I hope to travel to Japan this year for a couple of weeks in late October/Early November, and have 2 full days set aside so that I can visit some places on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto.
I’ll be spending a lot of time around people for most of the trip but I have planned this part of the trip to be on my own, to hopefully visit some nice but quieter areas where I can perhaps wander a bit while keeping to myself. If there’s a good area where I can explore/hike while listening to music for several hours without a lot of people around that would be ideal.
I’m not sure yet if it’s worth renting a car for this portion of the trip, is it doable to rent a car in Tokyo and return it in Kyoto?
Izu peninsula and the area around Shizuoka city where it’s possible to catch views of Mt. Fuji look quite appealing. One idea I had was to travel to Izu peninsula in the morning and then catch the ferry out to Shizuoka later in the day. I know there’s some tea fields in the area that look like they’d be nice to walk around. I’d then spend the night in or near Shizuoka city. Is that too much to do in one day?
If I did Izu/Shizuoka the first day then I would have the next day free, needing to be in Kyoto the next (third) day. Alternatively I could go to Hakone the first day and then Izu/Shizuoka the next day.
Another alternate route to still (potentially) get a view of Mt. Fuji would be to go to Fujikawaguchiko the first day and then stay in the Kiso Valley area (the vibe of this area looks great in pictures!) on the way to Kyoto the next day, but this one might be a bit too much in travel time.
Any thoughts would be appreciated! It’s hard to know what the differences in atmosphere and scenery would be like between places like Izu, Hakone, and Kiso Valley without being there, so any comments on the differences between these areas would also be great.
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I think that the Izu peninsula is a really good contender. But I would actually consider sleeping there, for example in Shuzenji onsen. So day one can be reach Shuzenji in the morning, drop bags, maybe go a bit deeper in Izu for a hike, return to Shuzenji not too late to check in a ryokan with onsen. Next morning you can try to start a bit early to get to the ferry (if you really want to do it, as it might even take onger than just using the train) and check out Shizuoka, but realistically, you could also spend that day in Izu as the area is quite large, but at the same time, as someone who really like Japanese tea, I do want to go check some tea field in Shizuoka and try to do some sort of tasting, workshop or whatever I can find.
Can you rent a car in Tokyo and return in in Kyoto. Yes. But you will have to pay an extra to drop it in a different prefecture. And it’s not really as if what you want to do is impossible by train/bus. Worst case, reach a plae like Atami, Mishima or Nimazu, rent a car and return it at the same place before you continue to Kyoto. Otherwise, you have to count at least 6h of drive direct from Tokyo to Kyoto, pay for gas and toll on top of car rental, so especially if you do it solo, that get more expensive than just getting on the train.
Going to Kawaguchiko is about 2h from Tokyo, so it is reasonable to do even as a day trip from Tokyo, and reaching Tsumago/Magome will take at least 4h from Kawaguchiko. So either you spend just a little bit of time in Kawaguchiko or you get to to your accommodation quite late in the day. And if you get there late, then just forget the option to do a ryokan or minshuku with meal included as for those you would need to check it at 5-6pm.
Yes, you can drop it off in Kyoto but the one way fee will be expensive. Maybe more than the rental itself depending on the company. Also don’t forget to budget for tolls and parking.
I would go to Fuji 5 lake area as it’s on the way. 2 days is really not that much considering that you’ll have to do about 6h of driving.
Lots of little hikes there around the lakes or up the small mountains behind them.
I would also look into taking the train/bus. That area is pretty well connected by public transport.
If you look at my recent posts you can see a hike I did in that area a couple of weeks ago.
i spent a night in Kawaguchiko at a sleepy little hotel right on a lake with an impressive view of Fuji, and it was a really nice respite between cities. right near Aokigahara forest. Definitely recommend.
I really like Izu for this. It’s beautiful, relaxing, but not boring. A car is a great idea too- will help you to easily get around and traffic isn’t a problem. I like renting the car in Atami, so you can train in to there and the drive south to your accommodation. Doing both nights in Izu is fine I think. There is enough to do, and that keeps the pace lighter and more in a relaxation mode. Then you can drop the car back at Atami and shink onwards from there.
Himeji
If you’re taking the train and don’t mind going the other way for a bit, Nikko might be having their fall colours and the lakes/hot springs are really nice to hike around. Generally very quiet too.
…Hikone and the area around Lake Biwa. Yes technically not between Kyoto and Tokyo (it’s to the northeast of Kyoto), but that’s one sleepy suburb I’d recommend to anyone. Nice to cycle around (especially along the lakeshore), has a decent craft beer scene, and an authentic castle to boot.
And since it’s near your eventual destination, you can take your time since Kyoto is just a short train ride away.
We spent a couple nights in Odawara to get to Mt. Fuji. I’d recommend Tipy Records Inn if you go there, owned by a nice couple. We took a bus out to Lake Ashi and there’s a good view of Mt. Fuji from there. The area had some ferry rides you could take (one looks like a pirate ship), there was a lift to take you to a look out point for Mt. Fuji, and then there was also an aquarium in that area. You could take a nice walk around the lake and up to a nice shrine as well.
Izu was really nice when I visited there. Stayed at a nice ryokan near the beach, got around on bus, foot, and hitch hiking. Some epic onsen there. My favorite was set on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Though the onsen resort with the waterfalls and cave onsen was pretty dope too.
Also don’t make my mistake getting the wasabi ice cream.
Side note, I’ll be interesting in hiking areas like this as well but how wary do you have to be of the wildlife? I don’t wanna run into a bear!
Nagoya -> Takayama.
Is it directly between Tokyo and Kyoto? No. Is it a look into Japan’s living past? Yes!
I chose to stay in Takayama on my way to Kyoto and it was amazing!
It would be a shame to do kiso Valley in 1/2 a day. You can do the Magome to Tsumago hike on the Nakasendo or something similar.
Matsusaka beef in Matsusaka is pretty tasty.
Ise shrine both the outer and in er shrine is also good in that area.
Shima has some nice peninsula and ocean views
Nachi waterfall and the daimon gates path up to the temple complex opposite of it is a pretty popular 1/2 day trek.
You can also stay at Onsen resorts on small islands near kii-katsuura Station. The onsen hotels have boats that will ferry you back and forth to the mainland.
My wife and I did Fujikawaguchiko between Tokyo and Kyoto stays. We shipped our bags from Tokyo to Kyoto and took a backpack for the one night stay at Fujikawaguchiko (highly recommend, cheap and easy). We did a sunrise walk around the lake and I took sunset photos at the Chūreitō Pagoda. Some of my favorite photos from my trip.
I stayed in Hakone for a night on my way back to Tokyo. We stayed at a little inn I found in AirBnB for the night, and visited Lake Ashi and explored the area for the day before heading back to Tokyo for our flight home in the next couple of days. It was lovely, very overcast day so no Mount Fuji pic but it was so worth it. Beautiful area. Also, edited to add, we stayed right by the train station in Hakone. We were able to leave our suitcases in a locker at the train station, and got the bus to Lake Ashi.
>is it doable to rent a car in Tokyo and return it in Kyoto?
I personally think it’s technically doable, but when I last looked at renting cars a good few years back now, it didn’t really work out to be very cost or time effective – especially when you factor in tolls, fuel, etc. – though if you have the budget, the time to kill, and a love of driving/the road, I guess it’s something maybe worth considering and pricing out when you get to the point that you’re ready to book (obviously there’s still no telling if Late October/Early November is still even an option). Also, we found it was likely better to rent the car in the very outskirts of Tokyo (or outside Tokyo altogether) as driving out of Tokyo we’ve head is a pain (and having been to Tokyo, can understand why – just like any major city of even a third its size) – so just something else to consider.
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>Alternatively I could go to Hakone the first day and then Izu/Shizuoka the next day.
Personally, I loved Hakone and there was a lot to do there – especially in terms of being out in nature – but I’m not sure I’d say that it first your criteria of allowing you to be virtually alone for a good few hours (at least not in the main areas from my experience). There will be many other tourists there, but I personally didn’t find that took away from my experience or enjoyment. The Open Air museum I also think is an under suggested thing to do while there. Never tried to do Izu or Shizuoka so can’t comment on that, but I would imagine it might be best to give more than a day if you’re travelling in on that same day – I’m sure others have already chimed in on this though and will know far better than I.
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