Nikko worth a day trip?

Hi everyone,

We'll be spending 6 nights in Tokyo starting October 27. We're wondering whether it'd be worth taking a day-trip to Nikko or not. How much can you realistically do in a day, considering it's a 2-hour train ride there and back. Unfortunately, we can't spend a night in Nikko since all our hotels are already booked.

Also, will we have missed the peak of autumn colors by the end of October?

Just trying to figure out if Nikko is worth the time and effort, or if we're better off having additional time to explore Tokyo. (After 6 nights in Tokyo, we'll be heading to Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara).

Thanks!
John

I would say yes it is worth it. You can easily visit the mausoleum & major temples in central Nikko in one day.

if you like baroque then yes :-)

If you are not visiting Kyoto - then Nikko would be a great (but long) day out. I know you probably can't, but I find that Nikko is also a great location to spend the night which gives you more time to see upper (nature) and lower (shrines/temples) Nikko.

Thanks for the responses so far!

I imagine we may have our fill of temples/shrines in Kyoto & Nara. So what if we were to instead focus on the nature aspects of Nikko? After the 2-hour train ride, how much more time/hassle is it to get to the National Park and see Lake Chuzenji, a couple waterfalls, Senjogahara Marshland, and maybe do a hike? Still trying to figure out if it's just too much traveling in one day...

I did daytrip to Nikko in april, 2013.
Took 9.00 shinkansen from Tokyo and if i remember correctly then from the JR Nikko i took the local train back around between 17-18.
I walked first from the JR Nikko to the temple area. That area took about 2-3 hours; after that i took the bus to Kegon falls and spent around 1,5h in that area. After that i took the bus back to JR Nikko and then first local train to Utsunomya and then shinkansen back to Tokyo.
It is wise to check from Google or Hyperdia when are the trains departing from JR Nikko. If i remember correctly, then it was not that frequent.

Of course, i would liked to walk around the lake, but that would require either a night at hotel or skipping the temple area.

BR,
Lauri

If you want to focus on nature, what about going for a day trip to Takaosan or Karuizawa instead?
Just an idea.

It is certainly worth it - though honestly, spending 2 days there would be far better.

One quick upvote for PP's suggestion to go to Takaosan instead: plenty of nature, a temple to visit on the way, and a bath house at the station at the bottom to soothe your tired muscles.

It's an easy trip from Shinjuku, which you can look back to from the mountain.

Have a wonderful time in Japan.

Thanks for the ideas! We mainly wanted to go to Nikko to see the autumn foliage... would Takaosan or Karuizawa have changing colors yet in late October? We'll also be visiting Hakone, so maybe we will see autumn leaves there? (I know it's hard to predict!)

I don't know about the dates for this year-I think your visit it at the early end-but there's a festival every November...

https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/mount-takao-autumn-leaves-festival/50...

Just to add my 2 cents:

Since you are planning to visit Kyoto and Hakone, I don't know if I'd go to Nikko. You will already see a lake in the mountains in Hakone, and many historical shrines and temples in Kyoto and Nara.

That said, it is very beautiful location. It is not bad as a day trip as long as you are realistic about how much you can do. If you leave at 8-9a you will be there before lunch and then you have all afternoon before catching the train back at dusk. You'll be back in Tokyo in time for dinner at 7-8p.