I am finally trying to plan a day trip to Nikko. First, are July and August good months to go? I assume that since we have a three day weekend next weekend is NOT a good time to go?

I looked up the links to Tobu. It seems that there is only one express train a day from Shinjuku at 0731 taking 1:58 and costing 3900-en. Alternatively, there are many express trains from Asakusa (Tobu) including one at 0730 taking 1:49 and costing only 2620-en. Why is there such a price discrepancy? Is the 4400-en for the all Nikko pass good with both trains? Or, is it on top of the train fare? Is it beneficial to ticket in advance? Can I use PASSMO card or do I need separate ticket? Or, just separate ticket for reserved seat? Hyperdia seems to have lots of other itineraries as low as 1500-en, should I go with a rapid instead of an exrpess?

thanks,

Marc