Free taste · 3 of 153 places · Big in Japan
十一 · Chapter Eleven
Beyond the City
Tokyo's bullet trains turn day trips into commutes. A few feel unmissable.
Mount Fuji & Kawaguchi Lake map
2 hours west
The view that defines Japan. Kawaguchiko gives the best lake-and-Fuji photograph; stay overnight at a ryokan if you can — Fuji at dawn is the moment.
Hakone map
90 minutes west — onsen, the old road, Lake Ashi
Steaming valleys, a mountain railway, art museums, and ryokans with a hot spring on your own terrace. The full chapter on Hakone is at the end of this one.
Izu map
Atami in 45 minutes, Shimoda in under three hours — onsen, Black Ships and surf
A volcanic peninsula of hot-spring towns, the harbour where Perry opened Japan, waterfalls in the Amagi mountains and Tokyo's best surf. The full chapter on Izu is at the end of this one.
That was 3 of 153 places in this chapter. The rest are in Big in Japan.
Keep exploring
Tokyo, neighbourhood by neighbourhoodEbisu, Nakameguro, Shimokitazawa… where to stay in one and walk the next.Where to stayRyokan, design hotels and quiet bases, by area and budget.Eating in TokyoCounters, izakaya and the reachable top tables, area by area.After darkCocktail bars, standing bars and the small rooms worth the climb.Records and listening barsWhere to dig, and the rooms built around a sound system.Shopping and what to bring homeFrom the 100-yen shop to Japanese knives and fine stationery.Onsen, tea and matchaHot springs inside the city, tea houses and the matcha trail.Temples, shrines and gardensWhere the city goes quiet, and when to arrive.KyotoThe thousand-year capital: temples, kaiseki, the old streets.OsakaJapan's kitchen: street food, bars and the loud, warm city.What's on in JapanSumo, festivals, marathons, seasons: what falls on your dates.