Atami vs Hakone vs Kamakura vs Karuizawa

Hi,

I am trying to decide which area I should visit from Tokyo. I have 3 days/2 nights. I am very keen on having a private onsen in my room. I have been to Hakone once so I'm thinking I should branch out, but I'm having a hard time deciding. Some reviews of Atami rave about it and others say it's nothing special...but it does have onsen. Kamakura sounds like it could be a good day trip from Hakone and/or Atami but has no onsen experience from what I can tell? Karuizawa just popped up and sounds perfect, but I also can't figure out if it has any natural onsen?

Does anyone have experience with these spots and recommendations? Onsen, hiking and shopping/eating are my top priorities - onsen being #1. I always appreciate seeing historical landmarks, but that's probably least important for me.

Thanks for any insight you're able to provide. I will be in Japan in May. :)

I've been to Atami a few times and with a private bath in room for one of those stays (for me, shared onsen is not an issue). What I do find, however, is that for what you get, the prices are quite high - not as much of a rip-off as the tourist trap that is Hakone, but you have to be careful what to choose.
Kamakura/Enoshima is a nice day-trip.

Thank you!! This is very helpful. I'll continue to do my homework. The hotel that was recommended to me in Atami was rather expensive, and I also read that there was construction next to the hotel on either side. This is not the serenity I was hoping for... I do think I'll do a day trip to Kamakura if I stay in either Hakone or Atami. Are there natural hot springs in Karuizawa? From what I've read, there are "spas", but it doesn't sound like the "healing" waters of the natural onsen exist in Karuizawa. Thanks.

There are several onsen in Karuizawa

https://en-1075.site-translation.com/karuizawa/specialcontents/daytrip....

In general - if there are volcanoes nearby then there are normally hot springs.

Karuizawa is known as a touristy town with hot springs (from memory).

Atami has lots of onsen hotels but I don't honestly think much of the water on the Izu Peninsula. It's basically like heated salt water.

The water near Hakone tends to be sulfuric or milky (Calcium Carbonate from memory) and is better in my opinion. However - prices are really high here due to it being Hakone.

Another location on the Izu Peninsula which is more traditional onsen town is Shuzenji. It's still close enough for a day trip to Kamakura, Hakone or other locations around,

I assume you realize that the four places you mentioned are all tourist magnets (Atami and Karuizawa less so for foreign tourists than Hakone and Kamakura, but for various reasons they are popular with Japanese tourists, so they can still get pretty crowded). This is okay if you aren�ft wanting to avoid crowds and aren�ft looking for bargain prices on lodging. But some place like the Izu Peninsula might indeed be a better way to experience �gthe real Japan.�h Tohoku is another region that is less overtouristed and has a lot of onsens and hiking experiences. There are some onsens near Sendai, for example, and some other places that are more �goff the beaten path�h but still accessible by public transit.

Regarding Izu, besides Shuzenji, you could come up with a nice itinerary on either the west coast or the east coast of the peninsula. You�fll need to do some more research, but there are a number of places where you can hike, and also quite a few places where you can do onsen bathing. Finding properties with a private in-room onsen bath is possible, but you�fll probably have to a lot of searching and be prepared to pay through the nose. A lot of ryokans and ryokan hotels don�ft offer rooms for single occupany, especially their fancier rooms that have en-suite onsen baths. It is generally easier to find properties that have some private baths (but not in the guest room) for individual use (often reservable for one-hour time slots, sometimes included in the room rate, sometimes at an extra charge). These are called �gkashi-kiri�h baths.

Japan Guide has a recent article describing a three-day trip to western Izu. It looked appealing to me. I might not go for the intensive bonito experience myself :) but the hiking and boat ride were things I would do. You can be sure that Dogashima will be a lot less crowded than Hakone, but you might have trouble finding an in-room private onsen bath. (The place the author stayed apparently has one such room, but it is essentially a luxury suite and I expect it would cost a fortune, if they would even let it go for single occupancy.) May would be a very nice time to go. To make it easier to book a single room, go on a weekday.
https://www.japan-guide.com/ad/nishiizu-nature-retreat/

I�fm really glad to see Japan Guide continuing to publish articles that might encourage people to go to less-touristed places, although I have to wonder how many people actually do, given the proposed itineraries I keep seeing posted by tourists. I was sort of disappointed that their recent article �gA basic overnight guide to Kyoto�h was nothing but a list of ultra tourist magnets there (although they left out some of the biggest ones, presumably because it was only a one-night trip), without suggesting even a single place that offers what I most value about Kyoto and what keeps me going back. The mega-magnets are okay, but they certainly don�ft need any more promoting. But I guess it is only fair to provide articles that will be helpful to typical tourists, and I don�ft begrudge Japan Guide any revenue they get from sponsored stories. It is certainly the best site on the internet as a resource for learning about Japan travel and informing trip planning, and I think they do an unusually good job managing their revenue streams so that they don�ft degrade the experience of using of their site. Some other travel sites these days — phew!

All the places you mention have some very worthy sights - but for different reasons. It really depends on how much emphasis you place on a private onsen versus overall quality and variety of other sights. There are pages on all of them on this site, so try exploring them all and perhaps narrow down your choices.