Tokyo - Nikko Options

[TestudoToTetsudo]

So my family and I are still doing some research into a Nikko day trip from Tokyo (probably Otsuka) while in Japan (hopefully next year).  I know I can take the JR Nikko Limited Express, Tobu Spacia Limited Express, or the Tohoku Shinkansen to Utsunomiya then the JR Nikko Line to get to Nikko.

 

Of these, which do you prefer and why?  The JR Nikko Limited Express looks like it's the most convenient since I can grab it in Ikebukuro, the Tobu Spacia looks like it's the coolest train to ride in terms of on board accommodations and seating, and the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nikko Line is the cheapest option since we'd have Japan Rail Passes.

 

So let me ask the experts here: which choices are the best and why?  I'm hoping to ride one way up, another way back, but likely only the trip there will be in daylight.  Do the JR Nikko Limited Express and Tobu Spacia use the same line to Nikko once you get outside Tokyo?  Is the Nikko Line more scenic than the Tobu line to Nikko?  Any advice would be great.  Thanks!!!

Edited September 15, 2013 by TestudoToTetsudo

[miyakoji]

Tobu runs a kaisoku from Asakusa to Nikko on weekday mornings, at 6:20, 7:10, 8:10, and 9:10. These take about 2 hours 10 minutes, and then in the afternoon they run a semi-rapid which takes 10 minutes longer. There's no surcharge for this service. When I rode it in 2005 or 2006, it was run with 6050 series cars, which is what's in my avatar right now. I got some onigiri and a small bento to take a long, it was a good ride. If I were to make this trip again, I'd probably take this or the Spacia one way and the JR/Tobu interline service the other, just for some variety .

[TestudoToTetsudo]

Thanks for the advice Miyakoji!

 

Actually, this has me thinking: I really want to watch coupling/uncoupling moves while in Japan (I'm amazed how they program it in just a few minutes on live trains), while my family doesn't care about riding different trains as much as getting between point A and point B.  

 

Maybe my family and I will all take the JR/Tobu Interline from Ikebukuro to Nikko in the morning.  On the way back, the family could take the JR/Tobu interline train back, while I ride the Tobu line back with a stopover in Shimo-Imaichi to watch the coupling of rapid trains (ride a kaisoku Tobu-Nikko to Shimo-Imaichi then a Spacia back to Tokyo).

[Ochanomizu]

Hello MrTetsudoToTetsudo,

 

Please allow me to assist you with planning your trip.

 

With only one day in Nikko my advice is to plan for the quickest service available.  As you mentioned having JR Rail Pass, the shinkansen service should appeal to you.  I recommend the Shinkansen Yamabiko 127 departing from Platform 20 at Tokyo station at 08:08 daily.  Please arrive at Tokyo station around 7:30am and choose your bento box from one of the shops near the stairs to the platforms.  The variety of the bento boxes at the station is better than those sold on the train, in my opinion.  Change at Utsunomiya for JR Nikko Line.  There is also an earlier Yamabiko 123 service at 07:12.

[bikkuri bahn]

I agree with Ochanomizu.  Better to get to Nikko early, especially with non-railfans in your party. Coming back separately is a good idea- Tobu operations are interesting for the railfan, but the travel time is lo~oong when using kaisoku services vs. ltd. express- this is no jaunt like a trip to Hakone via Odakyu- Nikko really is in the hinterlands of Tochigi.

[Darklighter]

Be careful to take the right Shinkansen. I wanted to go to Nikko some years ago but ended up in a shinkansen that went non-stop to Sendai. 

[TestudoToTetsudo]

Thanks for the advice!

 

Since we'll probably stay in a hotel close to Ikebukuro, we were thinking of the JR Nikko Limited Express from Ikebukuro which arrives Nikko at 9:29.  That actually gets us to Nikko 25 minutes earlier than Yamabiko 127 (per Hyperdia) and is one less connection.  However I see that the Yamabiko option gives us many more times in the evening to return to choose from, and since I've already seen the Shinkansen route I don't care if we do that after dark, so maybe we'll do that on the way back to Tokyo.

[Kitayama]

 Do the JR Nikko Limited Express and Tobu Spacia use the same line to Nikko once you get outside Tokyo?

JR LEX Nikko runs on JR Tohoku main line to Kurihashi, 27 km north of Omiya. In Kurihashi, it will switch over to the Tobu Railway Nikko line, the same line as the Tobu Spacia from Asakusa (the Tobu Tokyo terminal).

The JR train does NOT stop at Kurihashi.

[Sacto1985]

Also, the JR LEX Nikko train is NOT free to Japan Rail Pass holders--you have to pay a supplemental fee because the train runs on Tobu trackage.

[TestudoToTetsudo]

Thank you for the information Kitayama and Sacto1985!