Okuhida as a base for side trips?

Hi!

@Uji or someone else may know more, but I was always under the impression that if you didn't have a pass that covered the full trip, you would be paying for the full trip if you wanted to stay on the train, though this thread makes it sounds like it might be otherwise?

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+174625

I know in the case of JR West, I'm 99% sure you can't just pay for the shinkansen between Shin-Osaka and Kyoto with a JR West Kansai-Hiroshima Pass if you want to go from Hiroshima to Kyoto via shinkansen. Though part of the issue might be Hiroshima (and Osaka) are JR West, while Kyoto is JR Central. In your case, Matsumoto is not in Kanto, but the Kanto Wide as well as JR Nagano-Niigata Pass all use JR East lines. So since it's all run by the same JR company, that might make it easier to do?

Sorry, that is one of those things I tend to be anxious about myself and the FAQ on the website doesn't make clear with the English statement "If you are going outside the area covered by your pass, please purchase tickets for outside that area in advance." with whether that means you need to buy the whole distance or just the additional.

Will I just have to pay the difference, \1300, to continue riding to Matsumoto, or, will I have to purchase the Kobuchizawa to Matsumoto leg separately for \2190?

You have to pay the leg from Kobuchizawa separately, i.e. 2190 yen. Also, note that a small number of trains do not stop at Kobuchizawa. I am not sure how the limited express fee and seat reservation fee would be calculated in that case. I recommend to ask a ticket counter staff or avoid trains that do not stop at Kouchizawa.

I am assuming I will pay this when I show my pass at the window, and get my ticket for the Azusa.

The seating system on the Azusa was changed in recent years. I think you either get the necessary tickets beforehand at a ticket counter or ticket machine or you pay on board to the conductor who I think is passing regularly through the train and checking for limited express supplements.

rkold, the thread in question is about a trip that is fully covered by two separate passes whose areas of validity overlap at Tsuruga Station.

Indeed, when a part of a journey is NOT covered by a pass, then you have to pay the entire cost for the non-covered section.

@rkold: Thank You for you input. Also, thank you for the idea to go to Matsumoto directly, and then take the bus to Hyrayu Onsen.

My original plan was to take the bus from Shinjuku to Hyrayu Onsen, and then do a round trip from Hyrayu Onsen to Matsumoto. This would result in about 7.5 hours of travel on a bus over two days. The train and bus idea is a little over 4 hours.

@Uji: Thank You, for your answer. As I have stated before, in Uji I trust. The only time I have had to pay for an extension was on a private line, in a non-reserved seat. I just had to pay the additional amount to extend the ticket then.

Paying for the second train ticket, and one way bus fare will still cost me less than my original plan.

@both of you: I will get my follow up question answered later by monitoring things in Japan this fall. I know the Kochia shrubs at Hitachi Seaside Park will turn bright red by mid-October, but I am wondering what they will look like at the end of October. I don’t think this is a full day trip, so the train ride to Matsumoto might be done after returning from Mira on the third day.

Mito… not Mira…

Hitachi Seaside Park is near Mito.

Sorry if there was any confusion.

I don't think about rain in the autumn means that you must go there in the spring. Not many people here realize what does typhoon like, what may be caused, it is just a remind, although possibility that it happens late October is low. www.hatonlinestore.com

thank you so mutch.for kind your infoemation.