How to spend a few days *outside* of Tokyo?
 

Going to have a couple days left in my schedule while I am in Japan... so I'm looking for some ideas on some places to see, activities to pursue that are outside of Tokyo.

Having been to Tokyo quite a few times, thought I might see the less-populated areas... the money I would save by not staying in Central Tokyo would help to rent a car in this regard to help me get around.

Any ideas are appreciated.

How far do you want to go, and what do you want to do?

The Nikko area is heavily touristed but very worthwhile if you haven't been there. Kamakura is nice too, though it's really not that far out of Tokyo. You could go down to the Izu Peninsula, the Fuji area, or to some of the onsen resorts in the Gunma/Nagano area mountains. Kusatsu Onsen is one of the most popular of these and is a very nice place to visit.

If you're going to rent a car, beware of fees on the expressways. These can add up pretty fast. If you take national highways instead of the expressways you can avoid most of the tolls, but you'll see plenty of traffic.

If I were driving, I'd spend a few nights in the Fuji Go-Ko area, but I'm sure many of the other FTers here have good recommendations too.

This is cherry blossom season, which is great, but watch out for big crowds in areas popular for blossom viewing (such as Kamakura). Avoid traveling on weekends if you can.

Have you considered taking the train? No matter what area you decide on, there's usually a combination ticket or tour package you can buy to save money on your trip. Perhaps you're considering taking the train out of town and then picking up a car? It's possible to make reservations that include railfare and rental car, but some may require advance purchase.

The plus side to driving is it makes getting around areas with limited rail service much easier that waiting for buses that only run four times a day.;)

I'm not sure if the money you save will cover car rental, gas and tolls. If your Tokyo hotel is, say, 10,000yen per night, I would say not.

Among the cheapest and easiest ways to get out of the big city is to take a train to a rural area such as Okutama (which is actually a part of Tokyo). Once there, you don't need a car - just some walking shoes and outdoor wear.

I'd actually suggest a day in Kamakura followed by a day of hot springs at Hakone. No car needed. Just take the train.

If you read thru the Yokohama Sheraton Master Thread, you'll find a lot of great ideas of things to do outside Yokohama. You can easily spend 2 here. And Yokohama is a short train ride from Tokyo. The Sheraton is walking distance from the train station. Thus, the directions given in the thread would be applicable for any hotel near the station.

• Kamakura and Enoshina
• Sankeien Garden

You can go straight to the airport from Yokohama if you prefer to not return to Tokyo.

Stay away from Ibaraki unless you're handy with a knife.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm just weighing everything now and will probably lay down final plans in the next couple days.

I've seen enough concrete all the times I've been in Japan... so will be nice to see the more "serene" side of the coin. :)

Oh, don't worry, there's plenty of concrete out in the inaka portions of Japan.

Certainly one can get the taste of Japan morning commute on all northbound trains and evening southbound trains when staying at Yokohama, especially the section between Kawasaki and Shinagawa.:)

Did I missed something? I spend a few nights in Mito last year and seemed pretty normal.:confused:

A friend of mine owns a 500 bed psychiatric hospital in Hatori (midway between Ueno and Mito) wonderful place if you are into that sort of thing.

At least you only have sushi chef going to work with their tools of the trade instead of samurai walking down the street with a big one.:eek:

No carpenters, decorators and builders at work in Japan???

You should see the bag of tools my husband used to carry around Tokyo. Plenty of blades in there (have you ever used a Japanese saw?). At least half those people you see with huge harem pants will have access to a similar arsenal.

LapLap already has the answer covered.

A few nights in Mito is a few nights too many, IMHO. Unless you're hanging out at Club Sonic. :)

I went to the Kairakuen, for the ume hanami, which was great. The various Tokugawa sites are worth seeing too. Also the place for natto, breakfast, lunch and dinner.:eek:, some of the greatest ume tsukemono.

This is also where the loose socks originally came from, someone claimed.