Hakone Itinerary & Free Pass Questions

I'd like to travel from Shinjuku to Odawara on the Romance Car - is this covered in the 5,500yen pass or will I need to pay a supplement?

Does April qualify for the 10% discount on Weekday pass?

Then I'd like to take the toy train to Gora.

From Gora I'll take the furnicular to Soun-zan and then the ropeway to Togendai, stopping at Owakudani to have a good look at the volcanoes.

Then I will take the ferry on Ashino-ko to Moto-Hakone and walk down Cryptomeria Avenue to Hakone Machi.

From Hakon Machi, what time is the last bus back to Hakone Yumoto and how regular are they? And then are there regular connections back to Odawara and Tokyo?

Is the return trip to Shinjuku is covered in the pass, right? And based on this route, the Hakone free pass is good value?

I think I can do this route quite comfortably? If I spend a good day there, do I have time to take a dip at an onsen in Hakone Yumoto and stop at one/two of the towns on the way to Gora? And is it worth the effort?

Many thanks for any comments.

I'd like to travel from Shinjuku to Odawara on the Romance Car - is this covered in the 5,500yen pass or will I need to pay a supplement?

You will need to pay a supplement of 850 Yen one way. The pass covers only express trains, but not the Romance Car limited express.

Does April qualify for the 10% discount on Weekday pass?

No. I think the winter discount is only available from December through February. Furthermore, note that the Hakone Weekdays Pass is not available from March 19 to April 10 (spring holidays) and from April 28 to May 5 (Golden Week).

Then I'd like to take the toy train to Gora.

Toy train? It is a conventional mountain train! :-)

From Hakon Machi, what time is the last bus back to Hakone Yumoto and how regular are they?

The last bus leaves Hakone-machi at 20:20. There are buses every 15 minutes. Less frequent before 10:00 and after 17:00.

And then are there regular connections back to Odawara and Tokyo?

More than half of the buses from Hakone-machi go all the way to Odawara, while some terminate at Hakone-Yumoto.

From Hakone-Yumoto and Odawara, there are frequent trains back to Shinjuku.

Is the return trip to Shinjuku is covered in the pass, right?

Yes, here are more details:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html

And based on this route, the Hakone free pass is good value?

Yes, it is a good value. Besides from being a good value financially, it will save you lots of troubles buying regular tickets for each separate ride.

If I spend a good day there, do I have time to take a dip at an onsen in Hakone Yumoto and stop at one/two of the towns on the way to Gora?

Yes, if you start the day early, what I recommend, you should have time for some more stops along the way, although it depends on your pace of travel.

And is it worth the effort?

Yes. I highly recommend a hot spring experience, in particular.

Thanks very much Uji, that's all really, really helpful.

Do you think the Romance Car is worth the supplement? It sounds like a must from what I've heard.

Why is the pass not valid during the spring holidays? It's disappointing, as I'll be in Tokyo between April 5-10.

How much time should I spend at the hot spring? 1 hour?

Lonely Planet describes it as a narrow gauge or toy train...???

Thanks again.

Romance Car is seating two row two, airplane like or similar express / intercity trains. Other trains seating subway-like. Till some years ago the train between Yumoto and Gora was really more tiny and 1870's style, nowadays on busy days ( because of greater capacitiy ) it is a normal train or a train with a historic style design. But all trains are narrow gauge and go zig-zag. Hakone weekday pass is for off-season weekdays, when not so many people are travelling. To enjoy a Japanese style bath one hour is oK. At fun baths with many pools you can spend more than an hour.

Thanks Peter,
Romance Car still sounds like a good experience, thanks for the info. I misread about the Free Pass, as long as the normal pass is still valid in April, that will be fine. Lonely Planet recommends Kappa Tengoku Notemburo onsen and it's next to the station so will probably go with that one, though will do a bit more research before going. Good to know that 1 hour will be adequate.

Just another question, I checked out the Hakone page and would like to visit Tenzan onsen. If I take a bus from Hakone-machi to Hakone Yumoto, is there any chance the bus can drop me off at Tenzan?

Do you think the Romance Car is worth the supplement?

As mentioned by Peter, the Romance Car is basically more comfortable and faster. But it has one more special feature: the passengers in the very first and very last row of the train have an ublocked view through a front window onto the railway tracks (the driver's cab is located above the passenger room). If you can get one of those seats, it is a special ride, indeed. Note that not all Romance Cars have these special windows. Here are some photos:
http://www.odakyu.jp/romancecar/line_up/index.html

Why is the pass not valid during the spring holidays? It's disappointing, as I'll be in Tokyo between April 5-10.

As you seemed to have found out yourself in the meantime, only the Weekday Pass is not valid during peak travel seasons. The Hakone Free Pass, on the other hand, will remain available.

How much time should I spend at the hot spring? 1 hour?

Yes, including changing clothes and having a rest after the bath, one hour sounds good in case of a normal hot spring.

Lonely Planet describes it as a narrow gauge or toy train...???

Both is incorrect! The Hakone Tozan railway uses standard gauge (1435 mm), which is, in fact, wider than the gauge used by the Odakyu trains from Shinjuku! And I see few reasons to call the train a toy train. Here are some pictures:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5202.html

The new cars look even less toyish.

Lonely Planet recommends Kappa Tengoku Notemburo onsen and it's next to the station so will probably go with that one,

I found the Kappa bath not very clean. For a better onsen experience, I recommend Tenzan.

I checked out the Hakone page and would like to visit Tenzan onsen. If I take a bus from Hakone-machi to Hakone Yumoto, is there any chance the bus can drop me off at Tenzan?

No, you have to take the bus from Moto-Hakone to Hakone-Yumoto via the Old Tokaido. Get off at "Oku-Yumoto Iriguchi" and walk down the street for about 2 minutes to get to Tenzan.

I like Tenzan very much. They have a free shuttle bus from Hakone-Yumoto station. It's placed a bit strangely, across from the station, on the bridge over the river. Here's a link to the Japanese page http://tenzan.jp/access/index.html; best probably to ask someone official looking the actual location of the stop once you're there. It only runs from 10-4. After that, you should take a bus or a cab.