Side Trips from Tokyo
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21. Fuji-Q Highland
The largest of the recreational facilities at Lake Kawaguchi has an impressive assortment of rides, roller coasters, and other amusements, but it's probably not worth a visit unless you have children in tow. In winter there's superb skating here, with Mt. Fuji for a backdrop. Fuji-kyu Highland is about 15 minutes' walk east from Kawaguchi-ko Station. In addition to the entry fee, there are charges for various attractions, so it's best to get the one-day free pass.
View Tours and Activities5–6–1 Shinnishihara, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi-ken, 403-0017, Japan0555-23–2111Sight Details
Rate Includes: 1-day free pass ¥6,300 -
22. Futarasan-jinja Shrine
Nikko's holy ground is far older than the Tokugawa dynasty, in whose honor it was improved upon. Founded in AD 782, Futara-san Jinja (Futura-san Shrine) is a peaceful contrast to the more elaborate Toshogu Shrine. Futarasan has three locations: the Main Shrine at Tosho-gu; the Chugu-shi (Middle Shrine) at Chuzenji-ko; and the Okumiya (Inner Shrine) on top of Mt. Nantai. The bronze torii at the entrance to the shrine leads to the gilded and elaborately carved Kara-mon (Chinese Gate); beyond it is the Hai-den, the shrine's oratory. The Hai-den, too, is richly carved and decorated, with a dragon-covered ceiling. The Chinese lions on the panels at the rear are by two distinguished painters of the Kano school. From the oratory of the Taiyu-in a connecting passage leads to the Hon-den (Sanctum)—the present version of which dates from 1619. Designated a National Treasure, it houses a gilded and lacquered Buddhist altar some 9 feet high, decorated with paintings of animals, birds, and flowers, in which resides the object of all this veneration: a seated wooden figure of Iemitsu himself.
2307 Sannai, Nikko, Tochigi-ken, 321-1431, JapanSight Details
Rate Includes: ¥300 -
23. Gora
This small town is at the end of the train line from Odawara and at the lower end of the Hakone Tozan Cable Car. It's a good jumping-off point for hiking and exploring. Ignore the little restaurants and souvenir stands here: get off the train as quickly as you can and make a dash for the cable car at the other end of the station. If you let the rest of the passengers get there before you, and perhaps a tour bus or two, you may stand 45 minutes in line.
Gora, Hakone, Kanagawa-ken, Japan -
24. Hakone Checkpoint Museum
This barrier, a checkpoint on the road with a guardhouse and lookout tower, was built in 1618 to inspect incoming and outgoing traffic until it was demolished during the Meiji Restoration of 1868. An exact replica was built as a tourist attraction in 1965 and is only a few minutes' walk from the pier, along the lakeshore in the direction of Moto-Hakone. The hilltop guardhouse offers excellent views of Lake Ashi and the surrounding area.
1 Hakone-machi, Hakone, Kanagawa-ken, 250-0521, Japan0460-83–6635Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥500 -
25. Hakone Museum of Art
A sister institution to the MOA Museum of Art in Atami, Hakone Museum of Art is at the second stop of the Hakone Tozan Cable Car. The museum, which consists of two buildings set in a beautiful Japanese garden, houses a modest collection of porcelain and ceramics from China, Korea, and Japan.
1300 Gora, Hakone, Kanagawa-ken, 250-0408, Japan0460-82–2623Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥900, Closed Thurs. -
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26. Hakone Ropeway
At the cable-car terminus of Soun-zan, a gondola called the Hakone Ropeway swings up over a ridge and crosses the valley called Owaku-dani, also known as "Great Boiling Valley," on its way to Togendai. The landscape here is desolate, with sulfurous billows of steam escaping through holes from some inferno deep in the earth—yet another reminder that Japan is a chain of volcanic islands. At the top of the ridge is one of the two stations where you can leave the gondola. From here, a ¾-km (½-mile) walking course wanders among the sulfur pits in the valley. Just below the station is a restaurant; the food here is not recommended, but on a clear day the view of Mt. Fuji is perfect. Remember that if you get off the gondola at any stage, you will have to wait for someone to make space on a later gondola before you can continue down to Togendai and Ashi-no-ko (but the gondolas come by every minute). Due to concerns about volcanic activity, sections of the ropeway may be closed and buses will run from Sounzan to Togendai. The Hakone Ropeway's English site is not always up-to-date, so check with tourist information before you go.
1–15–1 Shiroyama, Odawara, Kanagawa-ken, 250-0045, Japan0460-32–2205Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥1,700 round-trip (Sounzan Station to Owakudani Station) -
27. Harbor View Park
Naka-kuThe park—a major landmark in this part of the city, known, appropriately enough, as the Bluff (yamate)—was once the barracks of the British forces in Yokohama. Come here for spectacular nighttime views of the waterfront, the floodlit gardens of Yamashita Park, and the Bay Bridge. Foreigners were first allowed to build here in 1867, and it has been prime real estate ever since—an enclave of consulates, churches, international schools, private clubs, and palatial Western-style homes.
114 Yamatecho, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 231-0801, Japan -
28. Hatsu-shima Island
If you have the time and the inclination for a beach picnic, it's worth taking the 25-minute high-speed ferry (¥2,500 round-trip) from the pier. There are five departures daily between 7:30 and 5:20 from both Atami and Ito, though the times vary by season. You can easily walk around the island, which is only 4 km (2½ miles) in circumference, in less than two hours. There is also an obstacle course adventure park, great for travelers with kids. Use of the Picnic Garden (daily 10–3) is free.
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29. Hikawa Maru
Naka-kuMoored on the waterfront, more or less in the middle of Yamashita Park, is the Hikawa Maru. The ocean liner was built in 1929 by Yokohama Dock Co. and launched on September 30, 1929. For 31 years, she shuttled passengers between Yokohama and Seattle, Washington, making a total of 238 trips. A tour of the ship evokes the time when Yokohama was a great port of call for the transpacific liners. The ship has a French restaurant, and in summer there's a beer garden on the upper deck.
Yamashita-koen, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 231-0021, Japan045-641–4362Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥300, Closed Mon. -
30. Hofuku-ji Temple
The first American consul to Japan was New York businessman Townsend Harris. Soon after his arrival in Shimoda, Harris asked the Japanese authorities to provide him with a female servant; they sent him a young girl named Okichi Saito, who was engaged to be married. The arrangement brought her a new name, Tojin (the Foreigner's) Okichi, much disgrace, and a tragic end. When Harris sent her away, she tried, but failed, to rejoin her former lover. The shame brought upon her for working and living with a Westerner and the pain of losing the love of her life drove Okichi to drown herself in 1892. Her tale is recounted in Rei Kimura's biographical novel Butterfly in the Wind and inspired Puccini's Madame Butterfly, although some skeptics say the story is more gossip than fact. Hofuku-ji was Okichi's family temple. The museum annex displays a life-size image of her, and just behind the temple is her grave—where incense is still kept burning in her memory. The grave of her lover, Tsurumatsu, is at Toden-ji, a temple about midway between Hofuku-ji and Shimoda Station.
1–18–26 Shimoda, Shimoda, Shizuoka-ken, 415-0021, Japan0558-22–0960Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥400 -
31. Hokoku-ji Temple
Visitors to Kamakura tend to overlook this lovely little Zen temple of the Rinzai sect that was built in 1334, but it's worth a look. Over the years it had fallen into disrepair and neglect, until an enterprising priest took over, cleaned up the gardens, and began promoting the temple for meditation sessions, calligraphy exhibitions, and tea ceremony. Behind the main hall are a thick grove of bamboo and a small tea pavilion—a restful oasis and a fine place to go for matcha (green tea). The temple is about 2 km (1 mile) east on Route 204 from the main entrance to Tsuru-ga-oka Hachiman-gu; turn right at the traffic light by the Hokoku Temple Iriguchi bus stop and walk about three minutes south to the gate.
2--7--4 Jomyo-ji, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken, 248-0003, Japan0467-22–0762Sight Details
Rate Includes: From ¥300 -
32. Ikeda 20th-Century Art Museum
The museum, which overlooks Lake Ippeki, houses works by Picasso, Dalí, Chagall, and Matisse, plus a number of woodblock prints. The museum is a 15-minute walk northwest from Izu Shaboten Zoo.
614 Totari, Ito, Shizuoka-ken, 414-0052, Japan0557-45–2211Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥1,000, Closed Wed. -
33. Iseyama Kotai Jingu Shrine
Nishi-kuA branch of the nation's revered Grand Shrines of Ise, this is the most important Shinto shrine in Yokohama—but it's worth a visit only if you've seen most everything else in town.
64 Miyazaki-cho, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 220-0031, Japan045-241–1122Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
34. Izu Shaboten Zoo
A semi–free-range petting zoo and cactus park may not seem like the best combination, but Izu Shaboten Zoo makes it work. Visitors can feed, pet, or get up close and personal with more than 130 different kinds of animals and 1,500 varieties of cacti. Highlights include the capybara onsen (animals like hot springs too) and "Exciting Monkey House." It's a silly place, but a hit with animal-loving kids.
1317–13 Futo, Ito, Shizuoka-ken, 413-0231, Japan0557-51–1111Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥2,400 -
35. Jakko Falls
Falling water is one of the special charms of the Nikko National Park area; people going by bus or car from Toshogu to Lake Chuzenji often stop off en route to see these falls, which descend in a series of seven terraced stages, forming a sheet of water about 100 feet high. About 1 km (½ mile) from the shrine precincts, at the Tamozawa bus stop, a narrow road to the right leads to an uphill walk of some 3 km (2 miles) to the falls.
Nikko, Tochigi-ken, Japan -
36. Jochi-ji Temple
In the Five Mountains hierarchy, Jochi-ji (Jochi Temple) was ranked fourth. The buildings now in the complex are reconstructions; the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 destroyed the originals. The garden here is exquisite. Jochi-ji is on the south side of the railway tracks, a few minutes' walk farther southwest of Tokei-ji in the direction of Kamakura.
1402 Yamanouchi, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken, 247-0062, Japan0467-22–3943Sight Details
Rate Includes: ¥200 -
37. Jomyo-ji Temple
Founded in 1188, this is one of the Five Mountains Zen monasteries. Though this modest single-story monastery belonging to the Rinzai sect lacks the grandeur and scale of the Engaku and Kencho, it still merits the status of an Important Cultural Property. It is nestled inside an immaculate garden that is particularly beautiful in spring, when the cherry trees bloom. A tea ceremony with Japanese green tea takes place in this lovely setting. The monastery's only distinctive features are its green roof and the statues of Shaka Nyorai and Amida Nyorai, who represent truth and enlightenment, in the main hall.
3–8–31 Jomyo-ji, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken, 248-0003, Japan0467-22–2818Sight Details
Rate Includes: Jomyo Temple ¥100, tea ceremony ¥500 -
38. Kamakura Kokuhokan Museum
This museum was built in 1928 as a repository for many of the most important objects belonging to the shrines and temples in the area; many of these are designated Important Cultural Properties. Located along the east side of the Tsuru-ga-oka Hachiman-gu shrine precincts, the museum has an especially fine collection of devotional and portrait sculpture in wood from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods; the portrait pieces may be among the most expressive and interesting in all of classical Japanese art.
2–1–1 Yukinoshita, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken, 248-0005, Japan0467-22–0753Sight Details
Rate Includes: From ¥700, Closed Mon. -
39. Kamakura-gu Shrine
This Shinto shrine was built after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and was dedicated to Prince Morinaga (1308–36), the first son of Emperor Go-Daigo. When Go-Daigo overthrew the Kamakura Shogunate and restored Japan to direct imperial rule, Morinaga—who had been in the priesthood—was appointed supreme commander of his father's forces. The prince lived in turbulent times and died young: when the Ashikaga clan in turn overthrew Go-Daigo's government, Morinaga was taken into exile, held prisoner in a cave behind the present site of Kamakura Shrine, and eventually beheaded. The Homotsu-den (Treasure House), on the northwest corner of the grounds, next to the shrine's administrative office, is of interest mainly for its collection of paintings depicting the life of Prince Morinaga.
154 Nikaido, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken, 248-0002, Japan0467-22–0318Sight Details
Rate Includes: Shrine free, Treasure House ¥300 -
40. Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History
Naka-kuOne of the few buildings in Yokohama to have survived both the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and World War II, the museum is a few blocks north of Kannai Station on Basha-michi. Most exhibits here have no explanations in English, but the galleries on the third floor showcase some remarkable medieval wooden sculptures (including one of the first Kamakura shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo), hanging scrolls, portraits, and armor. The exhibits of prehistory and of Yokohama in the early modern period are of much less interest.
5–60 Minami Nakadori, Yokohama, Kanagawa-ken, 231-0006, Japan045-201–0926Sight Details
Rate Includes: From ¥300, Closed Mon.
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