Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11
Side Trips from Tokyo
If your stay in Tokyo is 3 days or
more, consider an excursion in the vicin-
ity.
Kamakura
and
Nikko,
ranked as two
of the most important historical sites in
Japan, each represent a completely differ-
ent but equally exciting period of Japanese
history.
Yokohama,
with its thriving port,
waterfront development, museums, and
great garden, also makes an interesting day
trip.
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
serves as a huge recreational playground
for the residents of Tokyo. For overnight
stays, I heartily recommend
Hakone,
both
for its atmosphere and its Japanese-style
inns
(ryokan),
where you'll be able to expe-
rience a bit of old Japan.
Izu Peninsula
also boasts ryokan and hot-spring resorts,
in both seaside and mountain settings.
(For more information on ryokan, see
“Japanese-style Accommodations,” in
chapter 5.) Active travelers may want to
hike to the top of
Mount Fuji
in summer,
while shoppers may head for the pottery
village of
Mashiko,
which can be toured
on its own or in combination with an
overnight trip to Nikko. Because these are
popular tourist destinations, try to avoid
traveling on weekends and holidays.
Before departing Tokyo, stop by the
Tourist Information Center (TIC)
for
pamphlets about Kamakura, Nikko,
Hakone, and the Mount Fuji area, some of
which provide maps, train schedules, and
other useful information (see “Visitor
Information,” in chapter 12, for the TIC
location).
Although all the recommended excur-
sions above can be toured easily on your
own, several tour companies offer guided
trips for those who wish to leave the par-
ticulars of travel to someone else. JTB's
Sunrise Tours
(
&
03/5796-5454;
www.
jtb-sunrisetours.jp) offers the most exten-
sive choices, with trips to Hakone, Nikko,
Kamakura, and beyond, including Kyoto,
ski resorts, and annual festivals.
1
KAMAKURA
51km (32 miles) S of Tokyo
If you take only one day trip outside Tokyo, it should be to Kamakura, especially if you're
unable to include the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara in your travels. (If you are going
to Kyoto and Nara, I would probably choose Nikko, below.) Kamakura is a delightful
hamlet with no fewer than 65 Buddhist temples and 19 Shinto shrines spread throughout
the town and surrounding wooded hills. Most of these were built centuries ago, when a
warrior named Minamoto Yoritomo seized political power and established his shogunate
government in Kamakura back in 1192. Wanting to set up his seat of government as far
away as possible from what he considered to be the corrupt Imperial court in Kyoto,
Yoritomo selected Kamakura because it was easy to defend. The village is enclosed on
three sides by wooded hills and on the fourth by the sea—a setting that lends a dramatic
background to its many temples and shrines.
Although Kamakura remained the military and political center of the nation for a
century and a half, the Minamoto clan was in power for only a short time. After Yorito-
mo's death, both of his sons were assassinated, one after the other, after taking up military
