Unusual places in 2w [Tokyo-Kyoto]

Hello everyone,
I am a student from Luxembourg who will be in Kyoto on exchange for one semester, which will start April 1st.

As I am already arriving in Tokyo on March 13th, I am now looking to organize this gap of about 2 weeks to discover Tokyo and as many beautiful Japanese towns and villages that are worth visiting and could be visited. Given that I will stay in Tokyo for 3 days, during these 2 weeks I would prefer to discover the smaller Japanese cities as well as the rural side and see the less mainstream and over-crowded places before I get to Kyoto.

So, my question now is which towns should I choose to visit and what path should I take?
Furthermore, should I travel by bus, train or even Shinkanzen? And one last question would be where could one stay?

I would be thankful for any helpful suggestion that would enrich my journey through Japan!

Kind regards,

Boban

Hi Boban,

I don't mean to be rude but what exactly is your budget for these 2 weeks? It's sort of hard to give advice because budget always goes play a role in where you can travel to. Some places like Kamakura are readily accessible from Tokyo but are really different once all the day trippers leave.

I'm not sure you're actually eligible for a rail pass since you'll be a student in Japan and without one, the trains can get quite expensive quickly, which is why having some idea of your budget is really helpful.

Good luck!

PS there are some really lovely quieter areas you can visit while a student in Kyoto as well.

With a student visa there are only very few passes you can buy. The JR pass isn�ft one of them.

Transport will depend on where you go.

I would suggest to use this webpage or a guidebook for some more research of places you want to go. There are many. And they are well documented on this webpage. If you then have a specific question, don�ft hestitate to come back to this forum.

Enjoy planning your trip to Japan!