The Cheap Alternative to the Japan Rail Pass: Riding the Old Tokaido Line Slowly

The first natural stop heading west, and the one to pick if you want to break the journey early rather than push on. Odawara is a castle town at the entrance to the Hakone region, known for its fish cakes and its harbour food, and this hotel sits inside the Minaka Odawara complex directly connected to the station — you reach it without going outside, which matters in October rain. The top floor has an open-air hot spring bath looking over the town, which is a good deal more than a station hotel normally offers. Rated around 4.2 out of 5 across more than 1,800 reviews. Note the trade: this is a modern complex rather than a traditional inn, so book it for convenience, not atmosphere.

The best first night on the route if you want the traditional experience rather than a station hotel. Atami is a hot spring town built up a steep bay about twenty minutes beyond Odawara, and this inn's two selling points are exactly what you want after a day of changing trains: hot spring water piped straight from the source without recirculation, and dinner served in your own room rather than a dining hall. For overseas visitors that second point quietly solves a lot — no working out where to sit, no set dinner time in a room full of strangers, and you can eat in a yukata with the door shut. Rated around 4.4 out of 5 across more than 1,800 reviews. Check the walking distance from the station when booking.

The cheaper way to spend night one in Atami. It stands on high ground near the station with rooms and a communal hot spring bath looking out over Sagami Bay, and it is run as a public-service hotel, which in Japan generally means plain but well-kept rooms at prices below the commercial equivalent. That suits this trip: if the point of the pass is to travel cheaply, spending the saving on a sea view rather than on a ryokan dinner is a reasonable trade. Rated around 4.2 out of 5. Two things to check — the view depends on which room type you book, and the hillside position means the walk from the station is uphill, which matters with a bag.

The obvious base for night two, and the most convenient hotel on this route. It connects directly to Shizuoka Station, so you step off the train and you are effectively there — worth a great deal on a trip where you arrive and leave by train every day. Shizuoka is the reason to stop here: green tea country, an excellent local seafood market at nearby Shimizu, the pine grove at Miho-no-Matsubara with its view of Mount Fuji across the bay, and oden served in a style particular to the city. Drop your bag and go. Rated around 4.4 out of 5 across more than 3,400 reviews. It is a city hotel, so there is no hot spring — the compensation is that you are a lift ride from the platform.

The cheaper choice for night two, and the one that fits the spirit of the trip. It is a short walk from Shizuoka Station on the south side, with clean, functional rooms and a breakfast that reviewers consistently single out — the sort of well-run Japanese business hotel that has no international equivalent at the price. Rated around 4.3 out of 5 across more than 3,200 reviews. If you are travelling on local trains to save money, this is where the logic holds: the room costs a fraction of the station-connected option, and the difference covers a good deal of eating in a city known for its food. The walk is short but not zero, so check the exact distance if you are carrying everything.

The reason to add a third night and keep going west. Lake Hamana is a large brackish lagoon near Hamamatsu, and the country's best-known area for freshwater eel — grilled unagi here is a destination dish rather than a menu item, and the Kanzanji hot spring sits on the lake shore. This inn faces the water, keeps to a traditional style, and makes a fitting end to a slow train trip. Rated around 4.1 out of 5. Be clear about the trade-off before booking: this is the one property on the list that is not near a station. You reach it by bus from Hamamatsu, so check the timetable and whether the inn offers a pickup, and do not plan a tight connection around it.