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Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/1 10:23
Bus to mt Fuji from Tokyo 2 days then onto Kyōto by train best options please
by Jean odonnell (guest)  

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/1 16:13
When will you travel?

Where exactly in Tokyo is your starting point?
What place does "mt Fuji" in your question refer to?
(Would you like to climb Mount Fuji or just to have a close view of the mountain?)

Will there be a kid among the travelers?

For what condition(s) do you think your option as better?
: Speedier, more cost-saving, easier, etc.

Highway buses are available between Busta Shinjuku bus terminal (in Tokyo) and Kawaguchiko Station bus stop (in the Fuji Five Lakes area in Yamanashi).

- Bus timetable: Between Shinjuku and Fuji Five Lakes area
http://bus-en.fujikyu.co.jp/highway/detail/id/1/#timetable
- Seat reservation on your bus
https://www.highwaybus.com/gp/inbound/inbTimeTbl?lineGroupNo=1&lineId=...
.- Busta Shinjuku: Floor map
http://shinjuku-busterminal.co.jp/en/floormap/4f.html

From Kawaguchiko to Kyoto,
compared to going by railway only,
you can go faster in the combination of bus until Mishima Station and Shinkansen Hikari train.

- Bus timetable: Mishima | Gotemba -- Kawaguchiko
https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/gotemba.html
- Seat reservation on your bus
https://japanbusonline.com/en/CourseSearch/12200050001?afcd=MDI=&Rosen...
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/1 18:27
Thank you for your reply we are travelling on the 26th May from Yanaka (Ueno area)to mt Fuji I did think catch bus from Shinjuku.we are seniors 62, no children ( hubby scared of heights so no rope bridges or cable cars haaaaa,but would love to view mt fuji and have a couple of quiet days there perhaps do a day tour .we were thinking to get bus to Kawaguchiko Station ,stay in hotel there and do tour from there if possible then would like to get fast train to Kyōto .we are cost saving ,we do not plan a lot of train travel so pass did not seem viable.
Thank you so much for reply I think you have answered most of my queries Omotenashi :)
Stan Morrell I did read through many but could not find what I needed my computer skills are minimal :)
by Jean OfDonnell (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/1 19:07
Basically there are two main ways to go from Kawaguchiko or thereabouts to Kyoto: bus to Mishima and Shinkansen thence, or direct overnight bus.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/2 05:05
It's simpler and about the same travel time to just come all the way back to Tokyo after Mt. Fuji, and then on to Kyoto.



by TW (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/2 05:51
There is another option to travel from Kawaguchiko to Kyoto - by overnight bus. The schedule for May is not published, yet. But current time table shows departing Kawaguchiko at 20:47 and arriving Kyoto 05:57 the next morning. You do save on one night of accommodation somewhere and it's cheaper than train. The fare is either 6200 yen or 8200 yen depending on the bus (8200 yen is roomier).
http://www.kintetsu-bus.co.jp/highway/routelist/route_detail.php?no=14
by O92 (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/2 08:38
It's simpler and about the same travel time to just come all the way back to Tokyo after Mt. Fuji, and then on to Kyoto.

No, it is neither.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/2 13:23
There are only a couple times a day where the schedule lines up so that the bus to Mishima is faster at about 4.5 hour total. For most departure times, you end up waiting a full hour for a Kodama to arrive, and then the Kodama is a slow train so you add up to over 5 hours. And you will probably end up waiting a while for the bus to depart because there are only 7-8 a day and they depart at 60-90 minute intervals.

Meanwhile, the bus back to Tokyo station is every 30 minutes, from early to late at night. And then there are Nozomi trains to Kyoto every 10 minutes. Total trip time is under 5 hours, no matter when you depart, and you never have to wait an hour at a train station.

So best case, Mishima is only 30 minutes faster, but if everything doesn't align schedule wise, it is longer with more potential for long delays. Going via Tokyo is predictable and many, many schedule options that worst case only take 30 minutes longer.

That's why I say it is simpler and doesn't really take more time.
by TW (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/2 13:44
Hi tw
Thank you for your help I looked into train from Mishima and my understanding was there was a Shinkansen Hikari train quite regular to Kyōto that takes 1.2 hours from there? And according to bus timetable trip takes 1.5 hours to Mishima? So Ifm confused now haaaaa ,as we are on holiday we are not really in a rush and we would like to try fast train and bus of course as you see a lot more :)
by Jean OfDonnell (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/3 01:24
Hi!

There are not always Hikari that meet up with the bus at Mishima. So for example using the bus schedule here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/gotemba.html

And Hyperdia with today's date

If you took the 10:20 bus to Mishima arriving at 11:58, you would get to Mishima and wait until 12:24 to take a Kodama to Shizuoka get off at 12:51 and then change there for a Hikari at 13:10 and arrive in Kyoto at 14:45. The Mishima to Kyoto leg would be 141 minutes. If you took the earlier 9:20 bus, you would just catch a direct Hikari at 11:48 and arrive in Kyoto at 13:45, but you would have spent almost 1 hour hanging out around Mishima Station. I've not personally been to Mishima so I can't say if it is one of those stations where it is easy to spend 40-50 minutes (like Sendai or Okayama) or one where it is not like Toyama, which while very new and clean had limited shopping.

If you take the 2/16 9:30 bus from Kawaguchiko to Tokyo Station it gets in at 11:35 if you take the 11:40 Nozomi, you get to Kyoto at 13:58

If you take the 10:30 bus you get to Kyoto at 12:35 with the 12:50 Nozomi you get to Kyoto at 15:08

So going through Mishima is slightly faster. But I would look at the bus schedule and use Hyperdia a bit unless you want a 40-50 minute wait in Mishima. Of the two bus options I just did to Mishima, I would probably do the 10:20 since I'd rather have a shorter wait in Mishima.

Good luck!
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/3 04:52
The Hikari stops at Mishima every 2 hours and the Kodama comes every hour. Unfortunately, the bus schedule is such that you will miss the train by 5-10 minutes every time. So depending on which Bus you take from Mt. Fuji, you will wait 45-110 minutes for a Hikari and 60 minutes for a Kodama. Trip will be 4.5-5.5 hours depending.

Going back from Tokyo, it will be 4:45-5:30 depending on how long you take to transfer at Tokyo (it's huge) and Whether you take Nozomi or Hikari (JR pass is only covering the latter).

So it's not really that different, I just think going viaTokyo is more predictible and easier to plan. But, yeah, if you don't care about potentially losing an hour at the train station, then the scenery may be better on the bus to Mishima.

Here's the full Tokyo-Kyoto Shinkansen schedule. You can see not very many trains stop at Mishima.
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi/en/intervaltime.html?dep_node=TOKYO&arv_no...

And here's the bus schedule:
http://bus-en.fujikyu.co.jp/highway/detail/id/29





by TW (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/3 09:10
Not sure if this is helpful, but as you donft plan to climb Mt Fuji, why not change it for Hakone? From Hakone it is way easier to get to the Shinkansen line. And itfs a nice area as well.
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/3 10:13
Hi bike like
I thought perhaps as we are only one full day go to Kawaguchiko is it quieter.? Hubby scared of heights so cable car / rope bridges not really good and mountains ha ha .but I will have a look I think the bus ride from Kawaguchiko looks to be nice we are not in hurry we could go early bus to Mishima then have lunch etc before train? We also wanted a bus straight there from Tokyo.we also saw lots of Airbnb in Kawaguchiko we prefer local rather that touristy :)
Thank you everyone this has been so helpful
by Jean OfDonnell (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/3 11:46
then have lunch etc before train?

Just an idea for a very Japanese experience. Get a bento lunch box at the station and eat on the Shinkansen.

As you donft seem to be in a hurry on the day you go to Kyoto, bus and Shinkansen sounds good.

Hakone is however also reachable directly from Shinjuku by train on Odakyu line. But it is obviously different from Kawaguchiko.

Enjoy your trip to Japan !
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Tokyo to Kyoto 2019/2/4 10:04
The point missed above is that going to and then onward from Kawagichiko is a pain and adds significantly to travel time. While the view might be better from that vantage point, many people head to Hakone for views for a reason.
The OP could do something like one of the bus tours that goes to Fuji and then returns via Hakone.

As for hanging around in Mishima for an hour, it's not too hard.
by JapanCustomTours rate this post as useful

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