Day Trips from Tokyo

Day trips from Tokyo, compared

Use the ride, not the place name, to pick the day. A destination that looks close on a photo can still cost you a reserved seat, a second train, and a bus at the far end. The times below are the ones operators publish. Where a timetable has more than one kind of train, this page cites a specific example or tells you to check the official board. Fares that were not on the operator page we reviewed are not guessed.

Checked Oct 2026. Pass prices and limited-express surcharges change. Open the linked operator page before you buy, including the day before you travel.

Hakone times and the 1,200 yen adult Romancecar surcharge from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto are from Odakyu. The 2-day Hakone Freepass from Shinjuku is listed at 7,100 yen for adults and 1,600 yen for children, and it does not include that surcharge. Kamakura's 54 minutes is one JR East local, not every train. Nikko's 1 hour 50 minutes is Tobu's limited-express figure from Asakusa. Kawaguchiko's 1 hour 45 minutes is Fujikyu's highway-bus figure. Kawagoe's 30 minutes is Tobu's Tojo Line figure.

Hakone

Hakone is the mountain day from Shinjuku on the Odakyu line. The Romancecar is the reserved ride of about 80 minutes to Hakone-Yumoto. Rapid and express trains take longer. The Freepass rules, the surcharge, and what fits before the last train are on the Hakone day trip page, which is the URL for this intent. The comparison table above keeps Hakone next to the other five rides so this page remains the day-trips overview.

Stay near Shinjuku if this is the day that matters. The where-to-stay guide compares that base with the rest of the city. Do not treat a nationwide rail pass as the default ticket for one Hakone loop.

Hakone day trip from TokyoOdakyu Hakone FreepassStaying in ShinjukuShinjuku in 3D

Kamakura

Kamakura is the JR Yokosuka Line day from Tokyo Station. One published local is 54 minutes. Other trains differ, and the town splits into separate clusters, so the full timetable note and the Great Buddha versus Hachimangu choice are on the Kamakura day trip page. This section stays short so the day-trips URL remains the comparison, not a second Kamakura article.

A base near Tokyo Station or Ginza keeps the ride short. Shinjuku is the better base for Hakone, not for this train. The where-to-stay guide compares them.

Kamakura day trip from TokyoTokyo Station Yokosuka Line timetableStaying near Tokyo Station and Ginza

Nikko

Tobu's access page puts the limited express from Asakusa at about 1 hour 50 minutes, direct, to the Nikko area. A second figure on the same page, about 1 hour 40 minutes, refers to a connection pattern via Shimo-imaichi rather than a shorter magic train. Read the column you are actually booking. From Shinjuku or Ikebukuro, Tobu notes a different limited-express pattern at about two hours and says that route is not covered by the Nikko Pass.

The Nikko Pass is the local-train and Nikko-area bus product. Tobu states that it does not include a limited-express ticket, and that local trains take on the order of three hours with a change. A Tobu discount-pass sheet lists a limited-express surcharge from 1,450 yen one way between Asakusa and Tobu-Nikko or Kinugawa, and says the price varies by season. Treat 1,450 yen as the published starting point, then buy the seat you want at the current price. Shrine and temple entrance fees are not included in the pass.

A day from Tokyo is the shrines near the stations plus one bus leg, not the waterfalls, the lake, and a leisurely lunch. If you take the 1 hour 50 minute express each way, the middle of the day is about five hours on site before you are rushing the return. That fits Toshogu and the walk back down, or a bus to one viewpoint, not both. In winter, check the bus you need the night before. Snow changes mountain service even when the limited express from Asakusa is running.

Asakusa is the Tobu departure, so a hotel there saves you a morning transfer. The where-to-stay guide's Asakusa section is the one to read if Nikko is the day that matters most. Senso-ji can be the evening after you get back, not the morning before a limited express.

Nikko day trip from TokyoTobu access to NikkoNikko PassStaying in AsakusaSenso-ji after you return

Mt. Fuji and Kawaguchiko

The practical day trip is the lake, not the summit. Fujikyu's highway-bus page says the ride from Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal (Busta Shinjuku) to Kawaguchiko Station takes about 1 hour 45 minutes, and that traffic can move that number. The same operator says Fuji-Q Highland, one stop earlier, is about 1 hour 40 minutes. Seats are reserved. Buy the return before you leave Shinjuku, because the last useful bus is the constraint, not the view.

Fujikyu's English page has listed fares from 2,000 yen. That is a starting fare on the operator's site, not a quote for every departure. Open the timetable for your date. A bus that looks cheap at noon may not be the bus that gets you back before dark in December.

December is a viewing month. It is not the published climbing season, and this guide will not tell you a trail is open. The official Mt. Fuji climbing site is the place that posts the season and the fifth-station rules. If that page does not show your date as open, stay at the lake. Cloud on the mountain is common. A clear morning is the reason to take an early bus; a gray afternoon is a lake walk and a bakery, and you should know that before you treat the ticket as a Fuji guarantee.

The bus terminal is at Shinjuku Station's south side. Staying in Shinjuku makes the early bus realistic. Staying in Asakusa means a dawn crossing of the city before the 1 hour 45 minute ride even starts. Read the Shinjuku section of the where-to-stay guide if this is the day you care about.

Mount Fuji day trip from TokyoFujikyu Shinjuku–Kawaguchiko busOfficial Mt. Fuji climbing informationStaying in Shinjuku

Yokohama

Yokohama is the short day, which is why it belongs on this list even without a single minute printed here. JR East's Tokaido Line (Ueno-Tokyo Line) timetable at Tokyo Station is the board for limited and local services toward Yokohama and Odawara. The Keihin-Tohoku Line is the frequent local alternative. Because those products do not share one runtime, check the train you are boarding on the JR East timetable instead of using a single minute count from a third-party site.

Minato Mirai, the waterfront, and Chinatown are three different walks. One of them fills a day from Tokyo without a pass. Doing all three, plus a cup noodle museum or a shopping stop, is how people miss the train they meant to take and still feel they rushed. Pick the waterfront if you want the skyline, or Chinatown if you want lunch to be the point.

You do not need a Hakone-style pass. An IC card or ordinary JR ticket is the tool. If a winter illumination is running along the water, the venue or the city will post the dates. GO TOKYO's winter illumination guide is a starting index for Tokyo-side lights; Yokohama events are posted by Yokohama. Checked Oct 2026: do not copy last season's Tokyo dates onto the Yokohama waterfront.

A base near Tokyo Station or Ginza keeps this ride short. It is also the same base that makes Kamakura easy, so those two day trips pair well across a longer Tokyo stay. The five-day Tokyo itinerary on this site is the city plan; add Yokohama on a day when you want out without a two-hour train.

JR East Tokaido Line timetable, TokyoTokyo 5-day itineraryPlay the 5-day routeStaying near Ginza and Tokyo Station

Kawagoe

Tobu's access page says the Tojo Line ride from Ikebukuro to Kawagoe is about 30 minutes. That is the whole case for Kawagoe as a day trip: you are in a warehouse district before a Hakone traveler has reached Hakone-Yumoto. Ikebukuro, not Shinjuku and not Tokyo Station, is the departure. Build the morning around that station.

The warehouse street (Kurazukuri) is a walk from Kawagoe Station. You can see the bell tower and the main lane and eat lunch without a sightseeing pass. Candy shops and the lane itself are the visit. It is not a mountain loop, so children and anyone who dislikes a long train do better here than on the Nikko limited express.

Thirty minutes each way leaves a full day on site, which is more than the lane needs. Treat the extra time as a slow lunch and one museum if it is open, not as a reason to add another town. Check the specific museum's hours. This page does not copy a closing time we did not read on that museum's site.

December is a normal walking month here. It is not the Kawagoe festival, which is an autumn event with its own city announcement. If someone in your group wants the festival floats, look up the year you are traveling. Do not arrive in December expecting them.

Tobu access to KawagoeWhere to stay in Tokyo

How to pick a day trip

By season: choose Kawaguchiko when the forecast is clear and you want Fuji from the ground, and accept that the summit is a separate, seasonal question. Choose Hakone when you want a mountain loop and you are willing to manage a reserved Romancecar plus the Freepass rules. Choose Kamakura or Kawagoe when the weather is poor, because both are town walks that do not depend on a ropeway or a volcano view. Nikko is the long clear-day trip; do not spend it in heavy rain unless the shrines themselves are the goal.

By budget: Yokohama and Kawagoe are ordinary train fares. Hakone's published 2-day Freepass from Shinjuku is 7,100 yen before the Romancecar surcharge, so a couple is spending more on transport than on a Tokyo museum day. Nikko adds a limited-express seat on top of whatever pass you buy. Kamakura is a JR fare unless you add the Enoden or an Odakyu pass. A 7-day nationwide rail pass is a different product and is usually the wrong tool if these day trips are the only trains you will take. Price the trips you will actually ride.

With children: Kawagoe and Yokohama keep the train short. Kamakura works if you pick one area, not the station plus Hase plus Enoshima. Hakone's loop is a series of vehicles, which some children like and some will not do after the second change. The Fujikyu bus is about 1 hour 45 minutes each way in a seat, which is fine for older children and a long time for a toddler. Nikko is the hardest of the six for a young child because of the out-and-back length.

Where you sleep changes the start. Shinjuku serves Hakone and the Kawaguchiko bus. Asakusa serves Tobu Nikko. Tokyo Station serves Kamakura and Yokohama. Ikebukuro serves Kawagoe. The where-to-stay guide compares those neighborhoods. The schematic at the top of this page is an original diagram of those directions and the operator times. It is not a geographic map, and the 3D map on this site does not extend the camera to Hakone or Nikko. Use the 3D map for the Tokyo district you leave from.

Hakone day tripKamakura day tripMount Fuji day tripNikko day tripTokyo itinerariesCompare where to stayShinjuku in 3DAsakusa in 3DTokyo in DecemberThings to do in the city