You can find about everything in Tokyo, otaku (geek) areas, video games centers, leisure and amusement parks, nightlife, all kinds of restaurants, cultural treasures and tradition… Maybe there’s one thing missing in Japan’s capital city: nature. Here are three one-day trips ideas to catch a breath of fresh air during your stay in Tokyo.
The 3 trips we’ve done don’t require any car, as we only travelled with public transportation (bus and train).
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Why should you plan day trips from Tokyo?
Because of its size and crowd, the capital city can become overwhelming after a few days. Even though, the both of us being hypersensitive, we felt pretty good overall in Tokyo (except in Shinjuku and Shibuya on a weekend), it still felt good to see forests and mountains again and to wander in small villages.
Tokyo day-trips offer opportunities to visit quiet temples surrounded by flowers or autumn foliage, to hike or to see the shore.
Leaving the capital city is also a way to see Mount Fuji (although you can catch a glimpse from Tokyo Skytree, if you’re lucky).
For people who are only visiting big cities like Tokyo and Kyoto during their stay in Japan, it’s a great opportunity to see other sides of the country.
Our stay in Tokyo
We ended our one-month Japan trip in Tokyo where we spent 10 days, from which 3 were dedicated to one-day trips. Here’s our Tokyo itinerary, with the three trips in bold
- Day 0 : arrived in Tokyo, visiting Akihabara (where our hotel was) ↗️
- Day 1 : Toyosu and Odaiba ↗️
- Day 2 : Ueno ↗️
- Day 3 : day trip to Kawaguchiko and Oshino Hakkai (mount Fuji sightseeing)
- Day 4 : Ochanomizu/Jimbocho, Ginza ↗️, Gotokuji↗️
- Day 5 : Ikebukuro↗️
- Day 6 : Shinjuku et Shibuya↗️
- Day 7 : day trip to Kamakura
- Day 8 : Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree↗️
- Day 9 : Imperial palace and Tokyo Station↗️
- Day 10 : day trip to mount Takao (mount Fuji sightseeing)
A day in Kawaguchiko to see Mount Fuji
Bus trip from Shinjuku to Fujikawaguchiko
To reach Kawaguchiko, we rode the bus from Shinjuku (Fujigoko Line, 2.200 yens in May 2023). We bought our tickets on the spot. A bus was leaving every 30 minutes approximately. It took us 2.15 hours.
The bus station is not directly next to Shinjuku train station, you’ve got to go out of the train station, cross the road and go to the bus station 4th floor for long distance buses. If you booked your tickets in advance or want to leave at a precise time, plan to arrive early enough to reach the bus station on time!
We chose the day where the weather conditions were the best to see Fuji, but the more we approached Kawaguchiko, to greyer the sky. Chances are lower to see Fuji-san between April and August (plus September during typhoons), but June is probably the worst time.
We knew we shouldn’t keep our hopes up when we arrived at Kawaguchiko station, where you’re supposed to see the top of Mount Fuji, but could only stare at a plain grey sky.
Note it’s very cold in Kawaguchiko compared to Tokyo, especially on a cloudy day. I shivered all day and regretted I didn’t bring a scarf and a jumper.
From Kawaguchiko station, we took the loop bus. It comes every 30 minutes and you can pay your fare with an IC card. After 30 minutes, we reached Oshina Hakkai.
Oshina Hakkai
Oshino Hakkai is famous for its 8 ponds, from which the main, biggest one is also a sightseeing point for Fuji. The other ponds are about 2 to 4 meters wide, while the biggest is 6/8 meters wide. They are spread along a short walking route. In some of them, you can see koi carps.
The main ponds is in a square, surrounded by a food court, tourist shop and a few other snack places. It’s also really crowded. There’s a parking lot right next to it, meaning some tourist buses make a pit stop there to allow people to take a picture of Fuji and grab a bite.
To be honest I was a bit disappointed, as it resembled nothing like what I’ve seen multiple times in vlogs and blog articles. It’s an Instagram spot for sure, but there’s not much to enjoy and the crowds made us want to leave. Worst, there was still no Fuji in sight.
After eating a little something and visiting the Japanese garden next to the bus stop, we rode the bus, back to Kawaguchiko.
Panoramic view from Kawaguchiko
Back in Kawaguchiko, we walked a bit along the lake and rode the rope car to see the lake from above. The sky is still grey and Fuji’s hiding. We stayed a bit up there but gave up after a while, accepting there would be no Fuji today.
We find a bit of comfort in a pastry shop along the lake and enjoy a hot coffee with our tart.
Back to Kawaguchiko station, we manage to exchange our return tickets and leave earlier, as all activities in the area are more or less related to watching Mount Fuji.
A day in Kamakura to see hydrangeas🌟
We hesitated about Kamakura, fearing it would be one of those Instagram-only places that bear little interest, but Emmanuelle (Tokyo Kiwi), who was visiting Tokyo the same moment as us, encouraged us to go check it, and we visited together.
And this one was not a disappointment at all! From Akihabara, we rode the train for 1.15 hour up to Kita Kamakura station (not the main Kamakura station).
We started our visit with Shorei-in, a temple surrounded by trees that make you forget you’re in a city.
There are many temples between Kita Kamakura and Kamakura, we didn’t check them all but it’s really worth planning enough time to wander around, I hope I get to go back some day to stroll a bit more!
Another piece of advice: avoid weekends as much as possible, as Kamakura is a popular destination during the hydrangeas season (June) and the autumn foliage season (November-December), among foreigners and locals alike.
The hydrangeas had started to bloom in one of the temples we visited, Meigestu-in, and there were so many tourists that day (Sunday) that we had to follow a premade path, one after the other, which made it less enjoyable than free roaming.
It was hot and sunny that day, we were happy to find a soba shop and enjoy cold soba with tempura.
Next to the restaurant, we enjoyed Hokkaido milk soft-serve ice creams.
We walked further to Kotoku-in, the well-known temple where you can see a huge buddha, then up to the sea front, walking through residential areas to avoid the crowds on the main street of Kamakura.
The last spot of the day was Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, a temple on a hill with a view on a green alley with toriis.
Mount Takao, hiking and Fuji sightseeing🌟
To reach Takao (Takaosanguchi station), we rode the Keisei line from Shinjuku (it’s not a JR line, those trains are in a different part of the station). It took about one hour. Takao is on the lesser-known side of day-trips from Tokyo. We could notice as it was quiet in the train, and the only passengers where Japanese people in hiking clothes.
In Takaosanguchi, we rode the Takaosan Cable Car from Kiyotaki station. The cable cars go up and down on a single rail, that just separates in one spot to allow crossing.
Then let the hiking begin. It’s a really easy one, on a pedestrian road.
We reached a place with a restaurant, few snacks, vending machines and benches.
We ate ramens at Gomadokoro Gongen Chaya, with a stunning view from the balcony. I chose Tengu ramen, with vegetables, a fish back and a sesame and soy milk broth.
Fueled with a good meal, we continued our hiking up to mount Takao through temples and toriis.
At the summit, there’s a little crowd. There are tables if you’d like to eat your picnic up there. Some people had brought… their fondue, having the best time of their life.
A Japanese lady started chatting with us in French, she told us she noticed us at the station in Shinjuku, asked where we were coming from, if we enjoyed Japan, we we visited, an amazing anecdote that lives rent free in my head.
As from the view of Mount Fuji… well, no luck again. It was our third and last chance to see it during that trip (once from Kawaguchiko, once from the Skytree, once here) and it failed again. However, Takao is a pleasant destination even is you can’t see Fuji-san.
Back to the place where we ate earlier for a comforting black sesame and soy sauce dango!
And that’s it for our three day-trips from Tokyo! Come back in late 2025 for our next Japan trip.