Hi everyone. I’m in the super early stages of planning and this subreddit is so useful, I’ve found answers to almost every single question I had. This trip will be in 2023 (if the borders even open up), 14 days from September 21st-October 5th hopefully. It’ll be my first time, mid-20’s female and a solo traveler.
I’m not buying a 2 week JR pass because I’ll be in the city most of time with only a few day trips. I just have to get my timing right, if I’m correct, since it can only be used consecutively. Originally I wanted to stick to Hakone because getting there is only a few yen and when I leave Hakone, that is the day I will activate it. But then I happened upon a really pretty ryokan in Izu-Atagawa with a good enough price and I heard it’s easy to get there via the Odoriko trains. However, unless I want to pay $120 one way, I’m not so sure it’s worth it. I’m sure the ryokans in Hakone are just as good. I don’t want to activate the pass until the day I go to Kyoto.
Are there any cheaper ways to get to Izu-Atagawa? My budget is $5k so I’m not worried about the money, just wondering in case there *is* a cheaper way there. If $120 is really the cheapest then I will probably settle for Hakone. Thanks for reading. \^\^
Edit: It seems I’ve calculated the trip wrong, haha. Thank you to everyone who pointed this out, super helpful!
8 comments
> However, unless I want to pay $120 one way, I’m not so sure it’s worth it.
JR Tokyo Wide Pass (10,180 yen) is valid for Odoriko (including Izu Kyuko Railway). So a 3 day trip with a day trip to Shimoda or Kawazu would be fairly nice.
Can’t help you with price info but just want to congratulate you for choosing Hakone. Was there in 2019 and it’s absolutely amazing. I’m hopefully also going to Japan in september. Solo this time but will focus on Osaka and smaller cities between Osaka and Hiroshima this time. Hope they let me in and hope you have a great journey!
Just so you know, the JR Pass does cover the Yamanote line in Tokyo, and the Narita Express if you’re flying in to Narita. You might want to work out the relative cost and see if it’s worth it.
How do you get to 120$? I can see on Google Maps that one way on the Odoriko from Tokyo station to Izu-Atagawa is 5430 yen, so that is far from 120$. You can also do it for 3330 yen if you use local trains and it’s “only” 35 minutes longer.
One option around Izu is also the Izu Dream Pass, but it doe get you to Izu-Atagawa all the way from Tokyo, it would work more to move around izu.
Where are you getting $120 for Odoriko? USD? I remember the trip being around ¥5,500. Not a big difference from Hakone when you consider budget for travel within Hakone.
I’d choose based off environment. Hakone has unique and impressive scenery, loads of things to do, loads of international tourists (when the borders opened.) The east coast of the Izu Peninsula is beachy, relaxed, very 80s, “off the beaten path” for international tourists. They’re both great, but similar locations, polar opposite vibes.
You’re gonna have to pay from Ito to Izu Atagawa no matter what because the line is run by Tokyu, and not JR. You could transfer to a local from Ito to Izu Atagawa, as it is only seven stops, and since the track is single rail, the time difference between the local and Odoriko is only a 5-10 minute difference.
Which ryokan in Izu have you decided on? Keen to explore Izu myself too at some point when border reopens!
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in both places, and I would honestly consider just staying in Hakone. It’s a wonderful area with a lot of things to do (we really like the area around Gora). Keep in mind the weather is unpredictable that time of year, so you may have to wait for a sunny day. I’ve been pretty underwhelmed with Izu personally.