minutes or so, and I would not worry about connections or having to wait long.

It's a lot, so I hope this covers everything.

Best regards,
Daniel