Day trips from Tokyo for solo traveller

I will be travelling to Tokyo next month and am looking for a nice daytrip I could do. Both nature and culture destinations are fine, I will be travelling solo though.
Already visited Ghibli Museum and Kamakura on past trips which I both enjoyed a lot. For the trip next month I am considering Hakone or Mount Takao. To stay outside Tokyo for a night is not an option unfortunately.
Do you have any recommendations?

Mt Takao and Hakone are doable day trips. They are quite touristy though.

Just a little further out from Takao is some mountains and walks/hikes also.

while Hakone is touristy there is a reason for that - the scenery is gorgeous and there is a lot of stuff to do. I like the train ride, the outdoor museum, and the ropeway (is that fixed yet?).

Another thing I'd recommend is a trip to Ito (on Izu peninsula) and go to the Izo Shaboten for a fix of Capybara feeding. The cactus burger is fantastic. Nice trip, too, and under 2 hours even without the bullet train. There is a mountain thing with a ropeway next to it that looks very interesting, if you arent scared of heights, and the views from the zoo are fantastic.

https://izushaboten.com/lang/

For the trip next month I am considering Hakone or Mount Takao

This "Hakone Round Course" would just be a perfect choice:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html

I have done daytrips from Tokyo:

2013 april, solo - Nikko, Izukyu-Shimoda, Kawaguchiko.

2018 april, with wife and 6y daughter - Awa Kamogawa, Jigokudani monkey park, Niigata, Enoshima, Izukyu Shimoda, Fukushima Aquamarine.

All those daytrips are easily doable for a solo traveller assuming the early start i.e alarm bell at 7:00 and easy transit from hotel to Tokyo and/or Shinjuku station.

Obviously, my wishlist has plenty of daytrip destinations should i be able to travel to Japan again. Assuming the fair price of some JR East rail pass.

In no particular order:

Yokohama
Kamakura
Chichibu
Mount Takao
Matsumoto (one of the most tiresome as a daytrip probably)
Sendai area (Matsushima and/or Yamadera)
Karuizawa
Onsen cities (Bessho, Ikaho, Manza, Kusatsu, maybe even Nyuto onsen etc) Nyuto is probably easy as a solo assuming the legs are good enough, but with family might not be reasonable.
Out-of-the box bathhouses-onsens in Greater Tokyo recommended by the user LikeBike :-)

BR,
Lauri

I guess an important to question to ask is how much money you are looking to spend and how much time you want to spend getting to your destination. I would avoid anywhere you need to get to via the Tohoku Shinkansen north of Nasu-Shiobara, unless you are flying because I just read an article last night that the Tohoku shinkansen line is not expected to be fully back until Golden Week. They think it is going to take 2 weeks to remove the shinkansen train currently stuck on the tracks between Fukushima and Sendai. So while I have 100% done Matsushima as a day trip, I wouldn't be planning it now as one unless it's for a trip after Golden Week.


If the ume is still in bloom and you're looking for something to do now, Kairakuen in Mito is a great day trip from Tokyo. I've done it multiple times and the ume are beautiful and fragrant.

If you're looking to spend a bit more money, sure, go to Nagano or Matsumoto (or both depending on how early you want to get up) as a day trip. I am not sure I would go all the way to the monkey park, it sort of depends on how early you want to start. I have done Zenkoji and Matsushiro, and then Ueda the next day, all as day trips from Tokyo.

Hakone is nice, I've gone as a day trip and over night and I did Nikko as a day trip back in '00.

Good luck!

I came here to mention Mito & Kairakuen too. I had an unexpectedly good day in Yokohama too on the last day of a trip some years ago.

@Stan Norell, I'm so glad to see someone else appreciate Kairakuen! We went in February 2020 on our last full day in Japan before flying back to the US. It also happened to be the last Sunday the festival was open in 2020, but no one knew that then. The garden was lovely and I really enjoyed the festive atmosphere. My daughter I think still likes Ritsurin the best, though she is missing Korakuen of the big 3.

And I just looked at the Tohoku shinkansen closure map on this website and you can currently make it as far as Koriyama, but from Koriyama to Ichinoseki is closed and there is a closure on the recently re-opened Joban line between Sendai and Iwaki as well.

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations! I'm travelling around April 22nd which I guess will be too late for ume blossom viewing in Japan.
But I heard at that time it might be possible to still see sakura at Mt Takao. Has anyone experience with that?

There are really over 3 dozen possibilities - though it would help if you could narrow down the time better. The 2nd half of April has loads of great possibilities, especially. The azaleas, shibazakura, and wisteria all come into bloom.
With that in mind, some other possibilities include (not all take a full day):
The Fuji 5 Lakes (shibazakura)
Chichibu (shibazakura)
Shiofune Kannonji (azaleas)
Ashikaga Flower Park (end of April, wisteria)
Nokogiriyama
Ushiku Great Buddha
Kusatsu
Minakami
Showa Kinen Park
Hitachi Seaside Park (if in bloom)
Kamakura/Enoshima
Okutama
Karuizawa
Kawasaki or Yokohama
Narita
Izu
Tanzawa-Oyama
etc
Look into a Tokyo Wide Pass, Greater Tokyo pass, or others which might save some money.

The Mt. Takao official site shows the graph until late April, but it says beyond the blooming viewing period.
https://www.ces-net.jp/takaovc/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/02...

For 2022 (Itchodaira), WeatherNews predicts Sakura Brizaard (the end of the season) will be on Apr 16.
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/4460/

I have dared to survey sakura predictions for Apr 22 with their tool.
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/search_date_result.html?pref=IWATE&mon...

Here is the list of their Sakura sites sorting the earliest arrival time departed from Tokyo station.

4/14-4/23 7:42 Yuzawa
280 Beni-yamazakura
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/54001/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.9356,138.8219
The earliest arrival time for Yuzawa is 7:42. The peak will be Apr 14. Sakura Brizaard is on Apr 23. Note that Beniyamazakura is different from typical Sakura, Somei Yoshino.

4/26-5/1 8:04 Rinnoji@Nikko
1 Kongozakura
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/4108/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.7549,139.6006
There is only one non-typical Sakura. The peak will not come by Apr 22.

4/15-4/26 8:12 Komoro
500 Somei Yoshino
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/162/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.3271,138.4176
https://www.komoro-tour.jp/
https://www.komoro-tour.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/74af978c4a46a...
This site has three digits in the URL (/spot/???/), better (more recommendable) than four digits in the above two. They will hold Sakura Festival until Apr 24.

4/17-4/23 8:15 Tsutsujigaoke@Sendai
350 Shidarezakura+
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/55/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=38.2601,140.8967
http://ohanami-sendai.net/
This site is a two-digit one, but they have canceled their Sakura Festival in 2022.

4/17-4/27 8:25 Unjoden@Nagano
650 Somei Yoshino
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/4806/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.6704,138.1889
https://unjouden.zenkoji.jp/
https://www.zenkoji.jp/en/
If you are interested in Zenkoji, one of the famous temples in Japan, do not forget to drop by Unjoden for a Sakura viewing.

4/23-4/28 8:29 Shizumine@Ibaraki
2000 Yaezakura
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/4001/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.5005,140.4178113
http://www.naka-kanko.jp/data/doc/1648193541_doc_23_0.pdf
This site is a four-digit one, but they will hold Yaezakura Festival until Apr 26, 2022.

4/21-4/29 8:39 Iiyama
120 SomeiYoshino+
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/173/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.8564,138.3656
https://www.iiyamacci.jp/%E3%82%A4%E3%83%99%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E6%83%85...
The timing for viewing the blooming peak looks one of the best, but they have canceled Sakura Festival.

4/14-4/23 8:49 Garyu@Suzaka
600 Somei Yoshino
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/4803/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=36.6432,138.3142
https://www.suzaka.jp/pdf/data/event2022-34.pdf
They will hold their Sakura Festival until Apr 24. This site is one hour from Zenkoji Temple in Nagano.

4/21-4/28 8:50 Matsugasaki@Yonezawa
200 Somei Yoshino
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/64/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=37.9100,140.1040
http://www.yira-yonezawa.org/sightseeing/en/nature.html
This site is a two-digit one.

4/17-4/23 8:52 Iimoriyama@Aizu
1 Edo Higan
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/3608/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=37.5049,139.9527

4/22-4/29 8:58 Eboshiyama@Nanyo
1000 Edohigan+
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/63/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=38.0510,140.1654
http://nanyoshi-kanko.jp/topics/%e8%b5%a4%e6%b9%af%e6%b8%a9%e6%b3%89%e...
Akayu Onsen Sakura Festival here will be on until May 5 in 2022.

4/19-4/25 9:01 Natsui@Ono
1000 Somei Yoshino
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/3607/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=37.2535,140.6572113
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHJ0N4J8AtY

4/17-4/22 9:01 Ishibe@Aizu
10 Edo Higan
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/3611/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=37.5101,139.9543

4/18-4/26 9:04 Tsurugajo@Aizu
1000 Somei Yoshino
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/70/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=37.4870,139.9301
https://www.tsurugajo.com/2022/04/11/21791/
For Aizu-Wakamatsu, they list Iimoriyama, Ishibe, and this Tsugajo Castle for Apr 22, 2022.

There are many Sakura sites for Apr 22, but the earliest arrival times are later than 9:04, and I skipped showing them.

I also think of more closer sites such as the below
Nokogiriyama
Tukubasan
Choshi
Kujyukuri
Katuura
Tateyama
Umihotaru
Enoshima/Kamakura
Tamako
Tanzawa
Kawagoe

If you are after Hanami, I would recommend Kitakami, as well as Morioka for a day trip from Tokyo.
https://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura17/170427_morioka.html
https://www.tohokukanko.jp/en/attractions/detail_10073.html#:~:text=He....

try and climb Mount Fuji. I found it to be a highlight

Much of the southern Tohoku Region peaked last week, so I would look at places that are currently listed at 50% full bloom right now in order to see full bloom on April 22.

With the Tohoku Shinkansen being inoperable, that leaves very few options for cherry blossoms, but there are some.

In Kitakata (Fukushima Prefecture), this sakura tunnel of the Nicchusen Weeping Cherries made of 1000 weeping cherry trees looks beautiful and should be at full bloom on the 22nd:
https://hanami.walkerplus.com/detail/ar0207e25698/

If you are open to other blossoms, the wisteria are blooming at Ashikaga Flower Park. Here is the up-to-date flower progress:
https://www.ashikaga.co.jp/parkdayori/flower.php

The nemophila are blooming at Hitachi Seaside Park
https://hitachikaihin.jp/en/

Nokogiriyama is a great daytrip from Tokyo to see Nihonji Temple and the its stone-carved Buddhas.

Nikko, Kawagoe, Aizu-Wakamatsu, etc. are also worthwile daytrips.

Tohoku Shinkansen has started to run but in slow-down operations.
https://www.jreast.co.jp/shinkansen/extra_tt/e/tohoku_d.html

Kakunodate will be a good condition for sakura on 22 Apr, but it would take one hour more than usual from Tokyo.
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/3202/

Inawashiro castle ruin will also be good on 22 Apr, but it is not so recommendable compared with its distance from Tokyo.
https://weathernews.jp/s/sakura/spot/3605/
https://www.google.com/maps?q=37.5614,140.1025
http://www.town.inawashiro.fukushima.jp/cb/hpc/Article-28-2005.html

Is it expensive to travel solo like how much do you need?

That entirely depends on where you go, what you do, and your comfort level. You can travel in Japan on a budget, regardless of what people screaming about high prices say. There are many bargains like rail passes that the Japanese themselves cannot use. You can eat more inexpensive food and cheap accommodations if you want - even in Tokyo. You could get your own (small) hotel room for just 3000 yen a night for a single. Very spartan, but clean, quiet, and decent enough.