Nagoya to Hakone to Kawaguchiko in 1 day?

Hello!

I am going to Japan and will be starting my trip from Nagoya. This is my first trip to Japan!

I have a reservation at a hostel near Kawaguchiko / Mt. Fuji, from a Thursday to a Sunday. From all the posts on this site, it looks like the Hakone Open-Air Museum is not to be missed!

I have an idea to go from Nagoya Station on JR Pass to Hakone, then spend a few hours at the Open-Air Museum, and then take a bus later in the day to Kawaguchiko by 6pm (18:00) to check in at the hostel.

Is this plan possible? I've been searching the Hyperdia site and am a little confused by it. I've also been looking for a bus route between Hakone and Kawaguchiko, since I don't really want to go all the way towards Toyko.

Thank you for reading!

if you are starting in Nagoya at 5-6 am, then it is possible.

Are you talking starting from Nagoya station or elsewhere in Nagoya.

My Google skills are not perfectly elite but if you are super careful about making every connection.... you could do:

Nagoya to Odawara Hikari Shinkansen: depart: 9:27 and arrive 10:36, then transfer to Odakyu Limited Express: 10:51 and arrive in Hakone-Yumoto 11:04, then transfer to Hakone Tozan railway to Gora leaving Hakone-Yumoto: 11:09 and arriving at Chokoku no Mori at 11:47 and from there you would walk to the museum. Assuming 4 hours there, you should then try to get to Gora station by 16:00ish. There are buses from Gora to Gotemba station. My skills are failing me here, but I found an old post to the forum by Uji and so at the very worse there looks like a 16:20 from Gora to the Gotemba Outlets. The bus takes about 45 minutes. If you can get to Gotemba station by 17:40 there is a bus that gets you into Kawaguchiko by 18:50, if you can't get to Gotemba from the outlets or from a direct bus from Gora, there is a 17:50 bus from the outlets that ends at Kawaguchikoat 19:30.

Please see this page for info on the bus from Gotemba/Gotemba outlets to Kawaguchiko.
http://www.japan-guide.com/bus/gotemba.html

I have no idea how much this trip will cost. I know a Hakone free pass will cover some of these fares, but not all. A JR pass will only cover the trip between Nagoya and Odawara.

So yes, it is possible, but you would need someone with stronger Japanese skills than me to find you the bus time table between Gora and Gotemba and you would need to make sure you get to Gora in time to make your bus. Also this has been assuming you are traveling on a week day, week ends and time of year might alter connections.

Hmmm going by Google Maps, I think there is actually a bus at 16:17 from Chokoku no Mori which is a little closer than Gora for you. The bus would get to Gotemba around 16:51 and then you could take the 17:10 bus getting in at 18:30 to Kawaguchiko. But I would confirm all bus times for your specific dates. Seasons can make a huge difference in bus frequency. I think the Hakone Free Pass would cover all buses/travel between Hakone-Yumoto and Gotemba.

Following rkold's post, I searched on NAVITIME to find the bus time tables. Unfortunately these are only in Japanese, but I hope you can see the time.

Bus timetable from 彫刻の森 (Chokoku no Mori: Open Air Musium) to Gotemba. As you will see, it runs hourly from 2 pm to 5 pm.

http://www.navitime.co.jp/diagram/bus/00121322/00028803/0/

Bus timetable of 14:17 bus.

http://www.navitime.co.jp/stoplist/?TCode=9cae001a&SCode=00121322&RCod...

This bus arrives 御殿場駅〔富士山口〕(Gotemba station Fujisan exit) at 15:07.

http://www.navitime.co.jp/poi?node=00026385

From Gotemba station Fujisan exit you can catch a bus to Kawaguchiko. This is the timetable.

http://www.navitime.co.jp/diagram/bus/00026385/00050285/1/

There are buses every 30 min and if you are lucky you can catch 15:10 bus which will arrive Kawaguchiko at 16:30, in accordance with the Japanguide timetable posted by rkold.

Sorry, in the following link

http://www.navitime.co.jp/diagram/bus/00121322/00028803/0/

you should click 仙石案内所前方面 tab to see the timetable to go to Gotemba.