- HAKONE:
The fastest and most expensive method of reaching Hakone from Tokyo is to take the Tokaido Shinkansen train from Tokyo to Odawara, then transfer to the Hakone-Tozan Line for the run to Hakone-Yumoto. The entire trip takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes. There is so much to do and see in Hakone that I would recommend staying one night. We stayed at the Prince Hotel which was nice because you can do a western/japanese ryokan style room, but there is also a Hyatt and other smaller ryokan hotels. The grounds are beautiful and there is a cable car that you can take to the top of the mountain to get a great view. The hotel sits on Lake Ashi, a large lake that you can experience by boat and visit the Hakone Jinja Shrine, a shinto shrine that has beautiful Torii gates in the water. My absolute favorite sight to visit while in Hakone is the Open Air Museum, I would go to Hakone just to see this place. The museum displays a wide variety of sculptures and artwork within a beautiful parkland setting, including a Picasso exhibition (paintings and pottery) and kid friendly areas. There is also beautiful hiking in this area…….
- KAMAKURA:
Kamakura can be a day trip from Tokyo and the fastest way to Kamakura Station is by JR Yokosuka Line from Tokyo Station which takes about 1 hour and costs around 10 usd. Kamakura is a historical city filled with shrines, temples, beaches and hiking. Walk along Dankazura, a paved path leading from Kamakura Station up to Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, the path is lined with brand new lanterns, about 180 young cherry blossom trees, and azalea bushes. Within Hachimangu, visit the peony garden, filled with peony flowers, umbrellas, ponds and cherry blossom trees. My other favorite site in Kamakura is the Great Buddha of Kotokuin. Kamakura is quite big so I would recommend renting a bike at Kamakura Rental Cycles (Take the east exit of JR Kamakura Station and go 50m south).
- NIKKO:
Nikko is another one of my favorite trips outside of Tokyo but since it takes about 2 hours to get there, I would recommend spending a night or two here. Nikko is a wonderful place to visit in the fall to see the foliage and do some beautiful hikes. We stayed at the Woodsman Village, which is a complex of wooden cabins, with a communal area that holds a grill and fire pit. It’s a great place to go with a group of families!! The fastest and most convenient way to access Nikko is on the Spacia Limited Express Kegon Train from Tokyo’s Tobu-Asakusa station (1 hour and 50 minutes). From the Tokyo Asakusa station, take exit 4, and the Tobu train station is visible once you reach street level — it’s at the same intersection. Nikko has shrines and famous onsens; however; Nikko National Park is where I would spend most of my time doing hikes around Lake Chuzenji and visiting the massive Kegon Waterfalls. I would also visit Edo Wonderland which is a cultural theme park that presents ninja workshops and shows including an opportunity to dress like a ninja.
- Mt. Fuji:
We climbed the famous Mt. Fuji and it was an amazing experience!! The weather was not great for us so we struggled with rain, wind, hail and hypothermia. With that being said, if you choose a day with good weather, you are in luck and the climb is not too difficult. Hiking is only allowed between July 1st and early September. We chose early September which I wouldn’t recommend and we started at the bottom which is definitely more strenuous and adds a night in a sleep lodge . Most start at the 5th station and it takes approximately 6 hours to hike up and about 3 hours to hike down. After the hike we rewarded ourselves by staying at the luxurious Kozantei Ubuya which is an onsen ryokan overlooking Lake Kawaguchi. Highly recommend this place!!!
- MT. TAKAO:
Mt. Takao is an easy day trip form Tokyo and one of the closest natural recreation areas to central Tokyo. It offers beautiful scenery, an interesting temple and attractive hiking opportunities. Although outside the city center, the mountain is still located within metropolitan Tokyo and takes only 50 minutes and 4 usd to reach from Shinjuku. There are numerous trails that take you to the top but trail number 1 is most scenic and paved (takes about 90 minutes one way) and you can take a cable car/chair lift one way. Besides hiking, at the foot of the mountain–I highly recommend you visit the famous Ukai Toriyama, which is one of the Ukai chain restaurants in Japan. It resembles a scene out of Memoirs of a Geisha with bridges, ponds and women in yukata serving you, in your own bungalow. It is quite an experience! http://www.ukai.co.jp/english/toriyama/
- NASU:
Nasu is an area within Nikko National park known for it’s hot springs . We stayed in a great ryokan called Sanraku and it had one of the most beautiful outdoor onsens i’ve experienced in Japan. Nasu is famous for it’s onsens (hot springs), there is also a cable car up into the mountains, an outlet mall and some beautiful hiking. To JR Nasushiobara Station (Nasu) it only takes about an hour by Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo or Ueno Station.
- KUSATSU:
Kusatsu is a place that is not on the forieng/expat/western circuit, which I love. The most convenient way to reach Kusatsu is by the direct limited express train from Tokyos Ueno Station to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station, requiring 2.5 hours and costing about 5000 yen (50 usd) for the one way trip, from there you need to take a JR bus to Kusatsu which is 30 min..It is a tiny city and there are about 100 hot springs in Kusatsu with a total amount of about 34,000 liters water per minute pouring out of the ground. The water is sulfurous and acidic and known to have healing qualities….We stayed at Boun which was an amazing onsen ryokan hotel with the private onsen in your room.
- SHIMODA:
Shimoda is an easily accesible, beautiful beach in the south of the Izu Peninsula. You can take the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Atami (45 min) then switch to the Izukyu Railway to the Izukyu Shimoda station (1 1/2-2 hours). There is also a new train that just launched in 2016 called the Izu Craile Resort Train that goes from Odawara to the Izu Peninsula. There is an aquarium, hiking trails and miles of white sandy beaches to enjoy. A friend of mine owns the White Beach Hotel which is a perfect place to stay as it is walking distance to the beach, family friendly and has a great restaurant and bar…….http://whitebeach-shimoda.com/
- NOZAWA ONSEN:
To reach Nozawa Onsen from Tokyo, go to the Tokyo Station and take the bullet train from Tokyo to Iiyama which takes about 100 minutes. From the Iiyama train station, you can catch the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus that take 20 minutes to get to Nozawa Onsen and the schedules for the bus match up with train arrivals at Iiyama, except for trains that arrive after 8pm. Nozawa Onsen, located in the northern part of Nagano Prefecture, is a hot spring and ski resort village. I’ve never been in the summer time but it is most popular to visit in the winter because of the fantastic snowfall and skiing!!! If you don’t want to fly to Hokkaido for skiing, this is the next best thing!! Try and time your visit during January 15th to see the Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Festival–an amazing fire festival!! The festival is staged by men aged 42 and 25 (so-called “unlucky ages”) to celebrate the birth of a family’s first child, to dispel evil spirits, and pray for a happy marriage. When there, also try and see the snow monkeys! The season for the snow monkeys is Dec. 25-Jan 25th when they seek refuge from the cold to the hot springs. We stayed part of the time in a beautiful ryokan that is in the village and walking distance to lifts called Sakaya. The rest of our stay was at Kamoshika ski lodge (http://skilodgenozawa.com/ ), which is right in front of the lift and is owned by our Australian friend, David Elsworth. It can fit up to 22 people and is modern and convenient to everything. They also own the Scheider Hotel ( http://schneiderhotel.com/ ), which is a lodge style hotel on the mountain near the kids park.
