Top Day Trips in Japan

Miyajima (Itsukushima) ★ 4.8 · Hiroshima

Miyajima is where two Hiroshima dishes meet: conger eel rice from a shop trading since 1901 near the pier, and oysters grilled in the shell on Omotesando.

Tip: Anagomeshi Ueno sits by Miyajimaguchi station on the mainland side, so you can eat before or after the ferry.

Nara (Mochi-Pounding) ★ 4.8 · Kyoto

An hour from Kyoto on the JR Nara Line. Watch Nakatanidou's high-speed mochi pounding outside Kintetsu Nara, eat the kusa-mochi straight from the mallet.

Kobe Beef in Kobe ★ 4.8 · Osaka

Kobe is 30 minutes from Osaka by JR Special Rapid. The Kobe beef designation is specific to Tajima-strain wagyu raised in Hyogo and sold in Kobe.

Hakone (ryokan kaiseki and onsen) ★ 4.8 · Tokyo

Hakone in Kanagawa is the onsen ryokan town under Mount Fuji where the kaiseki dinner is the main event. Eat the multi-course meal in yukata before the bath.

Tip: Book a ryokan with two meals included; the kaiseki is the trip. Day-trip via Romance Car if overnight is too much.

Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko hoto ★ 4.7 · Tokyo

Lake Kawaguchiko at the foot of Mount Fuji is the day-trip for Yamanashi houtou stew. Flat udon-style noodles in pumpkin-miso broth at Houtou Fudo.

Tip: Houtou Fudo's main shop is steps from Kawaguchiko Station. Pair with a Fuji ascending or descending view.

Dazaifu (Umegae Mochi) ★ 4.6 · Fukuoka

Dazaifu is the Tenmangu shrine pilgrimage town, thirty minutes south of Tenjin. Kasanoya's umegae mochi has been the souvenir on the road since 1922.

Tip: Nishitetsu from Tenjin. Walk Saifu-dori from the station; Kasanoya is five minutes from the gate.

Saijo (Higashihiroshima) ★ 4.6 · Hiroshima

Saijo packs seven working sake breweries into a few streets of brick chimneys and white plaster walls, the easiest brewery walk anywhere near Hiroshima.

Tip: Kamotsuru runs paid tastings and brewery tours year round, and the whole district fills for the October sake festival.

Osaka (Kuidaore Day) ★ 4.6 · Kyoto

30 minutes from Kyoto on the JR Kyoto Line, Osaka's kuidaore eating-day. Walk Kuromon Market at lunch, Dotonbori for takoyaki and okonomiyaki at sunset.

Kyoto Kaiseki and Nishiki Market ★ 4.6 · Osaka

Kyoto is 15 minutes from Shin-Osaka by Shinkansen; Nishiki Market's 580 metres of tofu stalls and sake vendors leads to Gion for kaiseki lunch booking.

Yokohama Chinatown (Chukagai) ★ 4.6 · Tokyo

Yokohama Chinatown near Tokyo is Japan's largest Chinatown, with 600 shops and restaurants over a 500-metre district. Cantonese, Sichuan, Taiwanese kitchens.

Tip: Direct from Shibuya on the Toyoko Line. Try yaki shoronpo at the Daihanten counter and Peking duck wraps at the corner stalls.

Itoshima (Oysters and beachside cafes) ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

Itoshima sits west of Fukuoka with a coastline of oyster huts in winter and beachside cafes through the summer. Winter oysters from October to March.

Tip: Drive or rent a car for the oyster-hut belt. Train to Chikuzen-Maebaru, then taxi.

Yanagawa (Eel and canal boats) ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

Yanagawa is the canal-boat town an hour south of Fukuoka by Nishitetsu line. Wakamatsuya has served unagi no seiromushi steamed eel rice since the 1860s.

Tip: Combine river boat plus Wakamatsuya lunch. Reserve via Tabelog before midday on weekends.

Karatsu and Yobuko (Squid ikizukuri) ★ 4.5 · Fukuoka

Yobuko in Saga prefecture is the canonical Genkai squid town, 75 minutes from Hakata. Live-tank ikizukuri at Kawataro and the Manbo underwater restaurant.

Tip: Drive from Fukuoka for flexibility; bus from Karatsu Station to Yobuko takes thirty minutes.

Fushimi (Sake District) ★ 4.5 · Kyoto

Kyoto's sake brewing district, 20 minutes south by Keihan. 30 working sake breweries; tasting bars at Gekkeikan and Kizakura, Fushimi-Inari at the north end.

Otaru (Sushi and LeTAO) ★ 4.5 · Sapporo

Hokkaido's port-town day trip 30 minutes from Sapporo. Sankaku Market sushi, LeTAO cheesecake honten and the Otaru Beer brewery all in walking distance.

Tip: Sankaku Market opens 06:00; lunch by 12:00 is busy. JR Hakodate Line, 30-minute ride.

Yoichi (Nikka Whisky Distillery) ★ 4.5 · Sapporo

Nikka Whisky's Hokkaido distillery sits in Yoichi an hour west of Sapporo. Free tour, paid tasting and a small museum on Nikka's founder Masataka Taketsuru.

Tip: Tours run hourly; book online to skip the queue. Closed Mondays.

Kamakura (shojin lunch and Daibutsu) ★ 4.5 · Tokyo

Kamakura is the medieval temple town one hour south of Tokyo, with shojin Buddhist vegetarian lunches at Kencho-ji and the Komachi-dori snack street.

Tip: Reserve shojin lunch at Hachi-no-ki two weeks ahead; otherwise the Komachi-dori shirasu rice bowls and dango stalls are the easier crawl.

Kashii Mentaiko Trail ★ 4.4 · Fukuoka

Higashi-ku east of Hakata holds the two mentaiko factory floors: Fukuya's renovated Aji no Mentaiko Factory and Yamaya's Factory Terrace, both with buffets.

Tip: Combine both factories in a half-day. Take the JR Kagoshima Honsen east from Hakata.

Onomichi ★ 4.4 · Hiroshima

Onomichi is the Hiroshima port town whose soy ramen, finished with pork back fat and sardine stock, is better known nationally than the city's own chuka soba.

Tip: The waterfront oyster hut here runs November to March, while the Kaki Saemon counter in town stays open all year.

Kure ★ 4.4 · Hiroshima

Kure fed the Imperial Navy and still cooks like it: certified shops each serve one warship's curry recipe, with navy nikujaga and springy flat udon.

Tip: The self-defence force eats curry every Friday, but the certified shops serve theirs daily; save room for a rugby-ball melon pan filled with custard cream.

Nada Sake Breweries ★ 4.4 · Osaka

Nada in Kobe holds the highest concentration of sake breweries in Japan, producing over 30 percent of the country's nihonshu. Tours are free.

Hakodate (Morning Market and Squid) ★ 4.4 · Sapporo

Hakodate's Asaichi morning market is the southern Hokkaido counterpart to Nijo. Live squid (ikodon), uni and salmon roe over rice; a long day-trip option.

Tip: Asaichi opens 05:00; the live-squid don is the morning's icon.

Tomonoura (Fukuyama) ★ 4.3 · Hiroshima

Tomonoura is an Edo-period tide-waiting port that runs on sea bream: tai-meshi, tai chazuke and teishoku spreads, chased with herbal homeishu liqueur.

Tip: Buses leave Fukuyama Station every 20 to 30 minutes; from May the sea bream net fishing, practised here since the 1600s, adds boat viewing to the lunch run.

Kibune (River Stream Dining) ★ 4.3 · Kyoto

Kibune is the river-stream dining village an hour north of Kyoto. May to September, restaurants build tatami platforms over the cold mountain stream.

Niseko (Resort Dining and Winter Eating) ★ 4.3 · Sapporo

Niseko's resort village runs Sapporo's strongest winter dining outside the city. Sushi Shin by Miyakawa, the Niseko sister of the three-star Sapporo room.

Tip: Three-hour direct bus from Sapporo Station; resort December through April.

Furano (Lavender and Cheese) ★ 4.3 · Sapporo

Furano's lavender-and-cheese country sits two hours east of Sapporo by train. Furano Cheese Factory runs cheese-making demos and a lavender ice cream stand.

Tip: Lavender peaks late June to mid-July; the cheese factory is year-round.

Nikko yuba and shojin lunch ★ 4.3 · Tokyo

Nikko in Tochigi is the world-heritage temple town two hours north of Tokyo. Nikko yuba tofu skin is the lunch order; shojin lunches near the Rinno-ji.

Tip: Yuba kaiseki at Hippari Dako or shojin lunch at one of the Rinno-ji temple restaurants; book ahead in peak season.

Munakata (Mihara coast and seafood) ★ 4.2 · Fukuoka

Munakata sits on the Genkai coast east of Fukuoka. Mihara fishing port runs morning auctions and a row of seafood restaurants that serve the day's catch.

Tip: Combine with Munakata Taisha shrine. Train to Akama, then bus to the port.

Nokonoshima Island (Beachside cafes) ★ 4.2 · Fukuoka

Nokonoshima is the close-by island ferry trip from Fukuoka Meinohama Pier. A small cluster of beachside cafes, summer barbecue spots and a flower park.

Tip: Bring change for the ferry. Cafes cluster at the south end of the island.

Kobe (Wagyu Day) ★ 4.2 · Kyoto

Kobe is 60 minutes south on the shinkansen from Kyoto. Lunch at a Sannomiya teppanyaki counter for A5 Kobe beef; pair with a Nada-area sake brewery tasting.