Join us on an unforgettable journey through Japan! In this third video from our time in Japan, we explore beyond the Tokyo/Yokohama area with day trips to the iconic Mount Fuji and the historic city of Kamakura. Renting a car in Japan adds a layer of adventure, making our journey both convenient and memorable.
Sunday – A Day at Mount Fuji
On Sunday, we set off on a road trip to see Mount Fuji. From the picturesque Chureito Pagoda to scenic boat tours on Lake Kawaguchi, and the shores of Lake Yamanakako, we enjoyed breathtaking views on a perfect day.
Monday – Discovering Kamakura
Monday brings a peaceful day trip to Kamakura, home to Zen gardens, the Giant Buddha at Kotoku-In, and charming streets lined with cherry trees. We tasted local delights, explored historical sites, and immersed ourselves in this beautiful city.
Mount Fuji and Kamakura offer perfect day trips from Tokyo. With stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage, these destinations promise unforgettable memories. Stay tuned for our next adventure as we head to Niseko for a skiing adventure!
[Music] in this video the third from our time in Japan we take some day trips from the Tokyo Yokohama area to Mount Fuji and Kamakura we stayed with family in the coastal town of Yokosuka after a morning on the [Music] shinkansen we spent the afternoon catching up touring the harbor playing claw machines and eating on Sunday morning after breakfast we loaded up our rental minivan and headed west on the Highway and through the mountains towards Mount Fuji I was worried about renting a car in Japan and while it was difficult to get used to everything being reversed I think I turned on the windshield wiper just about every time I tried to hit the turn signal but it was an easy way to get around while you can get just about anywhere in Japan on a train it requires far less planning and far less walking to have a rental car with a clear day and the cherry blossoms threatening to bloom at any moment our first stop in Fuji was at the cherito pagota after a long but beautiful walk up the hill to the [Music] pakota we were rewarded with some beautiful quintessential views of Mount Fuji while the cherry blossoms weren’t out quite yet we had a beautiful Clear Blue Sky day to see the mountain after descending the trail we drove a few minutes up the road to Lake kawaguchi there we caught a scenic boat tour with Incredible views of the mountain [Music] after the cruise we drove over to Lake yamanako one of the other of the Fuji 5 Lakes we enjoyed the views and got a few more pictures from the shore in Lake yam Nako before turning the minivan East and accidentally following the winding road of the Olympic cycling race back towards Tokyo we finished the day with a mountain of sushi and called it a night on Monday we took the advice of the Moon guide book which rated Kamakura as the best day trip from Tokyo we started out early and headed straight for the hokokuji temple to see the Zen Gardens and do a green tea tasting we got there just after the temple opened and nearly had the place to ourselves it was everything we expected Japan to be we loved it the gardens were peaceful and the tea was [Music] delicious after spending the morning at hokoku uji we drove across town to koku in to see the Giant Buddha while the history of the statue and the work done to preserve it was fascinating our favorite part was getting to climb up inside the giant [Music] statue by that point we were getting hungry so we headed back to the Dan kazora a beautiful Main Street with a cherry tree lined pedest walk right down the middle of the main street we had a few snacks at the Hello Kitty [Music] store and snapped pictures on the beautiful Street outside the hachimangu grounds then we had a wonderful lunch of noodles before shopping our way back to the car Mount Fuji is one of those places that you have to see to believe it’s so iconic that it doesn’t seem real even as you stand there looking at it the mountain is just so massive that you can’t take your eyes off it I think as I look back on this whole trip to Japan the views of Mount Fuji will be one of the first things that come to mind the temples in Kamakura were very peaceful and we were able to beat the crowds so that helped a lot these two destinations both make great day trips from Tokyo we got lucky with the way the weather worked out but since reservations aren’t really needed for either I’d plan a day in each area and go to Fuji on the sun of your day from kakura we dropped off our rental car cuz we’re hopping a flight next to go skiing in Theo but that’s a story for our next video