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sanji
Sat Aug 07, 2010 3:15 pm

1-day trip from Tokyo : Kamakura, Hakone or Nikko?
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If you only want to make a day-trip from Tokyo, there are three main destinations that you should look at... Here is a small abstract on each of these, as well as some hints to help you select one !


Kamakura http://www.sogival.com/japan/across/Kamakura/Kamakura_-_Daibutsu_small.jpg

A suggest journey would be to get off the train at Kita-Kamakura, and visit the surrounding temples (Engaku-ji and Jochi-ji); then head to the south, visit the Zeniarai-benten temple and finally reach the Daibutsu. After that, you can continue to the Hase-dera temple, and eventually reach the sea. From there, it takes 10-15 minutes to walk back to Kamakura station. Alternatively, you can take the Enoshima line from the Hase station, and enjoy the sea coast scenery to Enoshima (

Hakone   http://www.sogival.com/japan/across/Hakone/Hakone%202-days%20trip%20-%20trip2-18_small.jpg



Nikko

from Ueno : 2780 yens, 2h10 (people with JR pass will travel faster by using shinkansen trains)

Entrance of the Nikko National Park, the small town of Nikko is mostly famous for Toshogu, a complex of heavily decorated shrines. Surrounded by forests, Nikko is located in a large area which offers several attractions, including the large Chuzenji lake with the 97-meters high Kegon waterfall. However, the lake itself is quite far, and it takes 50 minutes (1100 yens) by bus to reach it from Nikko. If you really want to enjoy the whole Nikko area, you might choose to rent a car to reach the Chuzenji lake and continue to Nikko-Yumoto, a small onsen town in the national park.

http://www.sogival.com/japan/across/Nikko/Nikko_-_10_small.jpg



Now, the most important : how to choose between the three :

My condensed advise: head for Hakone if the weather is really fine - if it is cloudy, then it is not that interesting, except if you have no other opportunity to soak in an onsen. If the weather is not perfect, then visit Kamakura - it can be crowded in summer, but it is really full of attractive spots! Choose Nikko only if you plan to drive or if you want to see some extra temples; Nikko is relatively far from Tokyo, so it is not so appealing to people who have already seen Kyoto and Koyasan.



originally published : http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=150
