5 Single Day Trips to Take From Tokyo

Tokyo Day Trips

Me at teamLab Borderless

Tokyo is a phenomenal city filled with so many cool and unique things to do. However, if you are looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, Japan is such an amazing country with great things to see just a short day trip away from Tokyo. We spent around 10 days exploring Tokyo and since this was my aunt's first trip, she wanted to experience more than just the city. Here are 5 great day trips you can take:

teamLab Borderless

Address: Japan, 〒135-0064 Tokyo, Koto City, Aomi, 1 Chome−3−8 お台場パレットタウン

Cost: Around $30 USD

Outside Tokyo: About 45 minutes, depending on where you are staying, by train

teamLab Borderless is probably my number 1 recommendation to do on this list and the best part is that it is very close to the city! Depending on where you are staying inside Tokyo, it could take you about 45 minutes by train to get here. This is an immersive modern take on a museum where the art work has no boundaries and is constantly moving the whole time you are there. We decided to get there when it opened at 10 a.m. and found that it was the right call. We spent around four hours inside the two story museum wandering, with very little lines and when we left, they had a 20 minute wait just to enter the place. There were exhibits to check out, interactive technology that included coloring a picture and watching it come to life on the walls around you, climbing, jumping, etc. I was certain to tell the rest of the people I met on my trip to make sure they check the place out while they were there. After you are finished with the museum, there is a plethora of things to do around the area. We rode the giant ferris wheel next to it, checked out the Toyota exhibit, and of course went shopping. They have an entire indoor mall next to the museum that has a cheesy Italian theme.

PLEASE make sure you buy tickets in advance because they could very well be sold out the day you choose to go.

The lantern exhibit was my favorite

My other favorite was this balloon pit with color changing balloons

The main area was very crowded when we left

Sunflowers always remind me of my grandma

The mall we went to

Another picture

Tokyo Disneyland Resort

Address: 1-1 Maihama, Urayasu, Chiba 279-0031, Japan

Cost: Around $80 USD for one park, one day

Outside Tokyo: About 1 hour by train

Of course, if you follow along on my Instagram, KaseyMeetsWorld, you know that I am a HUGE Disney fanatic. I work in Orlando for the company and have made it a life goal to visit every park around the world. I will be writing a separate post to detail all the magical things about Tokyo Disneyland Resort but if you have a day to head over to the resort, do it! We stayed in the area while we visited the parks but it shouldn't take more than an hour from downtown Tokyo to get to Urayasu. There are two parks in the resort, Disneyland and Disney Sea. We spent 5 days at Disney but if you only have one day to do it, I would suggest going to Disney Sea. The park is unlike anything that Disney offers in any of the resorts around the world. It is extremely beautiful and the detail put into the park is just incredible. Here are some pictures...

"It's a Small World" at Disneyland

Mermaid Lagoon, an entire indoor park that is Little Mermaid at Disney Sea

Those colors! (Disney Sea)

The giant lake in the middle of the park (Disney Sea)

Finding Nemo (Disney Sea)

Toy Story Mania ride (Disney Sea)

Sanrio Puroland (AKA Hello Kitty World)

Address: 1 Chome-31 Ochiai, Tama, Tokyo 206-8588, Japan 

DO NOT TYPE IN HELLO KITTY WORLD!! Google Maps will send you to the wrong location. Make sure to type in Sanrio Puroland.

Cost: Around $20 USD

Outside Tokyo: About 1 hour and 15 minutes by train

Sanrio Puroland (or as I like to call it, Hello Kitty World) is a dream come true to lovers of anything Hello Kitty. Admittedly, I am not one of those people BUT if it's a theme park, I am down! This theme park also happens to be entirely indoors, perfect for rainy days! We went on a day that it was open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and felt like we accomplished everything the place had to offer, which includes rides, shows, parades, meet and greets with characters, and so on. On their website it says you can buy tickets for roughly $30 USD (3,300 yen) but when given the option to buy tickets in advance, you can follow the link from their official web page to TripAdvisor like I did. It was almost $12 USD cheaper than on their main site and we had no problem downloading and using the electronic tickets. 

The outside entrance

The tree house inside the main atrium 

Me and Hello Kitty inside the tree house 

One of the rides

The Little Twin Stars had their own walk through play area

Meeting the queen herself

During the parade in the main atrium

Yokohama (Ramen Noodle Museum and Cup Noodle Museum)

Address: 

Ramen Noodle Museum 2 Chome-14-21 Shinyokohama, Kohoku Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 222-0033, Japan

AND 

Cup Noodle Museum: 2 Chome-3-4 Shinko, Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-0001, Japan

Cost: Around $4 USD for the Ramen Noodle Musuem, $5 USD for the Cup Noodle Museum

Outside Tokyo: About 1 hour by train

Yokohama is a city about a 1 hour train ride from Tokyo. My aunt had been told to visit the Ramen Noodle Museum by a friend that had previously visited Japan so we decided to check it out. The Museum is not very big and did not take us long to explore, however you are expected to buy a ramen dish upon entering the museum and so we had lunch there. I believe I paid around $6 USD for my chicken and ramen bowl. After we finished at the ramen museum we took the train about 20 minutes east to the bay where there was the Cup Noodle Museum, an amusement park and more. We walked around the area and checked out an old factory building that was converted into an indoor market. Ultimately we decided not to go in to the Cup Noodle Museum but I do know that you can design your own cup and take it home with you, which I thought was really cool! Yokohama is definitely a relaxed city and a nice way to escape the crowds of Tokyo for a day if you are looking to slow things down.

Inside the museum where the restaurants are located

Everyone enjoying their meals from the different shops

Trying to become one with ramen

My delicious meal

The amusement park

Checking out the bay where locals were fishing

The Cup Noodle Museum

The town is even beautiful at night, decorated for Christmas with the lights

Mt. Fuji

Address: 3353-1 Arakura, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi 403-0011, Japan (Chureito Pagoda)

Cost: $70 USD for the tour

Outside Tokyo: 2 hours by bus

Mount Fuji is probably one of the most recognizable mountains in the world with its symmetrical peak shape and snow capped tip. It is a beautiful place to see in person and though I normally enjoy planning trips and doing things on my own, we decided to take a bus tour with Get Your Guide. This was one part of our trip I was stressed about because the more I looked into it, the more I was worried about how many times we would have to switch trains, finding the local bus schedule once we got there and just in general figuring out what to do since we definitely were not hiking! We chose the Mt Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Scenic 1-Day Bus Tour that had round trip pick up and drop off service from the Shinjuku Train Station. The guide spoke English and the bus stopped at several different locations including the incredible Chureito Pagoda, lunch at a local restaurant (not included in our tour option), Lake Kawaguchi and a local historic village that was turned into a museum.

Chureito Pagoda

One of my favorite pictures of my whole trip

The foliage was still turning when we were there

The village we got to visit. No one lives there currently

Japan is an incredible country and I can't wait to return again someday. Make sure to follow along on my page for more pictures! Facebook & Instagram