So, out of a week you will be in Tokyo at least 2 to 3 days. That means 4 +/- days for elsewhere. Can we assume you will be flying in AND out of Japan via NRT? That makes a difference in our suggestions. In through NRT and out through KIX or NGO would make for different ideas.
I'll be passing through Tokyo a few days after you, on the 8th. My first stop is 2+ hours north on the shinkansen to Sendai for visits to Matsushima and Naruko-onsen. That might make a decent 2 or 3 day stay. Sendai was the center of the Date clan in the Edo period and both Matsushima and Naruko have decent natural beauty. Fall color should be getting going nicely. I'm going for photography. Maybe that doesn't interest you.
Perhaps more to your liking would be a run over to the Japan Sea coast for a visit to Kanazawa and the surrounding area. That would be a 4 +/- hour train journey with one change. Kanazawa is a beautiful old city where the powerful Maeda clan set up a center for learning and the arts in the 1600-1800s. It was never bombed during WWII so is still very well preserved and has a world-class Japanese garden.
Two ideas. I'm sure others will chime in with more.
Last edited by abmj-jr; Oct 9, 2009 at 8:58 pm