First time in Japan - looking for a nature + onsen escape near Tokyo/Kyoto in late October / early November

Hey everyone!

It’ll be our first time visiting Japan, and my girlfriend and I will be there for almost a month (Oct 19 – Nov 17), flying in and out of Tokyo.

One thing I really want to do is spend a couple of days somewhere surrounded by nature, ideally during the autumn foliage season. I’m imagining something like:

• mountains / forests / hiking trails
• beautiful autumn colors
• staying at a ryokan or small hotel
• a proper outdoor onsen, ideally surrounded by nature
• good local food
• just slowing down for 2–3 days instead of constantly moving between cities

I initially thought about doing a 2-day hike where we would actually walk from one place to another and finish at an onsen, but I’m also totally happy with a less hardcore option: staying in one onsen town for a few nights and doing day hikes in the surrounding area, then coming back to the onsen every evening.

We don’t have a car, but we’re completely fine with trains and buses, including somewhat inconvenient connections. We actually like getting away from the major tourist spots, as long as it’s reasonably accessible without a car.

We’ll already be visiting Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc., so I’m looking for somewhere that works well as a side trip from one of the major cities rather than somewhere that requires half a day of travel each way.

We’ll be there in late October and early November, so autumn colors are a big priority. We also love great food, craftsmanship, and places where you can really feel that people take pride in what they do.

So I’d love to hear your recommendations!

If you were planning this kind of trip, would you choose:

1. a 1–2 night point-to-point hike ending at an onsen, or
2. staying 2–3 nights in an onsen town or ryokan and doing day hikes from there?

We’re reasonably fit and enjoy hiking, but we’re not experienced mountaineers and aren’t looking for anything technical.

Any recommendations for towns, trails, ryokans, or regions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!