Before I discuss the Edo Wonderland theme park, in part 1, I wrote about how to get inexpensive tickets via KLOOK. In part 2, I need to discuss something very important and that’s how to get to Edo Wonderland and how to leave Edo Wonderland.
There is a lot of confusing information but I’m going to focus on international travelers who have a JR Pass. With this blog post, I’m going to assume you are coming from Tokyo.
The first step is to go to your JR Information or Ticket Booth (where you activated your JR Pass) and you want to reserve your Shinkansen tickets from Ueno Station to Utsunomiya Station and from Utsunomiya Station (if you purchased a JR Pass, you can get your reserved tickets easily), you will use your JR Pass to take the Nikko Line to Nikko Station.
Because this is a far ride (the shinkansen portion is only 45 minutes, the Nikko Line is about an hour), you will need to plan to wake up early in the morning and get to Ueno Station (before 7:00 a.m., so know how long it takes to get from your station to Ueno Station). This gives you enough time to purchase snacks that you will need for your trip and also make sure you get at the shinkansen in time. But get their early to take the Shinkansen to Utsunomiya Station.
Expect crowds early in the morning at Ueno Station at the Shinkansen area. But try to get their early!
This is the JR Nikko Line waiting area. It doesn’t come as frequently as other trains, so once you see the train arrive and parked. Go ahead, go inside and wait until departure time.
The next part is when you arrive to Nikko Station, you head left of the station when you go out the front door. To the left is where you will stand to take the free shuttlebus (show your JR Pass to get in for free).
This is where you will want to be…to the left of the station to ride the free shuttle bus.
Free Shuttle Bus. Please take note of the times, especially when to depart from Edo Wonderland. As you can see, there are not many shuttle buses. So, please take note of this!
As you can see, the first bus leaves at 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the next free shuttlebus is at 11:40 a.m. and the next after that is 2:25 p.m.
Ideally, you will want to be there to take the 10:00 a.m. shuttlebus, so it’s important, and I can’t emphasize this enough, get to Ueno Station to take the shinkansen early to Utsunomiya Station and then the JR Nikko Line to Nikko Station.
It’s important to note in terms of what to wear. You are going high up the mountains and I have been to Nikko in December and April. In December, it was the most freezing experience (especially at Utsunomiya Station) I have had in Japan. How cold was it? It was so cold to the point I had to wear a balaclava…no kidding!
I went to Edo Wonderland in the spring of 2019 and I figured, it shouldn’t be too cold in April right?
Wrong. It was snowing when I arrived at Nikko Station (fortunately it dissipated once we arrived to Edo Wonderland) when I got there, I read on the news that it snowed heavily the day after! So, I went before they had heavy snow. I was fortunate I brought my scarf and gloves.
So, just prepare yourself for the elements. It does get cold up there due to the high elevation.
The shuttle bus from Nikko Station to Edo Wonderland will take 30 minutes. You will arrive there at 10:30 a.m.
Now, here is the thing about departure time. You’ll need to decide if you want to leave at 3:55 p.m. or 5:15 p.m.
Pleas remember the theme park is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from March 20-November 30 and 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from December 1-March 19. And Edo Wonderland is open everyday EXCEPT ON WEDNESDAY.
A lot of the places start to close shop around a half hour before and the staff prepare for a grand exit for their visitors right at the end as they greet you and thank you outside of the theme park.
With that being said, if you need a seat while waiting for the free shuttle bus, while you will see everyone waiting under the rest stop…
The shuttle bus line area for JR Pass users is right in front of the parking lot.
It’s not far from the entrance as you can see but there is a reason why you want to get in line and not be at the end. There is a minimum occupancy on these buses. The last thing you want is to be the late person at the end of the line and find out that there is no seating for you.
You will read this often on various forums of how people were late and had to take the taxi back to the Nikko Station. Similar to leaving to Edo Wonderland, you want to get to the first station early. The same with leaving Edo Wonderland. Don’t wait last minute to get in line.
I will say one last thing. I was the first person in line, but then I saw the staff all outside greeting people and thanking them. I had to capture this on video and photo.
I knew I would lose my place in line if I left to get photos and video. If you have family or friends to wait in line, that would be great. They can save you a spot. But for me, I went solo, so I quickly went back to get photos and video and stayed maybe five minutes to do this and by the time I got back in line I was like #33 in line.
Needless to say, I was a little scared if I was going to get seat because I wasn’t sure if anyone in front of me were holding a seat for their friends or family members. But I believe one said the shuttle bus holds up to 38 people or so. Not sure about this but I was able to get my seat but I’m glad I was able to get the photos/video at the end but it was a risk as the 17:15 shuttle bus was the last free shuttle bus back to Nikko Station.
So, please know this in advance if you are there until closing.
I will begin my Edo Wonderland experience in part 3!
