Okukinu Onsen Travel

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are visiting Tokyo in December and will be taking a side trip to Nikko. We plan to purchase a Nikko All Area Pass and to take the 7:30 limited express from Asakusa station. We'll spend the first day in Nikko and then take the bus to Kinugawa for our first night accommodation. So far so good!

The next day we have a reservation for Kaniyu in Okukinu and plan to set off quite early. I know we have to take a bus from Kinugawa Onsen station as far as Meotobuchi and I think I've confirmed that these buses depart at 7:35 and 10:15. From there we can take a shuttle bus to Kaniyu which I believe leaves Meotobuchi at 12:00.

Next day we will leave Kaniyu and get back to Meotobuchi for a bus at either 9:50 or 12:45. Then back to Kinugawa and on to Nikko station for our return train to Tokyo in mid-afternoon.

Sounds simple but I have a few questions:

1) Have I understood the bus times correctly? I train to translate from this link but I'm not sure how recent the information is: http://www.naf.co.jp/kaniyu/traffic.stm
2) Does our Nikko Pass cover the bus journey to Meotobuchi or do we need to buy a ticket on the bus?
3) Is it possible - using our Nikko Pass - to take a train directly from Kinugawa Onsen back to Asakusa in Tokyo? Or do we have to go back to Nikko station and go from there?
4) Does the above itinerary make sense?

Very grateful if anyone can help with this! I've found it surprisingly difficult to piece together information, mainly because of the side trip to Okukinu.