Biteway Japan is reader-supported. Some of our guides contain affiliate links — if you book through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Nothing here is paid placement. How we research
Hatsuhinode (初日の出) — the first sunrise of the year — is treated as a genuinely significant moment in Japan, tied to the belief that Toshigami, a New Year’s deity, arrives on the first rays of light on January 1st. It’s common enough that entire towns build their tourism calendar around it: mountain cable cars run all night, city towers open hours before their normal schedule, and coastal towns compete for the title of “first place in Japan to see the sun.”
We picked five real, currently-operating spots where you can watch that first light come up, from a lighthouse that gets the earliest sunrise on the Japanese mainland to a Tokyo tower observation deck that opens at 5:30 AM specifically for this.
🌅 Japan’s Hatsuhinode Guide: Travel Rules & Local Tips
Sunrise on January 1st lands around 6:45–7:10 AM depending on region, and every spot on this list gets crowded well before that — often starting from midnight. If you want a decent view without a multi-hour wait, plan to arrive at least an hour before sunrise, and two or three hours before if you’re heading somewhere with limited capacity like a ticketed observation deck or a mountain cable car. Weather is the other variable that can sink the whole plan: a clear, cold morning gives the best view, and cloud cover on the eastern horizon can hide the sunrise entirely even on an otherwise fine day, so check the forecast the night before and have a backup plan.
Dress like you’re going to be standing still outside in the cold for a long stretch — this is consistently the coldest part of the year, and pre-dawn wait times make it worse. Hand and foot warmers (kairo) are sold everywhere this time of year for exactly this reason. If a specific spot requires a ticket, buy it in advance: several of the observation decks on this list sell out their special early-opening tickets by mid-December.
5 Places to Watch Japan’s First Sunrise
Inubosaki (犬吠埼), Choshi, Chiba
Excluding mountaintops and outlying islands, Inubosaki — the easternmost point on the Kanto mainland — sees the earliest sunrise anywhere in Japan for about ten days centered on New Year’s, a quirk of the Earth’s axial tilt rather than pure geography. The white 1874 lighthouse standing over the cliffs, with the Pacific stretching out unobstructed in front of it, makes this one of the most photographed hatsuhinode spots in the country. Choshi is also Japan’s top fishing port by catch volume, so the sunrise pairs naturally with some of the freshest seafood in the country.
Honest note: this gets genuinely gridlocked — traffic congestion and full parking lots build from midnight onward, and some access roads see temporary restrictions on the morning itself, so arrive well before 1 AM if you’re driving.
📍 Address: Inubosaki, Choshi, Chiba (千葉県銚子市犬吠埼)
⏰ Hours: Sunrise around 6:46 AM on January 1st; the area is open around the clock, and crowds build from midnight
💰 Budget: Free to view from the coastline; climbing the lighthouse itself typically costs a few hundred yen
🍘 Pair it with: nure-senbei (濡れせんべい)
Choshi’s signature local snack — a soy-sauce rice cracker that’s still soft and “wet” instead of crisp, invented here and sold nowhere else quite the same way. Small shops around the fishing port sell them fresh, and it’s a genuinely good way to warm your hands on a cold morning while you wait for the crowd to thin out.
Arakurayama Sengen Park (新倉山浅間公園), Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi
The view here — Mount Fuji framed behind a five-story pagoda called Chureito — is one of the most reproduced images of Japan anywhere, showing up in textbooks and tourism campaigns worldwide, and it’s just as striking with the sun coming up behind the mountain on New Year’s morning. Getting there means climbing 398 stone steps from the base (roughly 15–20 minutes), so this is a genuine small hike rather than a stroll, but reaching the observation deck as dawn breaks over one of Japan’s most iconic views is worth the climb.
Honest note: the deck gets seriously crowded by mid-morning even on an ordinary day, and hatsuhinode morning is worse — go early, and be ready to share the railing.
📍 Address: Asama 2-4-1, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi (山梨県富士吉田市浅間2-4-1)
⏰ Hours: Grounds open 24 hours; sunrise around 6:50 AM on January 1st
💰 Budget: Free; parking is free but limited
🍜 Pair it with: Yoshida no Udon (吉田のうどん)
Fujiyoshida’s own udon style — thick, chewy, almost aggressively firm noodles in a miso-and-soy broth, topped with cabbage and horse meat in the traditional version. It’s a genuine local specialty with dozens of small family-run shops around town, and a proper bowl after the climb down from the park is exactly the reward the morning calls for.
Mount Takao (高尾山), Tokyo
At just 599 meters and less than an hour from central Tokyo, Takao is the accessible hatsuhinode hike — the cable car runs all night from December 31st into January 1st specifically to move the crowd up the mountain, and the summit itself is closed overnight, with the real destination being Yakuoin Temple partway up, where monks hold a dawn ceremony called Geikosai as the sun comes up. It’s a genuinely different atmosphere from a city observation deck: cold mountain air, incense, and a real sense of ritual rather than just sightseeing.
Honest note: waits for the cable car during peak sunrise hours can run past two hours even with all-night service — arrive at the base by 3 AM if you want to guarantee getting up in time, or be prepared to hike the roughly 70-minute trail on foot instead.
📍 Address: Mount Takao, Hachioji, Tokyo (東京都八王子市高尾町)
⏰ Hours: Cable car runs all night Dec 31–Jan 1; the lift starts at 5:00 AM Jan 1st; Geikosai ceremony held at Yakuoin around sunrise (roughly 6:30 AM)
💰 Budget: Free to hike; cable car/lift tickets run a few hundred to around ¥1,000 each way
🥮 Pair it with: tengu-yaki (天狗焼き)
A red-bean-filled pastry shaped like the beak of a tengu (a long-nosed mountain spirit associated with Takao), sold at a small stand near the cable car’s base station and famous enough to draw its own line separate from the mountain itself. Grab one on your way up or down — it’s baked fresh in a special mold and best eaten hot.
Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー)
The world’s tallest freestanding tower runs a genuinely special early opening every New Year’s — normal hours don’t start until 8 AM on January 1st, but a limited-capacity ticketed session called “Soramairi” opens both observation decks specifically for the sunrise, letting a few hundred people watch it break over the Tokyo skyline from 350 or 450 meters up, entirely indoors and out of the wind and cold. It’s the pick for anyone who wants the spectacle without actually enduring the weather most of this list demands.
Honest note: tickets are genuinely limited (around 800 people total) and go on sale online December 1st — they’ve sold out well before New Year’s in past years, so this needs to be booked early, not decided on the day.
📍 Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区押上1-1-2)
⏰ Hours: Special New Year’s entry roughly 5:30 AM–7:30 AM on January 1st (check the tower’s official site for exact times and ticket sales dates each year)
💰 Budget: Special sunrise tickets have historically run around ¥9,000 (includes both decks plus a shop voucher); check current pricing before you go
🍡 Pair it with: Tokyo Solamachi’s food hall
The shopping and dining complex at the tower’s base has enough of a food hall to put together a proper breakfast once you’re back down — a good, easy way to warm up and refuel after an early-morning tower visit before heading into the rest of your New Year’s Day.
Rokko Garden Terrace (六甲ガーデンテラス), Kobe, Hyogo
Kansai’s answer to Tokyo’s towers: a cluster of observation terraces at about 890 meters on top of Mount Rokko, looking out over the Akashi Strait, the Osaka plain, and — on a genuinely clear morning — as far as the Kansai region’s edges. It’s the same spot famous for the “ten-million-dollar night view,” and sunrise from here has its own quieter drama, especially from “Rokko Shidare,” the terrace’s highest deck. The site runs special overnight hours through New Year’s specifically for this.
Honest note: this is genuinely exposed, high-altitude terrain in the middle of winter, colder than it looks from the forecast for Kobe city below — dress for mountain-top cold, not coastal Kobe cold.
📍 Address: Rokkosancho, Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo (兵庫県神戸市灘区六甲山町)
⏰ Hours: Special overnight hours Dec 31–Jan 1 (confirm exact times on the official site each year); sunrise around 7:05 AM in the Kansai region
💰 Budget: Free to enter the terrace grounds; the Rokko cable car (getting up the mountain) is a separate paid ticket
🍖 Pair it with: Rokko-style Jingisukan (ジンギスカン)
The terrace’s own restaurants serve grilled lamb Jingisukan-style, a genuine only-up-here specialty and a good way to warm back up once the sun’s actually risen. Some counters also offer hot pork miso soup and steamed buns during the New Year’s period specifically for early-morning visitors.
Where to Stay the Night Before
Most hatsuhinode spots demand a pre-dawn arrival, so staying nearby the night before beats a long drive or a very early train. Two real, currently-operating options near most spots above — one a splurge, one easier on the wallet. All checked and booked through Booking.com below.
Near Inubosaki (Choshi)
Zekkei no Yado Inubosaki Hotel (絶景の宿 犬吠埼ホテル)
An 8-minute walk from the lighthouse itself, sitting on the headland with every room facing the Pacific — genuinely the closest you can sleep to the exact spot without camping. It draws on Inubosaki’s own hot spring source, with both indoor and outdoor baths looking out at the water, and the restaurant leans hard into Choshi’s famous fresh-caught seafood.
Honest note: given the location, this books out early for New Year’s — reserve well ahead if the closest-possible view matters to you.
📍 Address: 9574-1 Inubosaki, Choshi, Chiba (千葉県銚子市犬吠埼9574-1)
⏰ Check-in: 4:00 PM, checkout 10:00 AM
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥18,000–¥35,000 per night for two, half-board (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
Hotel Route Inn Choshi Eki Nishi
A 4-minute walk from Choshi Station, which is handy if you’re relying on the local Choshi Electric Railway to reach Inubosaki rather than driving straight to the headland. Straightforward chain-hotel comfort, with a natural hot spring bath open until 2 AM — useful if you’re heading out again before dawn — and a breakfast buffet guests consistently call out for its seafood dishes.
Honest note: it’s not walking distance to the lighthouse itself (that’s a short train or drive away), so factor in the extra leg of the trip on the morning itself.
📍 Address: Near Choshi Station, Choshi, Chiba (千葉県銚子市)
⏰ Check-in: Standard hotel check-in; natural hot spring bath open until 2:00 AM
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥8,000–¥16,000 per night for two (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
Near Arakurayama Sengen Park
Fuji View Hotel (富士ビューホテル)
Open since 1936, with a genuine Mount Fuji view from its top-floor panorama lounge and a 3-hectare garden that runs down toward Lake Kawaguchiko — a real splurge pick with a lot of history behind it. It’s about a 10-minute taxi from Kawaguchiko Station and roughly 20 minutes from Arakurayama Sengen Park by car, positioning you well for the sunrise climb the next morning.
Honest note: it’s not walking distance to the park, so you’ll want a car or an early taxi to make it to Arakurayama in time for the climb before sunrise.
📍 Address: 511 Katsuyama, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi (山梨県南都留郡富士河口湖町勝山511)
⏰ Check-in: 3:00 PM, checkout 11:00 AM
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥25,000–¥55,000 per night for two (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
Hotel Mystays Fuji Onsen Resort
About a 5-minute walk from Fuji-Q Highland Station and roughly 2.3 km from Arakurayama Sengen Park, with a natural hot spring bath on the top floor that looks straight out at Mount Fuji — a genuinely good way to warm up before or after the pre-dawn climb. Rooms on the mountain-facing side put Fuji directly in your window.
Honest note: parking is limited on site, so if you’re driving in during the New Year’s rush, arrive early or be ready to use nearby paid parking.
📍 Address: 2654 Shinkura, Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi (山梨県富士吉田市新倉2654)
⏰ Check-in: Standard hotel check-in, 24-hour front desk
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥14,000–¥28,000 per night for two (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
Near Tokyo Skytree
Keisei Richmond Hotel Tokyo Oshiage (京成リッチモンドホテル東京押上)
A 1-minute walk from Oshiage Station, directly across from Tokyo Skytree itself — about as close as you can sleep to the tower’s base. Good buffet breakfast, and direct train access to Narita and Haneda airports with no transfers, useful if your New Year’s trip continues elsewhere.
Honest note: it’s a genuinely popular, well-located hotel, so New Year’s dates fill up and prices climb early — book as soon as your dates are set.
📍 Address: Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区押上)
⏰ Check-in: 2:00 PM–5:00 AM (late check-in available)
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥18,000–¥35,000 per night for two (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
HOTEL Grand Star Tokyo
A whole private apartment about a 15-minute walk from the Skytree area in Higashi-Mukojima, useful if you’re a family or small group and want your own kitchen and space rather than splitting across hotel rooms before an early start.
Honest note: this is a self-check-in vacation rental with no front desk — confirm your check-in window with the host in advance, especially if you’re arriving late the night before an early sunrise wake-up.
📍 Address: Higashi-Mukojima 6-chome, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (東京都墨田区東向島6丁目)
⏰ Check-in: Self check-in, confirm exact window with host after booking
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥28,000–¥50,000 per night for the whole apartment (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
Near Rokko Garden Terrace (Kobe)
remm plus Kobe Sannomiya
Sitting directly above Sannomiya Station, which makes this the practical base for reaching the Rokko cable car — the mountain itself has essentially no lodging near the summit, so central Kobe is where most visitors actually stay. A genuinely well-reviewed, sleep-focused hotel with a buffet breakfast and city views from the higher floors.
Honest note: you’re still looking at a cable car ride up the mountain from here, so build real transit time into your pre-dawn schedule rather than treating this as walking distance to the sunrise spot.
📍 Address: Sannomiya, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo (兵庫県神戸市中央区三宮)
⏰ Check-in: Standard hotel check-in, 24-hour front desk
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥14,000–¥28,000 per night for two (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
Arima Hot Spring Ryokan Hanamusubi
The splurge, atmosphere-first pick: a proper ryokan in Arima Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest hot spring towns, on the far side of Mount Rokko from Kobe city. Private in-room onsen options, a genuinely well-reviewed kaiseki dinner, and a soak in Arima’s famous “golden” iron-rich water before an early start up the mountain the next morning.
Honest note: it’s up a genuinely steep hill from the local bus stop — call ahead for the shuttle rather than trying to walk it with luggage, especially in the cold and dark of a pre-dawn departure.
📍 Address: Arima Onsen, Kita-ku, Kobe, Hyogo (兵庫県神戸市北区有馬温泉)
⏰ Check-in: Standard ryokan check-in; free shuttle from Arima bus stop, call ahead
💰 Budget: Roughly ¥35,000–¥65,000 per night for two, half-board (New Year’s rates run higher than average)
A note on Mount Takao: since it’s less than an hour from central Tokyo and the mountain itself has no summit lodging (the top is closed overnight anyway), this works best as a there-and-back trip from wherever you’re already staying in Tokyo — the two Skytree-area picks above work just as well as a base for Takao.
Practical Travel Tips
Book tickets and hotels the moment your dates are set. Special New Year’s observation-deck tickets (Tokyo Skytree especially) go on sale December 1st and have sold out within weeks in past years. Hotel rooms near any of these five spots fill up fast and climb in price the closer you get to the date.
Pick one spot, not a tour of five. These are spread across four different regions, and the whole point of hatsuhinode is being in position well before a single specific sunrise time — that only works if you’ve committed to one location rather than trying to chase several.
Have a plan B for weather. A clear morning makes all the difference, and cloud cover on the eastern horizon can hide the sunrise even when the rest of the sky looks fine. Check the forecast the night before, and know what you’ll do instead if the specific spot you picked clouds over.
Trains and cable cars often run special overnight schedules. Several of the transit links on this list (Mount Takao’s cable car, Kyoto’s Keihan line elsewhere in the region) add all-night or extended service specifically for New Year’s — don’t assume normal timetables apply, and check each operator’s holiday schedule directly.
Before you go: three things worth sorting before you fly
None of this is glamorous. All of it is cheaper, or simply less stressful, arranged from home than worked out standing in a Japanese station with a queue behind you.
Tours, tickets and day passes across Japan
Timed-entry tickets and guided day trips. Over New Year, the good slots and hotel rooms go weeks, sometimes months, ahead.
Rail passes and shinkansen tickets
A JR Pass only pays for itself over long distances. Price your actual route first — New Year’s trains also run holiday timetables, so double-check schedules regardless of which pass you use.
A Japan eSIM
Free Wi-Fi is patchy at mountaintop terraces and coastal lookout points. Install it before you fly; it activates when you land.
These are affiliate links. If you book through one we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
Researched and reviewed by the Biteway Japan editorial team. How we research →