Shinjuku to Togendai (Hakone lake hotel)

Hi there. Ok so we're in Shinjuku now (higashi) and will need to be going to Hakone lake hotel on monday morning.
We have two suitcases so will a train to Odawara and then the ropeway be ok?

What is the best way to get to Hakone lake hotel from Shinjuku (with luggage?)

We are there for two days before going to Kyoto so will the Hakone free pass be worn buying or even the all in one ticket from Shinjuku?

Thanks

If you are in Shinjuku, taking the Odakyu Railway to Odawara, then changing to the local within-Hakone transport would be the way to get there (there are some buses available too, if you don't have to ride the ropeway).

When it comes to luggage, is there any way you can pack a smaller overnight bag for the two days in Hakone, and send out the big luggage from your hotel in Shinjuku to your hotel in Kyoto (it will be at shortest next-day delivery).

You can buy the one-way ticket from Shinjuku to Hakone, and when you get to Odawara, you can buy the "within Hakone only" version of the Hakone Free Pass.

Thanks for the reply. My wife isnt too keen on that idea as she has all her stuff with her (she doesn't travel light but this for her is light!)

Is the ropeway not very luggage friendly then?

Its nothing major, just two 17kg cases.

Hi!

If you really can't be without your luggage for those 2 days or don't even want a small bag with you, at least as of June 2016, there was a same day Hakone luggage service as long as you dropped off your bags by 12:30 pm.

http://www.odakyu.jp/english/course/hakone02/sp/02/

I can't find the full English page on this, but I used it in June 2016. I sent my big suitcase from Tokyo to Kyoto via takyuubin and then used this service with my small day trip bag so that I could travel completely luggage free around Hakone.

Ah!
https://www.hakone-tozanbus.co.jp/carry/

Good luck!

And in terms of the transfers it's more the buses within Hakone are tight with luggage even 17 kg bags (though the ones in Kyoto are even worse so depending on where you are staying in Kyoto please be aware of this.) The Tozan line can get sort of crowded and you need to take that to the funicular which also is crowded and then the ropeway which can also be crowded. None of them are really designed for bringing luggage since the assumption is you will avail yourself of a service like the one in my previous comment. And if you want to stop off at any of the places in the Gora area on the way to Togendai, it won't be fun with luggage since the hill is somewhat steep from what I remember.

The partial circle from Hakone-Yumoto to Togendai is scenic, but sort of slow. Going back to Hakone Yumoto when you are trying to catch a train out of Odawara to Kyoto is going to be much faster via bus to Hakone Yumoto.

Good luck!

Thanks so much! Thats great.

We're going to book romancecar now for 10am and get the free luggage transfer. Hope there will still be tickets left.

We can get Hakone free pass from Shinjuku as well apparently.

Brilliant, Thanks again

Ok thanks. We are at Togendai and it would have been a nightmare with the luggage, so thanks! Its so busy.

We thought we would just go to Odawara on wednesday and get a one way ticket to Kyoto as we don't know when we will get to Odawara. Will this be ok? Or must we make a reservation (somehow?!) from Our hotel in Togendai to get the shinkansen on weds?

Thanks again

Hi!

You probably should have made that reservation when you were back in Tokyo at a JR Station before arriving in Odawara. I've no idea how crowded the reserved seat sections are on JR trains this particular March and your particular date. Sakura is relatively early this year.

If worse comes to worse, you can use Hyperdia to look up train times and just get to the shinkansen 30+ minutes early should not seat reservations be available when you get to Odawara. I accidentally gave up my reserved seats trying to get to Kyoto earlier but had no problem getting two non-reserved seats to Kyoto. I was on the platform early though. I would think outside rail pass users most Japanese coming from Tokyo or Yokohama would just take a Nozomi and skip Odawara going to Kyoto, but I could be wrong.

I'm just saying now, if you thought transport in Hakone would have been bad with suitcases, Kyoto will be worse. I don't know where you are staying, but if you do not takyuubin your bags or use some sort of service from Kyoto station, you are always better off taking a subway/train/taxi/walking to get to your hotel/ryokan/hostel/place of stay then taking a bus. The buses are fine for sightseeing but not with any bag larger than a purse. Look at a map of Kyoto and find the nearest station subway/train station.

If you're staying off the Keihan line, the easiest way to get there is take the JR Nara line to Tofukuji and transfer there for the Keihan. I believe there is an elevator but I usually takyuubin and use the stairs. You also might just want to pay for a taxi.

If you're on the Hankyuu, I think there is a transfer from the subway. If you're off the Raden line, you are probably better off going to the nearest JR station and taking a cab. You can walk and explore without a lot of bags.

Good luck!

Yeah we werent sure when we would leave Hakone so we thought we'd book a reserved seat when we got to Odawara and play it by ear.we get checked out at 10am so will head straight for Odawara and get the next available seats.
I guess this is how jr rail pass users do it anyway? We're in no rush to get to Kyoto we just need to get there for the hotel on weds at any time.
As for kyoto we should be ok as I booked the hotel only 20 mins walk from kyoto station (2 stops on subway). Sounds like it will be totally different to tokyo!!
Definitely hit the holiday season! No wonder the prices we paid were so high! Makes sense now. Fingers crossed we get on any train to Kyoto on weds around 1/2pm

Yeah we werent sure when we would leave Hakone so we thought we'd book a reserved seat when we got to Odawara and play it by ear.we get checked out at 10am so will head straight for Odawara and get the next available seats.
I guess this is how jr rail pass users do it anyway? We're in no rush to get to Kyoto we just need to get there for the hotel on weds at any time.
As for kyoto we should be ok as I booked the hotel only 20 mins walk from kyoto station (2 stops on subway). Sounds like it will be totally different to tokyo!!
Definitely hit the holiday season! No wonder the prices we paid were so high! Makes sense now. Fingers crossed we get on any train to Kyoto on weds around 1/2pm