Saturday, 8 a.m., and you're standing at a ticket machine in Asakusa wondering if the “free pass” button is a trick. Usually it isn't. Several Tokyo railways sell one-ticket day trips that bundle the train, the local bus and sometimes lunch, and on the right route they beat tapping your IC card.
Budget¥560–5,000 per person for transport (as of Oct 2026)
TimeA full day; Nikko and Chichibu passes stretch to two
Best forResidents with a free weekend, visitors with one spare day
StartAsakusa, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, Shinagawa or Tokyo Sta.
We already covered Mt. Takao, Kawagoe and Kamakura in our first day-trip guide. This one goes a little further out and focuses on the tickets themselves: what each one includes, where you buy it, and when it isn't worth it.
How to read these tickets
- Most are sold by the railway that owns the line. Tobu for Nikko, Seibu for Chichibu, Odakyu for Oyama, Keikyu for Misaki. A JR station won't sell you a Tobu pass.
- Limited express seats are almost never included. The pass gets you there on regular trains. If you want the comfortable reserved train, buy that seat fee on top.
- Digital versions are often cheaper or easier. Several now live in an app or on a web page you show at the gate window, so check before you queue.
- Machines tend to sell same-day only. Planning a week ahead means buying online or at a ticket window.
The five trips
1 Nikko: shrines and cedar avenues
Tobu's digital Nikko passes are bought through its NIKKO MaaS site and pair the round trip from Asakusa with rides around the Nikko area. Two days of validity is the quiet win here: stay overnight in a cheap inn and you aren't paying for the train twice. If you only have one day, leave Asakusa early. The shrine area fills up by late morning, especially in autumn leaf season.
Who should think twice: anyone set on the Tobu limited express both ways. The seat fees go on top of the pass, so price the whole day before you commit.
2 Chichibu and Nagatoro: mountains, river, onsen
Seibu's Chichibu Free Kippu discounts the round trip from your Seibu station and then lets you hop on and off for two days between Ashigakubo and Seibu-Chichibu, plus the Chichibu Railway stretch from Nogami or Nagatoro to Mitsumineguchi. That last part is what makes it useful, because Nagatoro's riverside and the road to Mitsumine sit on the Chichibu Railway, not on Seibu.
Seibu raised its base fares on March 14, 2026, while limited express fees stayed the same. Prices for this pass vary by starting station, so check Seibu's fare sheet for your station. There's also a sibling ticket, the Chichibu Manyu Kippu, that comes with a coupon you can spend at the onsen next to Seibu-Chichibu station (or on a bus pass) but drops the Chichibu Railway rides. If a bath is the whole point of your day, that one may suit you better.
Mt. Oyama: a shrine halfway up a mountain
This is the best-value hike pass on the list. Both versions include the Odakyu round trip from Shinjuku, free rides between Hon-Atsugi and Shibusawa, and the local Kanachu buses to the trailhead. The A ticket adds the Oyama Cable Car. If you're fit and plan to climb from the bottom, B saves almost a thousand yen; if you've got a friend in sneakers who has never hiked, pay for A and keep everyone happy.
Buy it on the day at Odakyu ticket machines, or up to a month ahead in the EMot app.
3 Misaki: tuna lunch at the tip of the peninsula
The most expensive ticket here, and the one that feels like a bargain once you're at the table. It covers the Keikyu round trip to Misakiguchi, free Keikyu buses around Miura and Misaki, one tuna meal at a participating restaurant, and one voucher for sightseeing, shopping or a bath. You can stop off along the way but can't double back.
The digital version is priced by calendar, and the cheapest band falls in December and January. Pick your restaurant from the participating list before you go; popular places get queues around noon, so eating at 11:00 or after 13:30 is smarter.
4 Yokohama: the cheapest one on the list
Yokohama doesn't need a big bundle. Ride there on your IC card, then buy this pass at Yokohama station and use it for the waterfront, Chinatown (Motomachi-Chukagai on the Minatomirai Line) and Sakuragicho. A few short hops and it has paid for itself. Weekends get crowded along the harbour, so Chinatown before noon, waterfront at sunset works well.
Weekend wildcard: JR's holiday passes
If you want to string two places together on JR, say Yokohama in the morning and somewhere further down the line after lunch, look at the weekend passes instead of point-to-point fares.
- Holiday Odekake Pass: ¥2,950, weekends, holidays and set holiday periods. Unlimited JR local and rapid trains in a large zone around Tokyo, plus the Rinkai Line and Tokyo Monorail. Sold at reserved-seat machines up to a month ahead. You can add a limited express or Green Car ticket on top.
- Nonbiri Holiday Suica Pass: ¥2,850 for a similar zone and days, sold same-day only, in the Mobile Suica app or at machines. No shinkansen.
Check the zone map on JR East's page before buying. The outer edges matter, and paying the extra fare past the border can wipe out the saving.
Which one should you pick?
- Short on money: Yokohama. ¥560 plus your fare there.
- Want a real hike: Oyama with the B ticket.
- Want a food day: Misaki. Lunch is already paid for.
- Have two days: Nikko or Chichibu, because both passes are valid for two days.
- Rain forecast: Yokohama or Misaki. The mountain trips aren't much fun in the wet, and the Oyama trails get slippery.
Words that work
- このフリーパスで特急に乗れますか？ (kono furii pasu de tokkyuu ni noremasu ka?) — Can I ride the limited express with this pass?
- デジタルきっぷです (dejitaru kippu desu) — It's a digital ticket. (Say it while showing your phone at the staffed gate.)
- 帰りの電車は何番線ですか？ (kaeri no densha wa nanbansen desu ka?) — Which platform is the train back?
The trick with these tickets is to start the day at the right station. Begin at the railway's own terminal and you'll often spend less than lunch money to get to the mountains or the sea.
— John Nanjo
Keep reading
- Cheap Day Trips From Tokyo by Train (Takao, Kawagoe, Kamakura)
- Day-Trip Onsen in Tokyo That Foreigners Can Easily Use
- More resident guides: Live in Tokyo · Getting Around
Sources: Tobu NIKKO MaaS – digital Nikko passes, Seibu Railway – Chichibu Free Kippu, Seibu Railway – March 2026 fare revision, Odakyu – Tanzawa-Oyama Freepass, Keikyu – Misaki Maguro Kippu, JR East – Tokyo area discount tickets, JR East – Holiday Odekake Pass
이 글에는 제휴 링크가 포함되어 있습니다. 링크로 예약하시면 추가 비용 없이 JOHN NANJO가 소정의 수수료를 받을 수 있습니다. 저희가 직접 이용하는 곳과 서비스만 소개합니다.
존에게 질문
이 글에 대해 궁금한 점이 있나요? 도쿄 현지인 존이 직접 답해 드려요.
LINE으로 질문 ↗이메일 문의
Onsen Day Trips From Tokyo: Hakone, Takao, Chichibu
Free Things in Tokyo This Weekend: Oct 31–Nov 1, 2026
센소지 비밀 정원 & 도쿄 국화 전시, 2026년 11월