Japan in Sept for 10 days

Hi there,

Planning my second trip to Japan. I went in May 2015 for 2 weeks and visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Himeji.

This time around I plan on staying around Tokyo this time around for the full duration of my trip.

When I went to Japan last time I watched Sumo at Ryogoku Stadium, and attended a Rock Festival (MetROCK). This time I want to look into attended another concert, Tokyo Game Show (any input on this will be great), and perhaps a couple day trips.

I couldn't make it to Hakone last time due to volcanic activity, so I'd like to see about going this time. I want other suggestions for places to go. I may need to get a JR Pass. Is a day trip to Kyoto reasonable if I leave early? I only plan on staying on 1 hotel in Shinjuku.

Any itinerary ideas would be great!

Thank you!

Ry

Lots of locations for day trips. Click destinations at the top of the website. You'll fill up those 10 days easily. Depends on your interests.

Kyoto is 2.5 hours one direction by train. Unless you have something that is super urgent to see, I wouldn't do it as a day trip. It is a lot of cost for such limited time available.

An overnighter would be better. You could arrive by 9 am and depart the following day at 7-9pm.

Your question is a head-scratcher - first you write you've been to Kyoto and want to stick to the Tokyo area, and then you ask about a day trip to Kyoto...??.

In any event, as said, it's much better as an overnight trip at least. The city really cries out for more attention than just one day.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7LcPcmoSg-jHC27aeRwEHaP7Pw_G27...
And if you do in fact decide to go down to go, in this case the Japanican discount ticket is much cheaper for you, and by Nozomi you could be there in as fast as 2 hours 15 minutes.
http://www.japanican.com/en/tour/detail/VJOPENTK1/

Honestly if I were you though, I'd spend 3-4 days seeing Tokyo, and the rest of the time on good day trips nearby. There's Nikko, Kamakura, the Fuji 5 Lakes area, Izu, Kusatsu, Karuizawa, the Boso Peninsula, Takao, Hitachi Seaside Park, Kawagoe, etc. A Tokyo Wide Pass, Tobu Nikko Free Pass, and Odakyu passes are some great ways to get around cheaply.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html
http://www.odakyu.jp/english/deels/

You won't need a JR Pass if you stay around the Tokyo area; it won't pay off without some serious long distance travel. It will come close if you do take a day trip to Kyoto (which is, in my opinion, a waste of time as it's so far away and Kyoto needs a lot more time), but you'll still need to do some other JR travel to get the full value out of it.