Tokyo-Hakone-Kyoto and back to Kyoto

Hi Quentin,

The JR Pass will cover the greater share of your itinerary and travel between the places you want to go to. You will still need additional transport locally. For instance in Hakone. You can use the JR Pass to travel to Odawara, this is the Shinkansen station for Hakone. From there, non-JR transport runs throughout the area.

You can make any stop along the way you like, the JR Pass has no limitations in this regard. For instance, you could make a stop at Shizuoka to drink the local green tea and enjoy the view of Fuji on your trip between Hakone and Kyoto.

JR local buses are covered but buses operated by other companies are not.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

Hi Daniel,
Many thanks for your prompt reply, it is very helpful.
Last question, do you have to pre book seats on a specific train or can you just turn up at the train station and take any JR Train with the JR Pass?
Best,
Quentin

Hi Quentin,

You can do both. The only thing to take note of is that you can't use Shinkansen service by the name of Nozomi or Mizuho on the Tokaido Shinkansen/Sanyo/Kyushu line between Tokyo - Shin-Osaka - Kagoshima. You can any other train on this line like the Hikari and Sakura Shinkansen.

The advantage of booking seats in advance is that the JR Staff will also find the best trains for you.

Hope this helps too!
Daniel