Tokyo · day trips
Day Trips from Tokyo
Nine escapes you can do in a day by train, ranked with honest verdicts, plus one famous trip we would skip.
Tokyo in brief
- What is the best day trip from Tokyo?
- Hakone, for the most variety in one day: hot springs, a lake cruise, open-air art, and Mt. Fuji views when the weather is clear, all about 80 minutes from Shinjuku.
- What is within two hours of Tokyo by train?
- Yokohama, Kamakura, Enoshima, Mt. Takao and Kawagoe are all under an hour from central Tokyo; Hakone, Nikko and the Mt. Fuji Five Lakes are about two. All nine make comfortable same-day returns.
- Can you see Mt. Fuji on a day trip?
- Yes. The Fuji Five Lakes put you right beneath it, Hakone pairs Fuji views with onsen, and even Mt. Takao looks straight at it on a clear day. Fuji often hides in cloud, so go on a clear morning.
Day trips from Tokyo at a glance
Every trip below is doable in a day by train from central Tokyo. Costs are an approximate round-trip rail fare per person; entries and food are extra.
| Destination | Best for | Travel time | Round trip | In our guides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hakone | Onsen + Mt. Fuji views | ~80 min | ~$45 | 4-day itinerary |
| Kamakura | Great Buddha + coast | ~1 hr | ~$14 | 5-day itinerary |
| Fuji Five Lakes | The mountain up close | ~2 hr | ~$30 | Coming soon |
| Nikko | Shrines + waterfalls | ~2 hr | ~$40 | 7-day itinerary |
| Kawagoe | Old Edo streets, half day | ~30 min | ~$7 | Coming soon |
| Enoshima | Shrine island + sea caves | ~1 hr | ~$9 | Coming soon |
| Mt. Takao | An easy hike + Fuji views | ~50 min | ~$6 | Coming soon |
| Yokohama | Harbor city + Chinatown | ~30 min | ~$6 | Coming soon |
| Atami | Seaside onsen town | ~50 min | ~$48 | Coming soon |
The best day trips from Tokyo are Hakone for hot springs and Mt. Fuji views, Kamakura for the Great Buddha and the coast, and the Fuji Five Lakes for the mountain itself. All three sit one to two hours away by train, and none of them needs a car. Below we rank the nine most popular escapes by how much we would prioritise them on a first trip, with honest verdicts, real travel times, and roughly what each one costs round trip.
How to choose your day trip from Tokyo
Short on time? Kawagoe and Yokohama are both about thirty minutes out and make an easy half day. Chasing Mt. Fuji? Hakone pairs the mountain with onsen and a lake cruise, while the Fuji Five Lakes put you right beneath it. After history and temples? Nikko and Kamakura are the two heavyweights. The map and table below show where each one sits, how long it takes, and which of our Tokyo itineraries already builds it in.
The lay of the land
Where Tokyo's day trips are
Every pick below radiates out from central Tokyo, none more than about two hours by train. Tap a pin for the quick verdict and the itinerary it appears in.
Ranked, with honest verdicts
The best day trips from Tokyo, ranked
Nine escapes worth a day, ordered by how much we would prioritise them on a first trip, plus one famous name we would leave for another visit.
- 1
Kanagawa · ~80 min Worth itHakone
The all-rounder: hot springs, a pirate-ship lake cruise, open-air art, and Mt. Fuji on a clear day.
Hakone packs the most variety of any Tokyo day trip into a single loop. The circular route, by switchback railway, cable car, a ropeway over the steaming Owakudani valley, and a galleon across Lake Ashi, is half the fun, and the Hakone Freepass covers all of it on one ticket. Add the Open-Air Museum, a hillside of sculpture with a pavilion of Picasso ceramics, and a soak in an onsen, and the day fills itself. Mt. Fuji appears over the lake and from the ropeway when the weather plays along; it often does not, so treat a clear view as a bonus rather than the plan.
Getting there: ~80 min by Odakyu Romancecar from ShinjukuCost: ~$45 round trip (Hakone Freepass)Time needed: Full dayOnsenMt. Fuji viewsNatureArt - 2
Kanagawa · ~1 hr Worth itKamakura
Tokyo's seaside old capital: a giant bronze Buddha, hillside temples, and a beach, a short local-line hop apart.
An hour south of Tokyo Station, Kamakura was Japan's de facto capital eight hundred years ago and still wears it well. The Great Buddha of Kotoku-in, 11.3 metres of weathered bronze that has sat in the open air since a tsunami swept away its hall in 1498, is the headline, but Hase-dera's gardens and sea views, the round 'window of enlightenment' at Meigetsu-in, and the broad approach to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu fill an easy day. When you are done, the little Enoden tram rattles down to the coast so you can finish with your feet in the sand.
Getting there: ~1 hr by JR Yokosuka line from Tokyo StnCost: ~$14 round tripTime needed: Full dayTemplesCoastHistorySourcesjapan.travelen.wikipedia.org
- 3
Yamanashi · ~2 hr Worth the hypeThe Fuji Five Lakes
The closest you'll get to standing under Mt. Fuji without climbing it, best from Kawaguchiko's shore and the Chureito Pagoda.
If seeing Fuji up close is the whole point, skip Hakone and come to the Fuji Five Lakes. From Lake Kawaguchi the mountain fills the sky and doubles in the water on a still morning; the five-storey Chureito Pagoda above Fujiyoshida frames the postcard shot, best with cherry blossom in mid-April or red maples in early November. It is a longer haul, around two hours by direct bus from Shinjuku, and entirely weather-dependent: Fuji hides behind cloud more often than not, and clear winter mornings give the best odds. Come for the mountain, and keep a backup in your pocket in case it is shy.
Getting there: ~2 hr by direct bus from ShinjukuBest time: Clear mornings, Nov-Feb for the oddsCost: ~$30 round trip by busMt. FujiLakesViews - 4
Tochigi · ~2 hr Worth itNikko
A mountain town of gilded shrines and waterfalls, where the shoguns built their most extravagant mausoleum.
Nikko is where Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years, is enshrined, and the Toshogu complex spares no gold leaf: the carved Yomeimon gate, the sleeping cat, and the three wise monkeys are all here, deep in an old-growth cedar forest. Up the hairpin Irohazaka road, Lake Chuzenji and the 97-metre Kegon Falls supply the nature half of the day. It is roughly two hours each way on the Tobu limited express, so it is a committed trip, but the cluster of World Heritage shrines and the waterfall earn it.
Getting there: ~2 hr by Tobu limited express from AsakusaCost: ~$40 round trip (limited express)Time needed: Long full dayShrinesWaterfallsNatureSourcesjapan-guide.comjapan.travel
- 5
Saitama · ~30 min Worth itKawagoe
Little Edo: clay-walled merchant streets thirty minutes from Ikebukuro, for the old-Japan look without the long trip.
Kawagoe earned its 'Little Edo' nickname honestly. Its kurazukuri street of fireproof clay-walled warehouses survived the fires and earthquakes that erased old Tokyo, and the wooden Bell of Time still rings out over the rooftops four times a day. Penny Candy Alley is touristy but fun, the sweet-potato everything is a local point of pride, and the whole town is compact enough for a relaxed half day, leaving your afternoon free back in the city. It is the easiest time-travel trip on this list.
Getting there: ~30 min by Tobu Tojo line from IkebukuroCost: ~$7 round tripTime needed: Half dayOld Edo streetsHalf daySweetsSourceskoedo.or.jpjapan-guide.com
- 6
Kanagawa · ~1 hr Worth itEnoshima
A little shrine-island of sea caves, a hilltop garden, and Fuji on the horizon, easy to pair with Kamakura on the same line.
Enoshima is a small, hilly island tied to the Shonan coast by a footbridge, and it makes a breezy half-day on its own or a natural add-on to Kamakura, which the little Enoden tram connects it to. Climb past the three halls of Enoshima Shrine to the Sea Candle observation tower for a sweep of Sagami Bay with Mt. Fuji behind it on a clear day, then drop to the wave-cut Iwaya caves at the far end. It is touristy and the climb is real, but the sea air and the Fuji view earn it, and the grilled-seafood stalls on the approach do not hurt.
Getting there: ~1 hr by Odakyu from Shinjuku, or the Enoden from KamakuraCost: ~$9 round tripTime needed: Half to full dayIslandSea cavesShrinePairs with Kamakura - 7
Tokyo · ~50 min Worth itMt. Takao
Tokyo's own mountain: a 50-minute ride to a forest trail (or a cable car), a hilltop temple, and a clear-day Fuji view.
Mt. Takao sits at the western edge of Tokyo itself, which makes it the easiest mountain day on this list, no transfers, no overnight. A cable car or chairlift skips the steep first stretch; from there a paved trail climbs past Yakuoin temple, with its long-nosed tengu statues, to a 599-metre summit that looks straight at Mt. Fuji on a clear day. Autumn colour in the second half of November is the peak season and the crowds prove it, so start early. It is busy and not wilderness, but for a quick lungful of mountain air close to the city, nothing else comes near.
Getting there: ~50 min by Keio line from ShinjukuCost: ~$6 round tripTime needed: Half dayHikingMt. Fuji viewsCable carEasySourcesjapan-guide.comgotokyo.org
- 8
Kanagawa · ~30 min MixedYokohama
More city than escape, but a good-looking one: a redeveloped harbor, Japan's biggest Chinatown, and a breezy change of pace.
Yokohama is the easy half-hour hop that trades temples for a waterfront. Minato Mirai's harbor and Ferris wheel, the Cup Noodles Museum, the Red Brick Warehouse, and the largest Chinatown in Japan make a pleasant afternoon, and the Sankeien garden is genuinely lovely. The honest caveat: it is another big Japanese city rather than a contrast to Tokyo, so on a tight trip we would keep those hours for Tokyo proper or one of the escapes above. Come mainly if you want harbor air, dumplings, or a second city to tick off.
Getting there: ~30 min by Tokyu or JR from Shibuya/TokyoCost: ~$6 round tripTime needed: Half to full dayHarborChinatownCitySourcesjapan.traveljapan-guide.com
- 9
Shizuoka · ~50 min MixedAtami
A retro hot-spring resort on the sea, fifty minutes by bullet train, for an onsen-and-beach day without the mountains.
Atami is an old-school onsen town that curves around a bay on the Izu coast, reachable in about fifty minutes on the Shinkansen (or about an hour and forty on the cheaper regular JR line). It is a little faded from its mid-century resort heyday, but that is part of the charm: a sandy beach in the middle of town, seafront hot-spring baths, the hillside Kiunkaku villa-garden, and the MOA art museum looking down over the water. Summer brings frequent fireworks over the bay. It leans more relaxed-resort than essential, so we rate it Mixed, worth the trip if onsen-by-the-sea is your thing, skippable if you came for shrines and views.
Getting there: ~50 min by Tokaido Shinkansen from TokyoCost: ~$48 round trip by Shinkansen (less on the regular JR line)Time needed: Full dayOnsenCoastBeachSourcesen.wikipedia.orgjapan.travel
Kansai · 2h15 each way Skip itKyoto
Yes, the bullet train makes it technically possible. No, we would not do Kyoto as a day trip from Tokyo.
It comes up constantly, so to be clear: Kyoto is two hours and fifteen minutes each way on the fastest Shinkansen, and the round trip runs about $180 before you have seen a single temple. You would arrive late morning, rush two or three sights among the crowds, and leave before the city's best hour, the early evening when the day-trippers clear out. Kyoto rewards at least two nights. If it is on your list, give it its own stay rather than burning a Tokyo day and around 28,000 yen to skim it, and spend this day on Hakone or Kamakura instead.
Getting there: 2h15 each way by Tokaido ShinkansenCost: ~$180 round tripBetter as: A 2-night stay of its ownBullet trainBetter as an overnightSourcesjapan-guide.com
Rankings and verdicts are our own; star ratings open each place's main sight on Google. Travel times and fares are an approximate per-person guide and shift with the route and season.
The big draw
Seeing Mt. Fuji on a day trip
Fuji is the day trip most people come for. Three ways to do it, in order of how close you'll get, and all weather-dependent: go on a clear winter morning for the best odds.
Practical
Getting there: trains and passes
Every trip here is easiest by train; you almost never need a car. The passes that tend to pay for themselves:
Suica or Pasmo
A prepaid IC card taps you through every gate in the region. For the closest trips, just turn up and ride.
Hakone Freepass
Covers the round trip from Shinjuku plus every train, cable car, ropeway and boat in the Hakone loop.
Nikko Pass
Bundles the Tobu round trip from Asakusa with the local buses up to Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls.
Odakyu Romancecar
The reserved limited express to Hakone or the Fuji lakes; the small seat surcharge buys a guaranteed seat.
Japan Rail Pass
Rarely worth it for day trips alone, but if you already hold one it covers the JR legs to Kamakura, Yokohama and Atami.
Ready to plan your Tokyo trip?
Tell Zoya, your personal travel assistant, how you like to travel, and she'll turn any of this into a day-by-day plan that fits your dates.
Start planning