Originally Posted by Pickles

Westward, I think it's all crud until you get to Takao-san, Ome, and Okutama. I love Okutama, really a nice place. Northward, all crap until Annakaharuna or closer to Nikko. Southward, you have to go all the way past Atami, into Izu-hanto before declaring victory. And East, it doesn't lose its cruddy patina until Narita town and beyond, although the Northeast angle at Mito and Tsukuba isn't too bad.

There are pockets here and there, of course. Nokogiryama in Chiba comes to mind, very neat, and Kamakura and the Enoshima area are quite nice.