Hakone FreePass & itinerary

Hello. I am planning to travel to Hakone using the Odakyu Romancecar arriving around 11.30am in December. A few questions I need assistance with.

1. According to my research, the fare for Romancecar is 2080yen. Should should I purchase the Freepass at Shinjuku station or when I arrive at Hakone-Yumoto? I was told that it is cheaper if you get it when you are in the Hakone area, if so how much would I need to pay extra to get the Freepass?

I will not take the baggage carry services since there are 4 medium size luggage (need to watch out for budget) and we are planning to take the hotel bus to the Ryokan in Hakone-Yumoto first before our sightseeing trips.

2. So my next questions will be, is it possible to visit all these area and be back to my Ryokan around 5.30pm?
- After dropping off our luggage at ryokan and have lunch at Hakone YUmoto
- sightseeing starts around 1pm
- get on Hakone tozan train and stop at Hakone open air museum (is 1 hour enough?)
- Then jump back on Hakone tozan train and continues to Gora, connecting Hakone Ropeway car to stop at Owakudani to visit the Sulfur mine and try the black egg.
- After Owakudani either continue on pirate ship and then take the bus back to Hakone-yumoto or will not continue on pirate ship and go back the same way via hakone ropeway and tozan train.

I am not sure if the hakone pass is worth it if we are not planning to go on the pirate ship?

The next day we will not be returning back to Tokyo and we will be travelling to Kyoto.

If you buy the Freepass from Shinjuku, it will be 5140 per person for two days. There is also a supplement of 890 Yen for the Romance car, so a total of 6030JPY. If you buy it in Odawara on arrival, it would be 4000 yen. If the price you've been given for the Romance Car trip is 2080, that will total 6080 JPY so you appear to save 50 yen if you buy the FP& Romance car package from Shinjuku.

HOWEVER.. since you're not returning to Tokyo and the package includes round trip, it may not be worth it for you, especially if you're not planning to use the Pirate Ship.

Please also bear in mind that it's likely to be getting dark from around 4:30 in December so your sightseeing time will be shorter.

Do you have the Japan Railpass? If so, it's probably better for you to take the bullet train from Tokyo to Odawara and just buy tickets in Hakone as you need them...

As to whether an hour is enough at the Open Air Museum.. well, it's a personal thing I guess. Some people who are really interested in art might consider that no way long enough but for others it may be fine if they're happy just to whizz around looking but not really appreciating the artworks at leisure.

thanks for your replied.

My other issue is also whether I should purchase the JR pass since I might only use it once from Odawara to Kyoto and once from Kyoto to Osaka. Is it true that the JR pass might not be useful/worth it if I am only travelling one way to these areas.

I will be staying at Swissotel in Namba and I knew there is a express train service to Kansai airport however it is not included in the JR pass.

If those are the only journeys you'll be making by train, no, it won't be worth getting the JRP

I am staying over Hakone around Sounzan area one night on Sunday in December and would like to go to Gotemba Premium outlet on Monday after i check out. Can you advise how to travel from Gora to Gotemba Premium outlet and from Gotemba Premium outlet to Shinjuku. Can you also advise the Hakone tozan bus schedule for the above?

Thanks
Pat