must30
Español
Clay-walled kurazukuri merchant houses along the main street of Kawagoe
The main hall of Yakuoin temple on Mount Takao
The wooden Toki no Kane bell tower of Kawagoe
The old Juto Oido hall of Tenzui-ji among the trees of Sankeien garden

Things to do in Kanto: Tokyo, Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura

Updated Leer en español

Up next

Photo: Dandy1022, CC BY-SA 4.0

Mount Takao, Hachioji, Tokyo

Hike Mount Takao past the tengu of Yakuoin to the summit

Check dates and prices

Photo: KENPEI, CC BY-SA 4.0

Kawagoe, Saitama

Walk the clay-walled merchant street of Kawagoe, Little Edo

Check dates and prices

Photo: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sankeien, Naka, Yokohama

Wander Sankeien, Yokohama's garden of historic buildings

Photo: Urashimataro, Public domain

Kanto is the plain around Tokyo Bay, home to the capital and its ring of day trips. Tokyo alone could fill a trip, but within two hours by train lie three very different escapes: the volcanic lake and hot springs of Hakone, the shogun's shrines and mountain lakes of Nikko, and the Zen temples and seaside of Kamakura, the old samurai capital. This page also adds three easy half days from the city: the sacred mountain of Takao, the merchant town of Kawagoe and the historic garden of Sankeien in Yokohama.

Places in this region

3 things to do in Kanto

We earn a commission when you book through our GetYourGuide links, at no extra cost to you.

The main hall of Yakuoin temple on Mount Takao

Hike Mount Takao past the tengu of Yakuoin to the summit

Mount Takao, Hachioji, Tokyo

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

A sacred 599 m mountain inside Tokyo, 50 minutes from Shinjuku, with a temple to long-nosed mountain gods and Fuji from the top.

Check dates and pricesGuided Mount Takao hike from Tokyo
Been there?
The wooden Toki no Kane bell tower of Kawagoe

Walk the clay-walled merchant street of Kawagoe, Little Edo

Kawagoe, Saitama

Half a day to a dayGo alone or with a tour

A merchant town 30 minutes from Tokyo whose fireproof clay warehouses and bell tower keep the look of old Edo.

Check dates and pricesKawagoe day tour from Tokyo with Kitain
Been there?
The old Juto Oido hall of Tenzui-ji among the trees of Sankeien garden

Wander Sankeien, Yokohama's garden of historic buildings

Sankeien, Naka, Yokohama

1.5 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

A businessman's landscape garden in southern Yokohama, filled with old buildings moved from across Japan, including a Kyoto pagoda.

Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Kanto yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Which places for what

    Tokyo for neighbourhoods, food, museums and nightlife. Hakone for hot springs, a ryokan night and views of Mount Fuji. Nikko for the Tokugawa shrines, waterfalls and mountain hiking. Kamakura for Zen temples, the Great Buddha and the coast. Takao, Kawagoe and Sankeien each fill half a day from Tokyo.

  • Combining them

    In must30's view, base yourself in Tokyo and treat the rest as trips out. Kamakura and Kawagoe work as day trips. Hakone and Nikko are possible in a day but better with a night, so you see the lake or the falls early and soak in a hot spring.

  • Getting around

    Private railways often beat JR on these routes: Odakyu from Shinjuku to Hakone, Tobu from Asakusa to Nikko and from Ikebukuro to Kawagoe, Keio from Shinjuku to Mount Takao. JR reaches Kamakura directly from Tokyo and Shinjuku. Each company sells its own passes, and the Japan Rail Pass does not cover them.

  • When to go

    Late March to early April brings the cherry blossom. Autumn colour arrives in the mountains first, mid October in Nikko's Okunikko, and reaches Tokyo, Mount Takao and Kamakura from late November to early December. June is the rainy season; July and August are hot and humid. Winter is cold and clear, with the best chance of seeing Mount Fuji.

Questions travellers ask

Should I choose Hakone or Nikko?

Hakone if you want hot springs, a ryokan night and a chance of Mount Fuji across Lake Ashi. Nikko if you want ornate shrines, waterfalls and mountain hiking. Both take about two hours from Tokyo, and both are better with a night.

What is the easiest day trip from Tokyo?

Kawagoe or Mount Takao. Kawagoe is 30 minutes from Ikebukuro and Takao about 50 minutes from Shinjuku, so either fits in half a day. Kamakura takes about an hour by JR and is worth a full day.

Does the Japan Rail Pass cover these trips?

Only partly. It covers JR to Kamakura, the Shinkansen to Odawara for Hakone and the JR route to Nikko via Utsunomiya. It does not cover the Odakyu, Tobu or Keio trains, which are often the fastest or cheapest routes.

Other places to go

Things to do in Japan

Photo credits (4)