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Can anyone tell me if I can avail any pass for return travel between Tokyo and Takasaki on the same day? I’m looking for the cheapest travel option. I’ve a Suica card. Thanks.

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  • Are you saying you want a buy a pass just for this purpose? Or are you looking purely at the cost (fare)? Are you getting a JR Pass for your trip regardless of this?
    – Jimmy
    Commented Apr 30, 2019 at 21:36
  • I’m looking for a pass purely for this purpose. Thanks.
    – Kay
    Commented Apr 30, 2019 at 21:38
  • The cheapest option for a single trip between two reasonably large cities is almost always the bus. Here, Tokyo to Takasaki return by bus is 1550 yen, versus 1940 for the cheapest train.
    – fkraiem
    Commented May 1, 2019 at 0:23
  • You're much better off buying a ticket (or using your Suica card).
    – xuq01
    Commented May 1, 2019 at 0:26
  • Thanks. So, the the one way fare using the Takasaki Line train is 1940 yen. Apparently, for the return travel one needs to pay the same which means there is no discount for the return journey which is odd.
    – Kay
    Commented May 1, 2019 at 4:12

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Note that I am assuming you are leaving from Tokyo Station and heading to Takasaki station, since you didn't specify any stations.

@fkraiem has pointed out the cheapest choice is highway bus. My apologies. Taking the Nippon Chuo bus will be 1550 JPY. You have a few stops you can board from, but note that you probably have to buy the ticket ahead of time (there are bus companies you can buy the ticket on the spot, but I don't know about this particular one). Tickets are for only valid for the time you purchases, so make sure you are on time. You can purchase online, through phone, through convenience store kiosks or through licensed sellers. However, this company doesn't seem to have English support, so it may be a task. Information page of that line is here (in Japanese). It will take you about 2 hours, but note that the times fluctuate depending on the traffic and weather conditions.

If you are looking for the simplest solution, it would be just taking the straight route, the JR Takasaki Line (to Takasaki). This will cost you 1944 JPY. If you bought a ticket instead of using SUICA, it's actually 4 JPY cheaper!

Note that this will be a little over 2 hours. Depending on your departure time, there may be a few options with a transfer to get you there faster (by 5-10 minutes).

If you have a JR Pass, you could take the Shinkansen straight there in half the time. The cost otherwise would be at least 4410 JPY. The round trip would be 8820 JPY, so a JR Pass just for this purpose would not be worth it.

There is a Gunma regional free pass (Gunma One Day World Treasure Pass), which you can use to travel freely around Gunma by JR lines. But it costs 2200 JPY, and the closest you get to Tokyo is Fukaya. If will be 1320 JPY to Fukaya from Tokyo, so in total that would be cost you 4840 JPY for the entire trip. Also, the pass is only sold in spring and summer.

In the future, I suggest using a train schedule site to help you plan out, like Navitime or HyperDia.

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  • Wrong, bus is cheaper.
    – fkraiem
    Commented May 1, 2019 at 0:31
  • @fkraiem Ah, I didn't think of bus at this distance. Care to write your own answer, or should I append?
    – Jimmy
    Commented May 1, 2019 at 0:47
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    Might be wise to include both. Some people (like me) are "allergic" to buses and would almost certainly be willing to pay 400 JPY extra to take the train.
    – xuq01
    Commented May 1, 2019 at 1:29

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