Silver week short trip from Tokyo?

[cloneofsnake]

Haven't visited JPod for quite a while, (sorry!) I just moved to Tokyo last month, haven't done much traveling yet but since Silver Week is coming up, I thought it would be nice to go somewhere, may be for a couple nights or something.

Any suggestions?

[Yamanchu]

One of the nicest places I've been to was a minshuku on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi (Kawaguchiko). It was on the opposite side of the lake to the town, so very quiet. In the mornings I would get up and go for a walk along the quiet country road, with views across the lake to the town and behind the town is Fuji san.

A beautiful place anytime of the year, absolutely amazing if you're there in autumn with the kouyou (autumn leaves).

[Jessi]

Yamanchu,

That sounds really nice! How was it staying at a minshuku? I've only heard a little bit about them but don't know exactly how it works. Is it like temporarily staying at a shared house?

cloneofsnake,

Some places I can think of that aren't too far from Tokyo are Nikko, Hakone, Karuizawa... recently I've been seeing some commercials for Gunma and it looks beautiful too I recommend checking out this site:
http://www.japan-guide.com/

You'll find more ideas here, and it will tell you how to get anywhere. They have an active forum with people asking/answering a lot of Japan travel questions.

[Yamanchu]

Hi Jessi, yes, it was a great place to stay and I hope to go back. One goal of mine is to climb Fuji san.

I've also heard that some minshuku are almost like staying in a family home, although this place was more like a very friendly family owned small motel. Very friendly people and great food on the shore of Kawaguchiko with Fuji san just a 10 minute drive away.

I was there in autumn and the side of the mountain nearby was covered in maple leaves (kouyou).