The Best Day Trips from Tokyo

The 10 best day trips, ranked

Ordered by how well they repay a full day - factoring travel time, what you can actually see, and how easy they are without a car.

1. 1

   Hakone

   Onsen, art & Fuji views

   85 km southwest · ~85–100 min by train

   The classic Tokyo escape, built as a circuit: ride the switchback Hakone Tozan railway, the cablecar and the ropeway over the steaming Owakudani crater (eat a black egg boiled in the springs), then cross Lake Ashi on the replica pirate ship to the torii gate of Hakone Shrine. The Open-Air Museum's Picasso pavilion and hillside sculptures justify the trip on their own. Fuji shows itself from the ropeway on clear mornings - start the loop early, before cloud builds.

   Getting there: The Odakyu Romancecar runs direct from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in ~85 minutes (all seats reserved - the front-cabin observation seats sell out first). Cheaper: Odakyu express trains with a change at Odawara (~2 h). The Hakone Free Pass (~¥6,000-6,500 from Shinjuku, valid 2 days) covers the round trip plus every leg of the Hakone loop; the Romancecar adds a ~¥1,200 seat surcharge on top.

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2. 2

   Nikko

   Shrines & mountain scenery

   125 km north · ~2 h by train

   The Toshogu shrine complex - burial place of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu - is Japan's most lavish religious architecture: the Yomeimon gate, the sleeping cat carving and the three wise monkeys, all wrapped in old-growth cedar forest. Add the Shinkyo bridge and the quiet jizo statues of Kanmangafuchi. Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls are another ~45 minutes by bus - possible, but only with a pre-9:00 start from Tokyo.

   Getting there: Tobu limited expresses (Revaty, Spacia) run direct from Tobu Asakusa station to Tobu-Nikko in ~1 h 50 (reserved seats - book a few days ahead for weekends). Direct JR-Tobu limited expresses also run from Shinjuku and Ikebukuro (~2 h). From the station it is a 10-minute bus or 25-minute uphill walk to the shrine district.

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3. 3

   Kamakura & Enoshima

   Temples & the seaside

   50 km south · ~55–65 min by train

   Japan's 13th-century samurai capital: the 11-metre bronze Great Buddha at Kotoku-in, Hase-dera's hillside gardens with bay views, and the long approach avenue to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. Get off one stop early at Kita-Kamakura and walk the temple trail (Engaku-ji, Kencho-ji) into town instead of starting at the main station. Finish with sunset over Sagami Bay from Enoshima.

   Getting there: Direct JR Yokosuka line trains from Tokyo, Shimbashi and Shinagawa stations to Kamakura (~1 h, ~¥950 each way). At the other end, the little Enoden tram links the temples, Hase and the coast, ending near Enoshima island.

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4. 4

   Yokohama

   Food & harbor views

   30 km south · ~25–40 min by train

   Japan's second city with a completely different mood: the country's biggest Chinatown, the Cup Noodles Museum where you design your own ramen cup, the Red Brick Warehouse and the landscaped Sankeien garden. Best done as an afternoon-into-evening trip - the harbor skyline after dark is the point.

   Getting there: JR Tokaido and Yokosuka line trains from Tokyo Station reach Yokohama in ~25-30 minutes; from Shibuya, the Tokyu Toyoko line runs direct to Minatomirai (~35 min). The sights sit along one walkable waterfront arc from Minato Mirai to Chinatown.

5. 5

   Kawagoe

   Old Japan streetscapes

   35 km northwest · ~30–60 min by train

   Little Edo: a street of clay-walled kurazukuri merchant houses, the Toki no Kane bell tower that has kept time since the Edo period, and Kashiya Yokocho, an alley of penny-candy shops. Kitain temple holds more than 500 stone rakan statues, each with a different face. Go on a weekday - Sunday afternoons are shoulder to shoulder.

   Getting there: Tobu Tojo line express trains from Ikebukuro reach Kawagoe in ~30 minutes; the Seibu Shinjuku line runs to Hon-Kawagoe (~45-60 min), slightly closer to the old town. The warehouse district is a 10-15 minute bus ride or ~25-minute walk from either station.

6. 6

   Mount Takao

   Hiking without planning

   50 km west · ~50 min by train

   Tokyo's local mountain: 599 metres, the tengu-guarded Yakuo-in temple at mid-slope, wild monkeys, and - on clear days, especially in winter - Mount Fuji from the summit. Take trail 6 up along the stream and the paved trail 1 down. Takaosan Onsen, directly behind the station, is the correct way to end it.

   Getting there: The Keio line runs direct from Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi in ~50 minutes (~¥430) - the Mt. Takao semi-special express drops you at the trailhead. A cable car and a chairlift cover the steepest half if you want them.

7. 7

   Chichibu & Nagatoro

   River scenery & shrines

   80 km northwest · ~80–120 min by train

   River gorges and mountain shrines a world away from the city: wooden boats shoot the rapids past Nagatoro's tiered Iwadatami rock terraces, and Chichibu Shrine's painted carvings rival Nikko's in miniature. From late April to early May, Hitsujiyama Park's hillside of shibazakura moss phlox draws serious crowds - book Laview seats ahead then.

   Getting there: Seibu's Laview limited express runs from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu in ~80 minutes (reserved seats). For Nagatoro, transfer to the local Chichibu Railway (~20 min more). Slower Seibu expresses do the trip cheaper with a change at Hanno.

8. 8

   Odawara Castle

   Castles & seafood

   80 km southwest · ~35–90 min by train

   The reconstructed keep of the Hojo clan's fortress - the castle that controlled the eastern approaches before Tokyo mattered - with Sagami Bay views from the top floor and moats ringed by cherry trees in early April. Odawara's fish-market lunches are the underrated draw. It pairs naturally with Hakone, 15 minutes further up the Hakone Tozan line.

   Getting there: The Tokaido shinkansen reaches Odawara from Tokyo Station in ~35 minutes; the Odakyu line from Shinjuku takes ~90 minutes but costs around ¥900. The castle park is a 10-minute walk from the station.

9. 9

   Kawaguchiko & the Fuji Five Lakes

   Mount Fuji views

   100 km west · ~2 h by train or bus

   The closest thing to a guaranteed Fuji postcard: the mountain rising over Lake Kawaguchi, the Chureito Pagoda framing it from the Arakurayama hillside, and lakeside onsen where the view comes with the bath. Ride the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway for the over-the-lake angle. Clarity is best November to February, and best in the morning in any month.

   Getting there: The Fuji Excursion limited express runs direct from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko in ~2 hours (all reserved - book ahead). Highway buses from Busta Shinjuku take about the same time for roughly half the price. See the Mount Fuji spotlight below for the full strategy.

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10. 10

    Yokosuka & the Miura Peninsula

    Naval history & seafood

    60 km south · ~50–80 min by train

    Tokyo Bay's naval town and a fishing peninsula that few foreign visitors reach: board the 1902 battleship Mikasa, take the 10-minute ferry to Sarushima - the bay's only natural island, with overgrown brick fortifications - then continue south for Misaki port's tuna and the wind-scoured cliffs of Jogashima.

    Getting there: Keikyu line limited expresses from Shinagawa reach Yokosuka-Chuo in ~50 minutes and Misakiguchi, the end of the line, in ~75. Keikyu's Misaki Maguro day-trip ticket bundles the round trip, a tuna lunch and an activity - one of the Kanto region's best-value rail deals.

Day trips from other cities