Best Day Trips from Japan 2025

Highlights: Tosho-gu Shrine — ornate mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu with 5,000 wood carvings, Kegon Waterfall — 97-meter cascade with elevator to viewing platform, Lake Chuzenji — scenic caldera lake surrounded by mountains, Rinno-ji Temple — beautiful sliding door paintings and treasure hall, Shinkyo Sacred Bridge — red lacquered bridge over gorge entrance

Highlights: Great Buddha (Kotoku-in Daibutsu) — 13.35-meter bronze statue, 1252 AD, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine — Kamakura's most important shrine with approach road, Enoshima Island — connected by bridge, with shrines, caves and seafood, Hokoku-ji Temple — bamboo grove with matcha service, Zeniarai Benzaiten — cave shrine where washing money is said to double it

Highlights: Mount Fuji views from Lake Ashi on a clear day — the iconic postcard shot, Hakone Open-Air Museum — outdoor sculpture park with Picasso pavilion, Traditional onsen hot spring baths — Gora or Hakone-Yumoto areas, Hakone Ropeway — aerial views of volcanic landscape and Mount Fuji, Owakudani Valley — active volcanic zone with sulphur vents and black eggs

Highlights: Nara Park — over 1,000 free-roaming sacred deer that bow for shika-senbei crackers, Todai-ji Temple — houses Japan's largest bronze Buddha (Daibutsu), 15 meters tall, Kasuga Taisha Shrine — over 3,000 stone and bronze lanterns lit twice yearly, Nigatsu-do Hall — elevated terrace with panoramic views over the park, Naramachi historic district — traditional merchant homes (machiya) now housing cafes and craft shops

Highlights: Fushimi Inari Taisha — 10,000 vermillion torii gates winding up the mountain, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove — towering bamboo forest at dawn before crowds, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) — gold-leaf covered Zen Buddhist temple reflected in pond, Gion District — geisha district with preserved machiya townhouses, Nishiki Market — 400-year-old covered market with Kyoto pickles, tofu, and street food