I will be in Japan with a friend starting mid April for about two weeks. We were wanting to visit Nikko for a day trip, but are unable to find a current timetable for the bus routes.
The [first part of the website](https://www.tobu-bus.com/en/nikko/) has links for all the bus stops, but when I try to click any of them to see the timetable, I get the error message “お探しの時刻表は見つかりませんでした” (The timetable you were looking for was not found.)
There is [this massive table of times](https://www.tobu-bus.com/pc/area/pdf/nikko_timetablenatu.pdf) found by clicking on the map under “Applicable area for free passes”, but it’s dated between April 1 and Nov 30, 2022. Are these times still accurate 2 years later? Do the buses only run between April and November, and that’s why I get the error message above?
We were aiming to see Kirifuri Falls, Kirifuri Plateau, Kegon Falls, plus the temples and bridge around Toshogu.
We were planning on our day trip like this:
* 6:04 – Use JR pass to take Toshuko Shinkansen from Tokyo Station -> Utsunomiya Station, 48 min
* 7:00 – Use JR pass to take Nikko Line from Utsunomiya Station -> Tobu-Nikko Station, 46 min
* There is also the 7:38 AM line if we don’t make the first one
* 9:00 – Take bus from Tobu-Nikko Station (stop 2) to Kirifuri falls (stop 97), 10 min
* 10:37 – Take bus from Kirifuri falls (stop 97) to Kirifuri Plateau (stop 104), 17 min
* 13:37 – Take bus from Kirifuri Plateau (stop 104) to Tobu-Nikko Station (stop 2), 30 min
* 14:35 (14:10 if we’re lucky) – Take bus from Tobu-Nikko Station (stop 2) to Chizunji Onsen (stop 26), 45 min
* 15:55 (15:25) – Take bus from Chizunji Onsen (stop 26B) to Nishisandō Iriguchi (stop 9), 29 min
* Walk through Toshogu for a while, cross Shinkyo Bridge, walk back to Tobu-Nikko Station. 1.5-2 hours?
* Take the same train routes back.
This should leave us plenty of extra time if we miss a bus or two after Kirifuri, and it seems like there’s really too much time between the Kirifuri Falls & Plateau stops.
Is this feasible? I’ve read that traffic can be horrid during the fall season, but how busy is it mid-April?
by FeedbackControl