Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Nikko/Kamakura/Hakone

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Nikko/Kamakura/Hakone

searches in-line show me this is a very common conundrum! Our initial plan was 6 nights in Tokyo with a day trip to Kamakura, but everything I read makes me want to go to Nikko and a day trip seems like far too little - I don’t think we can do a day trip to Kamakura AND an overnight to Nikko during our Tokyo stay just because we have a lot in Tokyo we want to see. Add to this we thought the last night of our trip we’d do Hakone between Kyoto and Narita but now I worry it’s a bit touristy and accommodation is so expensive.

BUT we can’t do Nikko as our last night as it’s so far from Kyoto, should we just see Hakone and do our last night in Tokyo? What if we don’t do Hakone at all and instead do a one night stay in Nikko while in Tokyo then our last night in Kamakura? I was quite looking forward to our last night being in a Ryorkan with an Onsen though.....

Quite a set of quandaries! Unfortunately, I don't see how any of us can help. :( Nonetheless, FWIW:

I'm glad I spent a night in Nikko, but many people visit it as a day trip.
You can decide about day trips while in Tokyo.
I can understand the desire to make your last night in Japan special, but what will work for you depends on when your flight departs, how you are managing luggage, etc. As examples from my very personal perspective (which you might not share), I would hate to find it necessary to leave an onsen or ryokan early just to be sure to be at an airport on time, nor would I want to feel particularly rushed the day before my departure just trying to get to the onsen or ryokan in time to actually enjoy it. JMO. And for me, the last night before an international flight is NEVER relaxing -- I'm generally up late, trying to make sure I've met all the current rules and regs and weight allowances, etc. But maybe that's just me....

Good luck!

We were pretty set on Hakone as our last because our flight from Narita isn’t until 5pm

terrific advice as always from kja. WIthout knowing time of year you’ll be in Japan and time you need to be at Haneda or Narita in your departure day, it’s hard to give optimal advice. Of your 3 choices, I’ve visited Hakone twice and Kamakura once. Nikko gets good reviews here and I know kja speaks highly of it. For me, seeing Mt. Fuji and snowcap on two trips, once from the Hakone gondola and again from my ryokan balcony on the shores of Kawaguchi-ko is perhaps my most breathtaking trip moments ever. If you’ll be in Japan from day November and April/May, I can’t imagine NOT giving yourself that experience. It is quintessential Japan IMHO.

I did Kamakura as a day trip from Tokyo. The Daibatsu (Great Buddha statue) is another of my top Japan sights and there are many beautiful temples there as well. With six nights in Tokyo, I really don’t think you need more than 3 full days to see the main sights. It’s modern Japan, not old Japan. You could easily I think give a full day to Kamakura, a night to Hakone and a night to tokyo.

Oops, I meant to conclude that with “and a night to Nikko”.