Rural/suburban towns near Tokyo

Me and my girlfriend have wanted to live in Japan for a while. Ifm a scientist, and when we live there, most of my gigs will probably be in Tokyo, but my girlfriend doesnft wanna live in Tokyo. Are there any rural/suburban towns that are a maximum of 2 1/2 hours away from Tokyo?

A lot of the people who work in Tokyo commute from outside the Tokyo – 1 hour, 1 1/2 hour or even longer. That doesnft really get to gruralh area though, if you mean a commuter train (some people even take Shinkansen train to commute to Tokyo, but that is not inexpensive). What kind of features is your girlfriend looking for?

That's quite a commute, and two and a half hours covers a lot of ground. For example you could consider living in Kyoto, which is 2 hours and 17 minutes from Tokyo.

A lot of the scientists I know live and work in Tsukuba, so that might be something to look into. It's easy to get into Tokyo from central Tsukuba (less than an hour from Akihabara), but it thins out quite quickly into suburban sprawl and countryside.

If you do end up in Tokyo, the nearest rural zones I can think of are in Yamanashi on the way to Kofu - it's quite agricultural up there in the mountains. I wouldn't recommend it for a daily commute though, and rail fare is relatively expensive.

As suggested, there are too many options. Come back after you've taken a look at Google bird's-eye-view, explored train maps and narrowed it down. You should also pinpoint the train station you commute to for work and go backwards to find an area where access is easier.

It depends on what you need around your house and how you live in the small town.
If you drive a car, it really doesnft matter, but if you walk or ride the bike to the grocery store, you may want to live not too far from the stores.
And if you take a train to work every day, you may want to check how often the train runs or how late the last train leaves to home.

Even 1-1/2 train ride from Tokyo, there are many small towns. So first take a look at the maps along the train leaving from Tokyo.
For example,
*Eastern area from Tokyo:
Chiba/Ibaraki Pref. (If you like ocean, this area would be good.)
As other said, Tsukuba city is in this area where there are many research institutes.
Tsukubai express,
JR Sobu line,
JR Joban line,
JR Keiyo line (when you visit TDL, you take this)
Keisei line (Narita airport)
And more. This area is not easy to explain, so look at the map and picture.

Northern area from Tokyo
Saitama/Gunma/Tochigi Pref. (If you like mountains, this area would be good)
JR Takasaki Line
Seibu Ikebukuro line
Tobu-Tojo line
Tobu-Isesaki line (Nikko)

Western area from Tokyo
Kanagawa Pref.
Odakyu line (Hakone)
Tokaido line

I know this might sound counterintuitive, but Tokyo can be a village. I lived close to Higashikitazawa and for being 10 min from
Shinjuku by train it had a quite villagy atmosphere. (And there are other places in Tokyo as well that are similar).

So I wouldnft exclude to live IN Tokyo unless you are looking for something really rural. If so, I would probably look at the region around Okutama or at the villiage of Aihara. (Close to Hachioji).
I am sure there are other villages as well eg in Chiba Prefecture. Or obviously if you can pay it, Kamakura is lovely.

But 2,5 h commute every day sounds crazy. Youfll be spending 5h/day on a train and if you donft get a Shinkansen or other express train, you can expect to stand a good portion of that time.

Itfs hard to decide from the distance. So once you have relocated first get some monthly apartment and look the for places that tick your boxes.

Enjoy living in Japan!

Okutama is a very good suggestion for rural if you have work on the western side of Tokyo. 1h40m-1h50m to Shinjuku.