Travelling with Tod

We're flying in to Tokyo this weekend. Pls advise if it's advisable to rent a car and visit the following:

Day 1 : Yokohama
Day 2 : Yokohama
Day 3 : Hakone
Day 4-6 : Tokyo

Will be returning car on Day 4 in Tokyo.

Please advise how far it is to travel in between cities.

Thank you.

Actually... i'm curious on whether a tourist who's rented a car has to pay the highway fee... it can get really expensive.

Driving is usually faster then taking the train.. but you might not need to rent a car since you can take a bus to Hakone. And a train to Yokohama is a piece of cake. Unless you have something against trains...

Yes, tourists renting cars have to pay the tolls like anybody else.

I'm usually a big advocate of renting a car & driving in Japan but your itinerary is not one for which I'd recommend it. Yokohama is so close to Tokyo - only twenty minutes by train? Something like that, and not expensive - and Hakone is easily do-able by train as well. Unless there is something else going that requires a car at your planned locations, I'd say skip it and take public transportation.

Thanks for your info..

Got nothing against train. Since I'm travelling with a toddler below 2, think might be more convenience to drive.

Was also thinking of visiting Nikko instead of Yokohama after seeing all the nice autumn pictures on the web.

For Nikko, is train still recommended as compared to car? Any hotel/ryokan in Nikko to recommend?

Thanks for all your advise.

yea you can ride a train all the way up to nikko. when you get there you can take a bus to the site. bring a lunch though, some of those food places they got there are a bit expensive

I think what you might need is a guide for the train system. I really don't think you'll want a car because of the highway tolls. It can really rack up.

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

Buses are also an alternative. I think they're cheaper and faster... depends on where you go.

Mothers take their children on trains all the time and the kids either sleep or cry... as kids do. So your child shouldn't be a problem since commuters are already used to it.