Best Day Trips from Tokyo
 

So on reading up on some other things to do on various sites in Tokyo I found a side trip link that didn't offer much other than the Kamkura Buddha which seems interesting and I may check out.

I will be staying in Tokyo March 3-14th, my hotel has already been booked and paid in full or I would considered 2-3 days elsewhere (but honestly I really hate packing up and bouncing around). I know I'll have plenty to check out in Tokyo…but what else would you reccomend that I could head to and back in the same day?

Hakone
Mount Takao (This will only take 1/2 day though)
Nikko
Yokohama

I can certainly recommend going to Kamakura, next would probably be Nikko.

If you have a Japan Rail Pass (but you probably won't if you're centered in Tokyo) or are willing to pay for the Shinkansen, you can cover quite a lot of ground.

I've taken day trips to Nagano, Sendai and Matsushima, Mito, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Chichibu, Kawagoe, and Mashiko.

But for someone with less experience in Japan, I agree with going to Kamakura for history and culture and Nikko for scenery. Hakone is good, too, as long as you get an early start. If you want to do something outdoors, hiking up Takao is a good bet.

I had a good time visiting Shōrinzan in Takasaki city, the home of daruma. There's not necessarily much else going on in Takasaki, but it was a relaxing escape.

Great I think Kamakura and Nikko will probably fill in the free time. =)

I vote for Hakone or Nikko. Personally I just love Hakone. Kamakura would be the 3rd option. It depends on what you're into. Nikko could be pretty chilly in March.

As ksandness says, having a Jpn Rail Pass will open up even more options for you. There're many places within 2hr radius of Tokyo by bullet train... although Hakone and Nikko would be right up there with the best of them.

Maybe I'll see you there OP. I'll be in Tokyo 3/7-3/14. Staying at Grand Hyatt. Business and pleasure trip. Should have a few days to explore Tokyo though.

out in narita town, near the airport, there is a wonderful shrine complex worth exploring on your own. the grounds and buildings are beautiful. you can take the keisei train from ueno station. it is not expensive and takes a little over an hour to get there. shrine complex is close enough to the train station to walk to.

Actually, it's a Buddhist temple, not a Shinto shrine, called Shinshoji.

Enoshima is a cute stroll around the island.
I also did Tsukuba mountains last year, with a stopover at the space center.

Also, if you wanted, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka are all day trip distance from Tokyo with the bullet trains.

let's not have another debate on this.;)

Tsukuba is quite doable in a day, Kyoto/Osaka not.

Nara, on the other hand, is very "doable" in a day.

I've done day trips to SYD and to SFO. Wouldn't recommend it though.:cool: