Bullet train or bus back?

What does "bullet train return" mean on a Mt Fuji tour?

A one-way Shinkansen ride from Odawara to Tokyo Station at the end of the day. It takes 27 to 45 minutes. Everything before that is by coach.

Odawara sits at the foot of Hakone, on the Tokaido Shinkansen line. The fast Nozomi doesn't stop there, so tours use the Hikari, about 27 minutes to Tokyo, or the Kodama, 35 to 45 minutes. Ekitan gives the fare as about 3,370 yen unreserved or 4,270 yen reserved. Kodama trains run about every half hour; Hikari only once or twice an hour.

You won't see Fuji from this stretch. The famous Shinkansen-and-Fuji photos are taken further west, near Shin-Fuji. Guests who expect a scenic ride are disappointed; guests who expect a quick way home are not. One put it plainly: “Bullet train ride back was short but did help put a check mark on things to do .”

How bad is the evening traffic back to Tokyo?

On a quiet weekday the expressway from Hakone takes 1.5 to 2 hours. On weekends, holidays and in autumn colour season it can take much longer.

Tour coaches leave Hakone in the late afternoon, at the same moment as every day-tripper in the region. The jams build on the approach into Tokyo, and they are worst in Golden Week (late April to early May), Obon in mid-August and the New Year. Hakone's autumn colour peaks in mid to late November, and the roads get busy then too; see Hakone autumn leaves 2026.

Operators say it in their own listings. Gogoday warns that weekend and holiday traffic “may delay the return time past 8 p.m.” A private tour guest wrote of a long holiday weekend: “Plus it was a big 5 day holiday and all of Japan was on the road and sightseeing! Mt Fuji was in the clouds!”

The Shinkansen cuts the last leg to half an hour, whatever the road looks like. If you have a dinner booking, a show or a late flight connection, pay for the train.

Does the bus tour really end at Odawara on weekends?

Yes, on Japan Panoramic Tours' bus version. On weekends and public holidays the coach stops at Odawara Station and you get yourself back to Tokyo.

The operator's own answer on the bus-return listing: “On weekends and public holidays, the tour ends at Odawara Station due to heavy traffic. If you need transportation back to Tokyo, please book the 'Returning by Bullet Train' option.” Some guests miss this line and find out on the coach.

From Odawara you have three ways back:

• Odakyu line to Shinjuku: 910 yen on a regular train, about 90 minutes, or 1,910 yen on the Romancecar limited express (Ekitan).
• Shinkansen to Tokyo Station: about 3,370 yen unreserved, free with a JR Pass.
• JR Tokaido line to Tokyo: slower and cheaper, about 80 to 90 minutes.

Weekend math: $133 plus a 3,370 yen Shinkansen ticket comes close to the $159 bullet train version. Without a JR Pass, the train version is simpler.

Should JR Pass holders book the bus or the bullet train version?

The bus version. The Japan Rail Pass covers the Hikari and Kodama from Odawara, and Japan Panoramic Tours tells pass holders to book the bus tour.

The flagship listing spells it out: if you have a JR Pass, book the “Return by Bus” product. You save $26, and on weekends, when the bus version ends at Odawara, you walk to the Shinkansen gates and ride to Tokyo on your pass. On weekdays the bus itinerary also lists a short stop at Odawara Station; ask the guide if you can get off there, or stay on the coach to Shinjuku.

A JR Pass doesn't help on the way out: every tour leaves by coach. It doesn't cover the highway buses to Kawaguchiko either, so it won't make a DIY Fuji day cheaper.

The same day as the flagship without the Shinkansen ticket: the pick for JR Pass holders and weekday Shinjuku hotels.

★ 4.6 · 11 hours · from $133

Explore the Fuji and Hakone bus tour → Tour details

Where do you end up: Tokyo Station or Shinjuku?

The bullet train versions finish at Tokyo Station. The bus versions finish in Shinjuku on weekdays, near Mode Gakuen Cocoon Tower on Japan Panoramic Tours.

That matters more than it sounds. Tokyo Station is huge, and you arrive at rush hour after a 10-hour day. If your hotel is in Shinjuku, you then take the JR Chuo Line west, about 15 minutes. One guest on the train-or-bus day wrote: “My only recommendation is not to do the bullet train unless you’re going to Tokyo station because then you have to transfer and it was very confusing for us and for our fellow travelers”.

Can you bring large luggage on the Shinkansen leg?

Not big suitcases. Bags over 160 cm in total dimensions need a reserved seat with an oversized baggage area, and tour tickets are mostly unreserved.

The JR Central rule covers bags between 160 and 250 cm (length plus width plus height). They need a seat with an oversized baggage area booked in advance; without one, you pay a 1,000 yen fee and can be moved. Japan Panoramic Tours puts it simply: no luggage over 160 cm total on non-reserved cars, for example 80 x 50 x 30 cm.

Moving hotels on tour day? Send the big case ahead with a luggage delivery service and travel with a daypack. If you are staying in Hakone afterwards, a tour that drops you in Hakone works better than either return. One guest on the hotel pickup tour wrote: “We had our luggage with us as we were staying in Hakone after the tour.” The guide helped them find the bus to their hotel.

Is the bullet train seat reserved, and can you sit together?

On the group tours the ticket is usually unreserved, so groups may split up. Xplor Japan's private tour gives you a reserved seat.

A JTB guest who loved the day still wished for one change: “Be nicer if seats were reserved for bullet train - so families aren’t separated and have an option for a window for the experience.” Unreserved cars on the Kodama are rarely packed on weekday evenings, but holiday trains fill.

Two more rules from the listings. On the train-or-bus day, if the coach runs late and you miss the planned train, you take the next one in the unreserved section; there is no refund. And you can't switch from bus to train after booking. Xplor Japan's private tour books a reserved ordinary-car seat, then leaves you at Tokyo Station to get to your hotel.

A reserved Shinkansen seat for your group, after a private day at Chureito Pagoda, the Fuji lakes and Lake Ashi.

★ 4.9 · 10 hours · from $314

Explore the private tour with the Shinkansen back → Tour details

Which Mt Fuji tours offer the bullet train, the bus, or both?

Japan Panoramic Tours sells both as separate products. The train-or-bus day and the hotel pickup tour let you pick at booking. JTB and Xplor Japan are train only; Local Guide Stars and Gogoday are bus only.

• Train only: the flagship bullet train tour ($159), JTB's drum show day ($161), Xplor Japan's private car ($314 per group).
• Bus only: Japan Panoramic Tours' bus version ($133), Local Guide Stars ($83), Gogoday ($78).
• Pick at booking: the train-or-bus day ($120: train, bus or Odawara drop) and the hotel pickup tour ($129: train, or end at Odawara).
• Car to your door: the private Fuji or Hakone tour drives you back to your hotel.

Our take: on a weekday with a Shinjuku hotel, the bus is fine. On a weekend, or with evening plans, pay for the train. What it all costs side by side is in Mt Fuji tour prices.

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