Day Trips from Tokyo Map: Every Destination, Grouped by Direction

Mt Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes

The Fujikyu highway bus from Busta Shinjuku reaches Kawaguchiko Station in about 1 hour 45 minutes, fares from 2,200 yen, or 2,000 yen booked online. By rail, the Fuji Excursion limited express runs from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko in about two hours, all seats reserved. Coach tours bundle the transfer. The Mt Fuji, Chureito Pagoda, Lake Kawaguchi and Oshino Hakkai day tour costs $82 and links the pagoda, lake and village in one 10-hour day.

Deeper detail lives on the Kawaguchiko day trip and Mt Fuji day trip pages. Want a private car instead? The private full-day Fuji tour with hotel pickup is $367 for up to 6.

Hakone

The Odakyu Romancecar runs Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in about 80 minutes, all seats reserved, with a separate surcharge on top of the fare. DIY travellers can buy the Hakone Freepass at 7,100 yen for 2 days from Shinjuku. On a tour, the ropeway and Lake Ashi cruise come bundled. The Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour returning by bullet train is $159.54 and 11 hours, with the ropeway fee, cruise fee and the Shinkansen ticket to Tokyo Station included.

Cheaper is the Mt Fuji, Hakone Ropeway, Owakudani and Lake Ashi day tour at $76, where lunch and the pirate ship cruise are extra. Route detail is on the Hakone by train page and pass maths on the Hakone Free Pass page.

Mount Takao

The easiest pin on the whole map. Keio limited express trains leave Shinjuku about every 20 minutes and reach Takaosanguchi in about 50 minutes for 430 yen. The mountain is 599 m high and Trail 1 takes about 110 minutes up on foot, or about 60 minutes up using the cable car or chair lift at 490 yen one way each.

No coach tours on this site reach Takao, so it is one for the DIY column, and the Mount Takao from Tokyo guide carries the trail-by-trail detail. Crowds build on weekends, especially in the second half of November during the foliage season.

Izu and Atami

The Odoriko limited express from Tokyo Station reaches Atami in about 1 hour 20 minutes for around 3,500 yen, Ito in about 100 minutes and Izukyu-Shimoda in about 2 hours 49 minutes. Faster to Atami is the Shinkansen, 40 to 50 minutes for around 4,000 yen. Atami Castle costs 1,000 yen and the MOA Museum of Art 1,600 yen, closing Thursdays.

No tour on this site covers Izu, so it is on your own. The Izu Peninsula from Tokyo guide lays out the whole line, and a soak along the way fits the onsen day trip theme.

Kamakura

The JR Yokosuka Line runs Tokyo Station to Kamakura in just under an hour for 1,040 yen, and the Shonan-Shinjuku Line does Shinjuku in about an hour at the same fare, though only Zushi-bound trains run through. Kotoku-in and its Great Buddha charge 300 yen for adults, open from 8:00. Tours handle the two-stop day well. The Kamakura and Enoshima day trip with Enoden train ride costs $78 and includes the Enoden ride, with the 300 yen Great Buddha admission paid separately. The Kamakura and Enoshima 1-day bus tour is $61 and does include the Hase-dera and Great Buddha entrance fees.

The full day plan is on the Kamakura day trip page.

Enoshima

Enoshima sits at the far end of the same day. Odakyu from Shinjuku to Katase-Enoshima takes 65 to 75 minutes with a change at Fujisawa for 650 yen, or the Romancecar runs direct in 60 minutes on weekends and holidays for about 1,350 to 1,400 yen in total. The Enoden between Kamakura and Enoshima takes 25 minutes for 260 yen.

Enoshima's combined ticket for garden, tower, caves and escalators is 1,100 yen, and the Odakyu Enoshima-Kamakura Freepass covers the whole loop for 1,640 yen from Shinjuku. Both Kamakura tours above continue on to Enoshima, so one booking pins two spots on the map.

Yokohama

The closest pin on this map, 20 to 30 minutes from Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya and Shinjuku. Tokyu Toyoko Line trains continue through Yokohama onto the Minatomirai Line toward the harbour. Chinatown is reached from Motomachi-Chukagai, 8 minutes and 230 yen from Yokohama Station, or Ishikawacho at 7 minutes and 200 yen.

The CupNoodles Museum costs 500 yen, free for high school age and younger, open 10:00 to 18:00 and closed Tuesdays. Sankeien Garden costs 900 yen, reached by bus 8 or 148 from Yokohama Station in 30 to 35 minutes for 220 yen. No tour reaches it, which is fine, the Yokohama day trip guide covers it DIY.

Nikko and Kinugawa

Tobu limited express trains from Asakusa take about 2 hours to Tobu-Nikko for 2,850 to 3,540 yen one way depending on train and season, the earliest Spacia X leaving at 7:50. The JR route via Utsunomiya also takes about 2 hours for about 5,500 yen. Toshogu admission is 1,600 yen for adults and is not covered by the NIKKO PASS passes.

Tours solve the long haul. The Nikko Toshogu Shrine and Kegon Waterfall day tour is $110 with the Toshogu ticket included. The Nikko, Kegon Waterfall and Lake Chuzenji day trip is $109, with the Toshogu entrance only on two of its three options. Kinugawa Onsen is 30 minutes beyond Nikko by train, home of Edo Wonderland at 5,800 yen. See the Nikko by train page.

Kawagoe

The nearest north pin. The Tobu Tojo Line express runs Ikebukuro to Kawagoe in 30 minutes for 490 yen, the JR Saikyo and Kawagoe Line takes 55 minutes from Shinjuku for 810 yen. The warehouse district is a 10 to 15 minute walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station, and the Toki no Kane bell tower chimes four times a day at 6:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00.

Kitain temple costs 400 yen. No tour covers it, and none is needed, the loop bus day pass is just 400 yen. It sits in the DIY set on the free day trips from Tokyo hub.

Chichibu

The Seibu limited express from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu carries a 900 yen adult surcharge on top of the regular fare, and boarding without a prior ticket adds 200 yen. Hitsujiyama Park, a 15 to 20 minute walk from the station, holds about 400,000 moss phlox plants with usual best viewing from mid-April to early May, and a 300 yen park entrance fee applies during the festival period. No tour reaches Chichibu, so it is on your own, best in the shibazakura window.

Karuizawa and Kusatsu

Two mountain pins that share a direction but not a route. The Hokuriku Shinkansen reaches Karuizawa from Tokyo in about 64 to 80 minutes for about 6,000 yen one way, and a highway bus alternative takes about three hours for 2,300 to 2,900 yen. Rental bicycles near the station cost from about 500 yen an hour.

Kusatsu Onsen needs the Kusatsu-Shima limited express from Ueno, about 2.5 hours and 5,480 yen, then a 30-minute JR bus for 780 yen, with only about three round trips a day, or a Busta Shinjuku highway bus of about 4 hours for 3,500 to 4,000 yen. Sainokawara open-air bath costs 800 yen. Both are on your own, and both fit the onsen day trip shortlist.

Kyoto

The Nozomi takes about 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 20 minutes from Tokyo to Kyoto. An unreserved seat costs 13,320 yen and a reserved seat costs about 14,000 yen, while a reserved seat booked through Smart EX is listed at 13,970 yen. The first Nozomi leaves Tokyo at 6:00 and the last at 21:24, which is why a same-day return leaves limited time in the city itself.

Fushimi Inari is free and always open, 5 minutes and 150 yen from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara Line, and Kiyomizu-dera charges 500 yen. The Kyoto 1-Day English-Guided Tour by bullet train costs $443.95 and bundles the round-trip bullet train fare, lunch and the afternoon sightseeing tour. Its 4.1 rating from 387 reviews is the lowest on this site, worth reading before you commit. Route detail is on the bullet train and Kyoto day trip pages.

Nara

Nara is not a separate Tokyo day trip on any sane schedule. It sits 45 minutes from Kyoto on the JR Miyakoji Rapid at 720 yen, or about 35 minutes by Kintetsu limited express for 1,280 yen. Nara Park is free, the Todaiji Great Buddha Hall costs 800 yen for adults and holds a seated Buddha 15 metres tall, and deer crackers cost around 200 yen.

Allow at least 1 to 2 hours for the Todaiji hall and grounds. In practice Nara appears on this map as an overnight add-on to a Kyoto stay rather than a pin you tick from Tokyo in a day, and no tour on this site reaches it.

Tour or DIY, Destination by Destination

Read the two columns as a trade. DIY wins on short, frequent rail links where no tour even runs, like Yokohama, Kawagoe, Mount Takao and the mountain towns. Tours win where several far-apart stops need coordinating buses, as in Hakone and Nikko.

Mt Fuji sits in between, and there the choice is really about how many viewpoints you want in 10 hours.