The Best 3 Day Trip from Tokyo: Kyoto and Nara

What a Single Day Actually Buys You

The one-day option is real. The Kyoto 1-day English-guided tour by bullet train runs 12 hours and costs $443.95. The price covers the round-trip bullet train fare between Tokyo and Kyoto, lunch and the afternoon sightseeing tour, but temple entry fees are not stated in the listing and there is no hotel pickup. Note the rating too, 4.1 from 387 reviews, the lowest among the tours on this site. A one-day visit has to fit the train rides each way and an afternoon sightseeing tour into 12 hours.

Three days changes the shape of the trip. You get a full day for the eastern temple belt, a full day for the north and west, and a third day for Nara. You also ride at civilised hours instead of racing the first train out.

What the Third Day Adds

Nara is the reason the third day earns its keep. The JR Miyakoji Rapid covers Kyoto to Nara in 45 minutes for 720 yen and runs every 30 minutes, so the transfer is short. There you get Todaiji and its 15-metre Great Buddha, a park that is free to enter, and Kofukuji's grounds are free too. Kyoto alone cannot supply that.

The third day also protects the first two. A rail delay, a closed palace room or a rainy morning stops being a disaster when the plan holds three full days. If you are weighing a shorter version, compare this route with two-day trips from Tokyo, and for trips that fit inside one long day entirely, see free day trips from Tokyo by train.

The Full Cost Table

The table lists one-way Shinkansen fares, the passes that interact with them, and each entry fee from the itinerary. Sums and totals are left to you, because fares change and combinations differ per traveller.

The JR Pass and the Nozomi Rule

The rule that catches visitors is simple. The 7-day ordinary Japan Rail Pass costs 50,000 yen bought online, but on the Tokaido Nozomi and Mizuho the pass holder needs a special ticket issued only to Japan Rail Pass holders, the Nozomi Mizuho Ticket, which costs 4,960 yen from Tokyo to Kyoto or Shin-Osaka. On this three-day route the pass only matters if you also ride JR trains elsewhere, because it covers the JR Miyakoji Rapid to Nara at no extra charge. On Kintetsu trains it is not valid at all.

If your whole trip is just Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and back, compare the pass against two plain Nozomi return tickets before buying anything. Booking the reserved seat through Smart EX at 13,970 yen already shaves 200 yen off each direction against the counter price.

Day One, Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko

Fujikyu's highway bus from Busta Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko Station takes about 1 hour 45 minutes and fares start at 2,200 yen, or 2,000 yen when booked online. Reservations open one month before travel and close 10 minutes before the first departure. By train, the Shinjuku-Otsuki limited express takes 70 minutes at 2,430 yen and the Fujikyu Railway on to Kawaguchiko takes 55 minutes at 1,170 yen, while the direct limited express between Shinjuku and Kawaguchiko takes about two hours, runs a few times a day and requires a seat reservation.

The JR Tokyo Wide Pass, 16,000 yen for three consecutive days and sold only to non-Japanese passport holders, covers the whole Tokyo-Kawaguchiko journey.

Day One Afternoon, the Lake Sights

Kawaguchiko's red loop bus line runs every 15 minutes and the green Saiko line every 30 minutes, and the Saiko Motosuko pass costs 1,500 yen for one day or 2,000 yen for two. The Mt Fuji Panoramic Ropeway costs 1,000 yen round trip or 600 yen one way and departs every 5 to 10 minutes, running 8:30 to 17:00, until 18:00 from 20 July to 31 August. A bus from Kawaguchiko Station to the ropeway station takes 15 minutes. Chureito Pagoda is free, sits nearly 400 steps up from Arakura Sengen Shrine and is reached via Shimo-Yoshida Station, 10 minutes and 310 yen from Kawaguchiko, then a fifteen minute walk. Plan 30 to 45 minutes there.

For the evening, Fujiyama Onsen next to Fuji-Q Highland opens 6:30 to 9:00 and 10:00 to 23:00 and costs 800 yen in the morning, up to 2,000 yen on weekends, and Hotel Mifujien opens its baths to day visitors 13:00 to 21:00 for 1,200 yen. Overnight rates vary by property.

Day Two, Over to Hakone

The simple route from Kawaguchiko to Hakone runs back through Shinjuku. From Shinjuku, the Odakyu Romancecar takes about 80 minutes to Hakone-Yumoto with all seats reserved, for a surcharge of 1,200 yen for adults on top of a regular fare ticket. Buy the Hakone Freepass at the same time: 7,100 yen for adults for 2 days or 7,500 yen for 3 days, and a 2-day Freepass plus the Romancecar totals 8,300 yen. The Freepass covers the Tozan train, Tozan cable car, Hakone Ropeway, the Sightseeing Cruise on Lake Ashi and designated buses, and the Shinjuku version includes the Shinjuku-Odawara round trip.

The Tozan train from Hakone-Yumoto to Gora takes 35 minutes through three switchbacks. The ropeway runs on to Togendai and the cruise crosses Lake Ashi in about 25 to 35 minutes between ports, though both stop in bad weather. In the evening, Tenzan day-use onsen costs 1,450 yen and opens 9:00 to 23:00, Hakone Yuryo is another day-use option, and Kappa Tengoku is the cheapest at 900 yen, five minutes on foot from the station.

Day Three, the Lake and the Ride Back

Spend the morning at Hakone-machi or Moto-Hakone. Hakone Shrine is a 5 to 10 minute walk from Moto-Hakone pier, and the Hakone Checkpoint charges 500 yen, or 400 yen with the Freepass, opening 9:00 to 17:00. The Open-Air Museum, showing about 120 sculptures in a garden of roughly 70,000 square metres, costs 2,000 yen for adults or 1,900 yen with the Freepass and opens 9:00 to 17:00.

Then ride the Romancecar back to Shinjuku, about 80 minutes, adding the 1,200 yen surcharge again. Mt Fuji views from Hakone have lower odds than at the Five Lakes, so treat any clear sighting as a bonus rather than a plan.

What the Tours Cover and What They Skip

For Kyoto, the Kyoto 1-day English-guided tour by bullet train costs $443.95, runs 12 hours and includes the round-trip bullet train, lunch and an English-licensed guide, but not temple entry fees and no hotel pickup. For mountains, the Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour with the bullet train back costs $159.54 over 11 hours and includes the Hakone Ropeway fee, the Lake Ashi cruise fee and the bullet train ticket back to Tokyo Station, with lunch only as a paid option. For temples closer to Tokyo, the Nikko Toshogu Shrine and Kegon Waterfall day tour costs $110 over 10.5 hours and includes the Toshogu entry ticket but not lunch.

Be honest about the shape of these days. The three run 10.5 to 12 hours, and the Nikko coach ride alone is about 2.5 hours out and 3 hours back. They work well as a taste test. They do not replace what a 3 day trip from Tokyo gives you in Kyoto and Nara. For the full tour spread, browse the site's day tours from Tokyo and compare the rest of the day trips from Tokyo.