10-14-day itinerary to Tokyo/Kamakura/Mt Fuji

Hi all.
My family of four (two adults two teenagers) are considering going on a vacation to Tokyo in Dec. This is our first trip there and we don't intend to go Disneyland.

We may go nearby places first before going back to Tokyo for about four nights before leaving.
What is a suitable itinerary if we would like to go nearby places like Kamakura, Hakone and Mt Fuji? Is there anything worth visiting in Izu? Will there be enough time to go to Takayama then go back to Tokyo?
Thank you.

What is a suitable itinerary

That depends on your interests, preferences, traveling pace and budget.

A hot spring fan may hope to visit Ito and Atami, which are both in the former Izu Province part of Shizuoka Prefecture.

December is outside Mount Fuji's regular climbing season.

Generally winter is a good season for people to see Mount Fuji.
Weather permitting, you can have a closer view from Hakone or Fuji Five Lakes area.

Will there be enough time to go to Takayama then go back to Tokyo?

When you go as far as to Takayama, it is recommendable to stay overnight.
(I don't count Takayama as a nearby place of Tokyo.)

- How to travel between Takayama and Tokyo
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5908.html

When in December will you travel?

hi there,

if in your 10-14 days in tokyo, you mean 4 of those, you would like to allocate to trips not far from tokyo, here are a few suggestions. nb. i don't know how you intend to travel which greatly affects travel time. shinkansen very quick compared to normal rail, while cars in remote rural areas might be inhibited by snow fall.

SUGGESTION 1:
1 night in HAKONE, hopefully some great views of Fuji.
2 to 3 nights going to:
TAKAYAMA 1 night (great little town)
SHIRAKAWAGO 1 night or day trip (historic village - where you can spend the night in Gassho houses)
KANAZAWA 1 night (Samurai area and beautiful park - although it will be winter) then back to TOKYO

SUGGESTION 2:
Visit YOKOHAMA and then:
1 night in KAMAKURA
1 to 2 nights in HAKONE / 5 Lakes Area
Last night, possibly a day trip or overnight in NIKKO

I hope this helps - good luck - have fun! :D

thanks for the advice. I plan to travel from 4-18 Dec and will move around on shinkansen.
Takayama is quite far from Tokyo. that's why I am still hesitant. just that I am not sure if we will be used to going from one onsen to another onsen in the Izu area.

If you're going to Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, and Kamakura you really don't need to take a shinkansen unless you feel the need to take one.

Fuji Five Lakes is most easily accessible by bus. You can get there by train, but it's not covered by most JR Passes because you will need to take a private line from Otsuki station.

Kamakura is most easily reached by just a regular train. I am not really sure taking a shinkansen to shin Yokohama station and then needing to transfer again since I don't think Shin Yokohama is on a train line that goes to Kamakura. With 2 transfers it is unlikely the trip will be faster than just taking a direct route.

Hakone you can take the shinkansen to Odawara and then transfer to the Odakyu/Tozan line, but unless you have a compelling need to take a shinkansen, why pay for it when you can take the Odakyu direct from Shinjuku. You save about 20 minutes I think, but spend quite a bit more.

As all the PPs have said Takayama is not a day trip from Tokyo.

The Tokyo Wide Pass, issued by JR East, allows you to take all the trains to Kawaguchiko Station, even the Fujikyu Railway train from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko. A round trip there won't pay for the pass (8220yen), though, as it's 10,000yen for 3 consecutive days. Of course, you can use it in Tokyo proper as well, but you may need to make another side trip to make it worthwhile.

I used that on my trip last year for the time I was in Tokyo. I spent the night in Kawaguchiko, so I took the Shinjuku-Kawaguchiko-Shinjuku and beyond and just made out about 500yen better than individual tickets. But since I'm a pass collector (have quite a few different ones), I thought it'd be okay to buy the pass.

https://www.jreast.co.jp/e/tokyowidepass/

takayama is not that far. if you take the new shinkansen to toyama, it's a short train ride to takayama. well worth the trip, many close attractions / towns surrounding takayama. it's a good base for a few a couple or a few days :)

Kanazawa as a day trip, sure I would buy that, but Takayama... that's much harder. The Limited Express train from Toyama to Takayama (and Takayama to Toyama) is not very frequent. There are 4 Hidas between Toyama and Takayama a day. The locals are not all that frequent either. There are 4 Hidas back to Toyama from Takayama a day and the same limited number of local trains.

We were trying to get to Nagano from Takayama and missed the 11:00 Hida to Toyama and had to wait until after 1 for the next train going to Toyama, by the time we reached Nagano it was 4.

Takayama is a great place to visit but not as a day trip from Tokyo.