Tobu bus in Okunikko region

Hi all,
at the moment I am thinking of changing our itinerary for our trip this autumn and visit Nikko instead of Kawaguchiko. I hope this will be a good idea.

We plan to go there right at the beginning of November and stay there for two nights.
From your experience - would that be too late for the foliage there or usually okay?

We are particularly interested in the Okunikko region (plan to do some hiking there), since we already visited the shrine area in spring some years ago.
I have read about the discount pass (All Nikko Pass; four days; 4400 Yen). I assume it would be best to purchase this one, although we would not need it for travelling back to Tokyo and only use it for two days.

Does anybody know a site (in English) where I can get information about the bus routes, the names and places of the bus stops and a timetable? When does the first bus leave Nikko for Lake Chuzenji and Lake Yunoko and when does the last one return to Nikko? Are the bus stops written only in Japanese characters so that it may be a problem to figure out where you are when sitting on the bus?

Thank you!

We plan to go there right at the beginning of November and stay there for two nights. From your experience - would that be too late for the foliage there or usually okay?

There should be colors in the town of Nikko, but for the Okunikko region it is probably a little bit too late:
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo/081105.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo/081016.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo09/091005.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/koyo09/091019.html


I have read about the discount pass (All Nikko Pass; four days; 4400 Yen). I assume it would be best to purchase this one, although we would not need it for travelling back to Tokyo and only use it for two days.

If you don't use it for the trip back to Nikko, it will not pay off, and you are better to use regular tickets to get to Nikko and then use a bus pass for the Nikko buses. Some details are here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3805.html

I am not aware of English version timetables. Here is a Japanese one:
http://www.tobu-bus.com/pc/images/data/20100618132537.pdf

日光駅 means Nikko Station
中禅寺温泉 means Chuzenji Onsen
湯元温泉 means Yumoto Onsen

When does the first bus leave Nikko for Lake Chuzenji and Lake Yunoko and when does the last one return to Nikko?

At 6:13 and 19:30.

Are the bus stops written only in Japanese characters so that it may be a problem to figure out where you are when sitting on the bus?

I believe that there are English displays and announcements in the bus.

Thank you for answering, Uji.
If we are too late for nice autumn colors, I hope we will at least have some nice hikes there.
I'm happy to read that there might be English displays and announcements in the bus.