https://trulytokyo.com/nikko-day-trip-itinerary/
We tried to follow parts of this itinerary (excluding the shrine part). We ended up only being able to see the Kegon falls area for 30 mins before needing to return to Shinjuku via Spacia express. Did not get to see anything else. Bus trip up to falls was around 45 mins from Shinkyo bridge. Bus trip down from falls to Shinkyo bridge was 80 mins. Many people not making it onto buses due to over crowding. Was beautiful but would plan to stay overnight next time or arrive earlier.
16 comments
u/No_Entertainer8436 What time did you arrive in Nikko and when did you leave?
Did you go on a weekend?
Nikko was popping took forever to get back from the lake definitely stay the night in Nikko there are plenty of places and lots of good food no need to rush out !
Is it crowded around senjougahara? I’d love to visit nikko in the autumn to see that but it seems unbearable with the crowds. I’d take a day trip there just to hike through that area if it wasn’t so crowded and maybe see the rest in the winter time.
My plan is to be in Japan Mid October to NyE next year
How was the autumn foliage?
what time did you leave Tokyo?
Yes that’s why we didn’t visit anything outside the temple complex.in fact the busses were so crowded , we walked everywhere. That was back in 2019 and the world has only gotten more crowded since.
Advice: if you’re going to Nikko for a day trip, don’t take the Spacia X. It doesn’t leave until 9:00 AM, you will get to Nikko at peak time and everything will be swamped. Take the earliest Revaty Kegon instead.
Source: learned this from experience.
When I went to Nikko (October 2017) it was so foggy and raining that the bus driver told us it wasn’t worth getting off at the cable car as we wouldn’t see anything and drove everyone straight to the lake instead 😂
We stayed two nights in Nikko. Travel out to Nikko (from Nagoya in our case), walk around a bit, get dinner, sleep night one. Next day hop on the bus early out to Ryuzu Falls, hike around, catch one of the busses heading back towards Nikko, get off at another stop, hike around, etc. Stay night 2 and then head to Tokyo the next morning. The busses going out into the mountains early and coming back early weren’t too packed. Most of the day trippers don’t get there super early so that’s how you should beat the crowds. We stayed in Nikko on a Friday and Saturday night.
Nikko is better in the snow anyways
I have a complete different experience than you and I went less than two weeks ago. I did it this way:
– I traveled via Utsunomiya with JR Pass (arrived at JR Nikko at 9.28)
– Went immediately to the ropeway via bus instead of the afternoon. (I bought my ticket to the bus via web so I didn’t have to make any line or anything)
– I went on Thursday instead of weekend.
I was there last week. Stayed 2 nights. You could do the shrines in a day trip but the greenery like the falls, lakes and marshes? Almost impossible
I followed this as well last week. My trip was fine though and I did not go to cable car instead the elevator down to the falls itself, queue was ok. I skipped the Ryuzu falls
Just did Nikko last week for my birthday it wasn’t that bad. Did the lake falls and bridge and a couple other things on a day trip and it was fine!
Honestly, my suggestion for these sort of thing is it’s much better to rent a car in many such situations. It’s not much slower than train on the main part, and then you save tons of time on the rural parts by not having to wait for buses. Then, you also gain the freedom to see stuff on the side
If there are more than two people it’s also often cheaper than taking the train