We will be landing in Tokyo in November. We will mostly be staying in the city for 10 days as there is so much to cover in a town so big, We are still creating our metro itinerary and would love to share with this sub shortly!
In the meantime, we are saving 3-4 days for full daytrips outside of the city. More nature-oriented. We originally had plans for for the winter, so we are scrambling to curate a more fall-centric peek outside of the city. Here are some ideas we’d love to run by you to make the right trip.
Also, we will not be renting a car and will be taking advantage of the wonderful public transportation, so we are factoring that into our time.
\- If we have one day for a Mt Fuji daytrip, is there a preferred lakeside hiking trail or quaint mountain village that you would recommend? My family are mild hikers, nothing too extraneous but will explore a journey.
\- We really had our hearts set on seeing the snow monkeys in Yamanochi in the winter. Is it still worth an overnight trip in November?
\- If Nagano doesnt work out, might Hakone be a good alternative for hot springs? Kusatsu looks amazing, but a longer ride.
\- Nikko may be worth the long train ride in Autumn, The shrine and the colors this time of year look surreal. It is 5 hours round trip, though, so it would either be this or Nagano.
\- We’d love to explore some coastal beaches and islands. Enoshima seems like the best case here. The caves and temples look great, but might there be a better beach setting close by?
\-Chichibu looks outrageous. It seems the hiking trails are very popular. This could take the place of a Mt Fuji hike, but thats a hard choice!
\- Finally, castles. There are just so many fantastic ones close by Tokyo. Are there any tie-breakers between Odawara or Chiba?