invisible

I am planning to get Nikko Pass - either 2 or 4 days. Have two questions:

Planning to leave Tokyo/Asakusa around 9AM on Saturday morning on Sat Nov 16th. I do know that there are Limited Express trains going from Asakusa to Nikko, but you still have to pay for tickets, but are getting 20% off. My question is - if one gets Nikko Pass, which is the fastest train going there without paying extra fee?

Second question - considering that weekend will be very crowded and traffic congested, which sites one should avoid visiting to save time?

Thanks.

LapLap

Nikko Pass is Tobu isn’t it?

Please see the warning on this page
https://jprail.com/travel-informatio...-kinugawa.html

Saw it when referring to it as I had to work out how to arrange the most economical way to get to Nikko for a group of foreigners (who can get passes) and non-foreigners.
See Posts #32 , #33 and #34 in this thread
Kanto area, April 2019 - planning sandbox

AlwaysAisle

Toubu Nikko Line is currently not in service between Shin Kanuma - Shimo Imaichi due to damage caused by Typhoon no. 19. However, Toubu has announced that Nikko Line will resume regular service starting Oct., 24, this Thursday. Nov. 16 should be fine.

If you are looking to use Nikko Pass without paying extra fee then such will exclude Limited Express trains which have surcharge. If you do not want to pay Limited Express surcharge then there is no trains which will run direct from Asakusa to Nikko, you will need to transfer along the way to Nikko. One example:

Section Express (bound for Nishi Kurihashi)
Asakusa; depart 9:13 a.m.
Nishi Kurihashi: arrive 10:22 a.m. (last stop of this train)

Express (bound for Nikko)
Nishi Kurihashi: depart 10:47 a.m.
Nikko; arrive 12:06 noon (last stop of this train)

With above trains you will not have to pay Limited Express surcharge to get to Nikko using Nikko Pass. However, if you do not want to pay Limited Express surcharge then there is no trains which go to Nikko direct from Asakusa without transfer.

Nikko station and Toshogu Temple area are located at lower elevation valley area. Going up Irohazaka hill to Lake Chuzenji and beyond are higher elevation area. Foliage should have finished by mid November at higher elevation area, but it is possible that foliage will be still around at lower elevation valley area of Nikko station and Toshogu Temple area. Which means you can still expect heavy tourists (especially during weekends) due to foliage. But foliage is mother nature, you will not know till you get closer to Nov. 16. If foliage is gone at lower valley area by Nov. 16 then likely you will not face a lot of tourists.

Tourists area of Nikko is typically arriving at Nikko station at the lower valley area, just like you will do. After visiting the lower valley area such as Toshogu Temple then heading up Irohazaka hill to Lake Chuzenji, Kegon Fall, and possibly further into higher elevation area of Nikko. There really is no alternate routes to avoid tourist cloud, especially if you arrive at Nikko station as most other tourists will do.

If you are going to arrive at Nikko station like all other tourists will do, then hope for Nov. 16 this year foliage has already gone at the lower valley area and there will be not many tourists traffic even on a weekend.

P.S.:
If you happen to heard or read somewhere that Tobu Line has a train which you do not have to pay Limited Express surcharge and take you direct to Nikko from Asakusa without transfer, then there used to be such trains. There used to be Rapid train from Asakusa to Nikko took you directly to Nikko from Asakusa without transfer. This train had four people boxed seat more suitable for long distance ride and had toilet onboard also. This Rapid train did not require any surcharge at all.

However, on April 2017 Tobu had a schedule change when Tobu introduced new Limited Express service called "Revaty" and such Rapid trains disappeared from schedule. Pretty much Tobu replaced Rapid train service which did not require surcharge with new Limited Express train which passengers have to pay Limited Express surcharge. Today only through train service from Asakusa to Nikko without transfer is Limited Express "Kegon" or "Revaty Kegon" which you have to pay Limited Express surcharge.

invisible

Thanks you very much for such a detailed and explanatory answer. So one way or another, one has to pay for Nikko Pass and then has to pay for the Limited Express to get from A to B train as well....Sigh, one should not expect that Japan will be affordable.

Now, if departing Tokyo around 9AM and arriving around 11-11:30AM with the limited express, what would be the best/most optimal way to visit sites considering that we are there just for two nights and like 1.5 days? Need to head back to Tokyo on Monday morning around 10AM.

One either can buy 4 day All Area Nikko pass which has access to all bus/train lines or 2 day World Heritage Nikko Pass which is 2500 yen cheaper but has much less coverage. It would be a waste to pay for 4 days all area pass and discover that accessible/interesting sites could be covered by cheaper pass. Does Edo theme park worth 4K yen entrance fee?

LapLap

???
My reading of AlwaysAisle’s helpful post is that there is a way of getting to Nikko with that pass without having to pay the supplement.

AlwaysAisle wrote:
“ Section Express (bound for Nishi Kurihashi)
Asakusa; depart 9:13 a.m.
Nishi Kurihashi: arrive 10:22 a.m. (last stop of this train)

Express (bound for Nikko)
Nishi Kurihashi: depart 10:47 a.m.
Nikko; arrive 12:06 noon (last stop of this train)”

You just need to change trains at Nishi Kurihashi.

What you can’t do without paying a supplement (at least not at the time you want to travel) is get a direct train between Asakusa and Nikko.

invisible

That was the point. without paying extra will take train change and 3h end to end....

LapLap

It was the “not being affordable” comment that threw me.
Japan is affordable - it’s the premium services that squeeze hard on the wallet.

invisible

In this particular case premium service is the only service, when there is a condition getting from A to B without train change and extra payment. It was not the case until 2017 as it was mentioned above.

But let's go back to Nikko, could anyone being there comment about best available route/sites for 1.5 days?

RichardInSF

It's not made clear but it looks like you get a 20% discount on the limited express fee if you buy it simultaneously with the Tobu pass at the Askausa ticket window (only). The text rather strongly implies that the pass covers the basic part of the fare and to use the limited express you just pay the limited express fee. If that is the case, the pass still could be quite useful.

Gradfly

I did a day trip to Nikko earlier this winter. I strongly recommend getting the limited express. We made the mistake of getting the regular service from Asakusa and that was tough. Coming back we opted to for the limited express, even though we had to pay full price. If you're planning on visiting just Nikko, get the 2-day pass. If you choose to see just the mausoleum and surrounding temples, you could comfortably do it within a day assuming you get there in the morning. I went on a slightly fast pace and managed to do some light hiking to the nearby gorge in the afternoon. As far as crowds, even though I went on weekday during the winter, Toshogu Shrine got crowded during the middle of the day.

ksandness

Unless you are on a rock bottom budget that has you sleeping in hostels or capsule hotels and scrounging meals from convenience stores and the free samples in the food sections of department stores, the limited express surcharge should not be a problem.

invisible

Just came back. Flew in on Saturday morning, took train from HND to Asakusa where I met my wife and we went on weekend trip, returning on Monday. On the first day we saw the temples and second day we went for Edo Wonderland. Here are couple of thoughts/observations:

If you are going to Nikko just for two days and have similar itinerary, both Nikko Passes (World Heritage and All Areas) are waste of money. First - you still need to pay for Limited Express ticket. Yes, with 20% discount, but still - you have to pay extra unless you go with local trains taking 1-1.5h longer travel time. World Heritage Pass is applicable for just one night stay only because it covers only two days. If you want to stay for two nights, then you have to purchase All Areas Pass. So the All Area Pass is great if you a) plan to stay for more than two days and b) plan to go and visit all remote places which the pass covers.

One thing about the Pass - if you purchase the pass while overseas, you still need exchange it with tickets/vouchers at Tobu information center. And there are lines - on weekends you need to arrive 1h before departure of your train, otherwise you will easily miss your train. I bought Limited Express tickets from Tobu's website (BTW, I have not seen such awfully designed website in English since 1990s) and we directly went thru to the train pass that line.

Here is another thing which might be greatly confusing for people who visit Japan first time and encounter the all the variety of train ticket peculiarities - you need to pay for both the train ticket and the seat reservation. The website does not do the great job explaining this. On arrival at Nikko we saw couple of quite frustrated tourists which were arguing with the station staff telling them that they already paid for the ticket and don't understand why need to pay more.

So in short - when visiting Nikko it worth to consider how much time you are going to spend there and what you are going to see. Based on that paying for passes (both train and buses covering different areas/routes) may or may not make financial sense.