As many of you know, even if you have never been there, the United States is divided into fifty states. Well, Japan is divided into administrative jurisdictions called “prefectures” and there are forty-seven of them, Tokyo being the biggest by far, not in terms of area but in population.

Furthermore, Tokyo is surrounded by four prefectures: Saitama to the north, Kanagawa to the south, Chiba to the east, and Yamanashi to the west. Together they comprise a massive economic zone called the “Greater Tokyo” with a total population of about 38 million people. That is about 10 million people more than the entire population of Australia and about 4 million people shy of the entire population of Canada.

Indeed, out of the national population of 123 million people roughly 30% of Japanese live and work in “Greater Tokyo”.

Moreover, many of the residents of the “Greater Tokyo” own cars and commute in cars and conduct businesses in vans, trucks and buses. The total number of registered motor vehicles in the five prefectures amount to 15 million vehicles which is about 7 million vehicles more than the number of registered motor vehicles in Los Angeles County.

Now that you have been provided with the data and the possible traffic-related odds stacked against you I have a question for you.

First, without traffic, it takes about two hours one way from your hotel in Tokyo to Mt. Fuji.

Second, without traffic, it takes about three hours one way from your hotel in Tokyo to Nikko.

Now, do you think it is a smart move to have a leisurely breakfast on the day of your tour and depart the hotel at 08:00am or even later as some prefer at 09:00am?

From my experience I strongly recommend departing the hotels in Tokyo at the latest by 07:00am if not earlier, especially on Saturdays and Sundays (also make sure to Google Japanese holidays before making a reservation).

In the past, some of my customers have pleaded for a late departure saying “I have small children” or “my elderly parents are with me” but those are the exact reasons why you do not want to be caught in a mind-boggling, absolutely brutal Japanese traffic jam.

The time it takes to get to the sites from your hotel and back is included in the tour time and the precious time is better spent at the sites rather than in the car.

If breakfast is an important meal for you please be creative. Have your hotel prepare a bagged breakfast, buy sandwiches from a convenience store the night before (you may eat and drink in the car), or skip it entirely so that lunch will taste better.

The utmost importance on the the morning of your tour is leaving early. It cannot be emphasized enough and please watch out for any tour service providers who remain silent on this matter and accept willy-nilly your departure time request. The time of your departure is the most pivotal factor in making or breaking your driving tour. Only next comes the quality and the expertise of the guide.

Despite my repeated emphasis on departing early, your departure time is negotiable, nevertheless. You as a customer get to have the final say. However if you decide to depart your hotel later than 07:00am please understand that you have been forewarned and are fully aware of and accept the consequences of doing so in terms of traffic ensnarement and congestion at the sites.