Seven days in southern Kanto — six nights — is enough to combine three quite different Japans: the Edo-era merchant streets of Kawagoe, the hiking trails and temple of Mt. Takao an hour from central Tokyo, and the volcanic country of Hakone, where Lake Ashi sits under Mount Fuji and the Hakone Shrine's torii stands in the water. The mild seasons are spring and autumn; that is when Fuji is most likely to be visible from the lake.
Kawagoe and "Little Edo"
Kawagoe was a merchant town supplying Edo, and its Kurazukuri district still shows it: a street of fireproof clay-walled warehouses, now shops and cafés, with the Toki no Kane bell tower at its centre. The nickname Koedo Kawagoe — Little Edo — is earned rather than invented, and the district is small enough to walk properly in a morning.
The wider town adds the Kitain temple with its five-storey pagoda, and Penny Candy Lane, a one-street relic of the old sweet trade. Come midweek: this is a popular day trip from Tokyo.
Tokorozawa Sakura Town
Opened in November 2020, Sakura Town is a purpose-built centre for Japanese pop culture. Its landmark is the Kadokawa Culture Museum, an angular granite building by Kengo Kuma with a bookshelf-lined interior that has to be seen from the inside to make sense. The complex also holds the EJ Anime Hotel — built around the idea of staying inside a story — a shrine, an e-sports facility and restaurants.
Seibuen and the Moomin park
Seibuen Amusement Park reopened in 2021 around a deliberately nostalgic concept: a recreated mid-century shopping street, with food and the kind of amusements that were already sentimental when they were new. It is a different register from the rest of the itinerary and works well for families.
Nearby, the Tove Jansson Akebono Children's Forest Park is a free woodland park built around Moomin architecture — mushroom-shaped houses and a blue tower — inside an actual forest rather than a theme park. Bring children here without a plan and let them find it.
Mt. Takao
Less than an hour from central Tokyo, Mt. Takao is the city's antidote to itself. A cable car and a chairlift take most of the climb out of it, and the trails at the top are graded — from a paved ridge walk to the steeper routes. The Yakuo-in temple, founded in the eighth century, sits on the slope with its gate and lanterns, and the summit has a view over the whole Kanto plain.
Because the mountain can be as easy or as hard as you want, it suits mixed groups: some walk, some ride, everyone eats soba at the top.
Hakone
Hakone is the reason this route is worth seven days rather than five. Lake Ashi is a caldera lake formed when Mount Hakone erupted roughly three thousand years ago, and on a clear day Mount Fuji stands directly behind it — the view the sightseeing boat and the ropeway are both built around.
Southeast of the lake, Owakudani is an active volcanic valley of sulphur vents and steam, reached by ropeway. The local ritual is the kuro-tamago, eggs boiled in the hot springs and turned black by the sulphur, sold with the claim that eating one adds seven years. The valley occasionally closes when gas levels rise, so a private itinerary can reorder the day rather than cancel it.
Hakone Shrine sits in the forest at the lake's edge, and its best-known feature is out in the water: the Peace Torii, erected in 1952, which visitors photograph from the shore. Early morning is the difference between having it to yourself and queuing for it.
Practical notes
Season. Spring and autumn. Both give the mild weather the walking needs, and both are the seasons when the Fuji view from Lake Ashi is most likely to be clear.
Getting around. The whole route is within a few hours of Tokyo, which makes it unusually easy to run privately — a car and driver removes the transfers between Kawagoe, Takao and Hakone that otherwise eat a day.
What seven days buys. Kawagoe, Tokorozawa and Seibuen, a full day on Mt. Takao, and two or three days in Hakone without rushing. Five days covers Hakone and Kawagoe; add Tokyo itself if you want the city in the same trip.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hakone a good day trip from Tokyo?
It can be done as a long day, but Hakone deserves better — the lake, Owakudani and the shrine are spread out, and the area is far more rewarding with an overnight.
Do I need to be fit to visit Mt. Takao?
No. A cable car and a chairlift cover most of the ascent, and the summit trails range from paved and gentle to steep. It works for mixed ages and abilities.
What is the main attraction at Lake Ashi?
The view: Mount Fuji across the water on clear days, the sightseeing boat, and the Peace Torii of Hakone Shrine standing in the lake.
What is there for children in southern Kanto?
Seibuen's retro amusement park, the free Moomin forest park at Akebono, and the Kadokawa Culture Museum at Sakura Town. Mt. Takao also works with children if you take the cable car.
BLISS TRAVEL has arranged private journeys across Asia since 2005 and is licensed by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (licence 352969).
Related
- Tokyo: what to do, eat and see
- Japan in 7 days: the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka route
- Japan with elderly parents: what to plan for
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Sources: Hakone official tourism · Kawagoe tourism · JNTO — Tokyo & around
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