Cheapest way by Train - Shinjuku to Kanazawa

Hi there,

My trip is basically Tokyo (Shinjuku) - Hakone - Kanazawa. And I know that to get from Hakone to Kanazawa, I basically have to travel back to Shinjuku. Which is already covered by the Hakone Free Pass, which basically includes a round trip from Shinjuku to Hakone and back in 2 days. So my trip back to Shinjuku on the day I'm supposed to travel to Kanazawa is already covered.

Now what I want to know is the cheapest option to just get from Shinjuku to Kanazawa by train without compromising time too much. The different train options and packages are confusing me quite a bit, so I would deeply appreciate it if I could get some help on this! Thank you!

What's "compromising time too much"? Do you want the cheapest option or not?

Odawara to Tokyo to Kanazawa = 13,XXX yen
Odawara to Nagoya to Kanazawa = 13,XXX yen

They only way to save on this trip is to use local trains in some sections to dodge the express ticket fees. But at 5 hours of travel for the quicker option. I'm not sure that would be wise.

You may be able to go via Nagoya and buy purchase the Hakone free pas with return ticket in an attempt to save some yen. But from memory, you get the return journey for free anyway.

edit// bad typos

Sorry, I meant to say was see if buying the Hakone free pass without return travel option (Odawara option) will save you some yen.

I wouldn't go back to Shinjuku, as that will take much longer and not really save any money. I would use the Hakone pass to get to Odawara. From there, you have 2 good options:

1. Take any train back to Tokyo Station and then transfer to bullet train to Kanazawa
2. Take bullet train to Maibara and transfer to limited express to Kanazawa.

You'd have to put your exact departure time into Hyperdia to see which one is faster depending on when you leave and transfer times, etc.

As this will be a 15000+ Y trip, you may look into whether it makes sense to get a rail pass. If you are coming back or going anywhere else after Kanazawa, my guess is that you'll want a pass.

You could save like 4000 Y taking all regular trains, but you are looking at about 9 hours and 6+ transfers, so no way that's worth it.

If you really want to save money, an overnight bus might be the only answer. If you are the kind of person that can sleep on a bus, you'll even save a night of hotel cost. Willer Express has a bus that leaves Shinjuku at about 23:00 and arrives in Kanazawa the next day at 8:00 and only cost about 5000 Y.

If you want to travel Shirakawago as you wrote in another thread,

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+160591

you might better consider Tokyo-Hakone-Fuji five lake-Takayama-Shirakawago-Kanazawa route. There is a bus from Fuji five lake to Takayama, 5000 yen.

I basically have to travel back to Shinjuku. Which is already covered by the Hakone Free Pass,
No, you don't have to go back. Get a ticket to Odawara and then the Hakone pass from there, you don't have to needlessly travel on the trains, and even if you did get the Odakyu pass from Shinjuku, you are not forced to ride that train.
Plus, you could get you JR ticket from Tokyo-Odawara and onward to Nagoya and across to Kanazawa.
Better would be to skip Hakone (over-rated crowded tourist-trap) and go somewhere better that also makes your travel faster and easier.

You must Buy Hokuriku Arch pass 7 Day=24000‰~.This cover Narita Intl Airport,Tokyo, Kanazawa, osaka,kobe,kyoto.You can ride on shinkansen,Limited Express train,Local train,Some Non JR train For unlimited time For 7 Days.One way ticket is very expensive.After spending Half Million yen(including return Air fare,Hotel,Food cost etc)I go Japanese island But I cant ride on shinkansen,I cant imagine that.

A)Use your Hakone Free Pass to get you back to Shinjuku Station. Then ride local train to Tokyo Station and transfer to Shinkansen Bullet train to Kanazawa
B)Use your Hakone Free Pass to get you back to Odawara Station. Transfer to Shinkansen Bullet train to Maibara and then finally transfer to Express train to Kanazawa
C)Ride any route to Odawara. Purchase only Hakone Pass within Hakone route. Decide go to Tokyo and transfer or go to Maibara and transfer to Kanazawa.

Help this helps!