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[quote=Anonymous]The heat isn’t so bad — about the same as DC — but the humidity is brutal and the mosquitoes are everywhere.  A couple thoughts for you:

Take one overnight to stay at a ryokan or minshuku in the Izu peninsula.  It’s pretty near Tokyo but out of the city and the  coastline is STUNNING.  Or take a ferry to one of the Izu Islands but you’ll find less English there so it might be a little challenging if you don’t speak the language.  Staying at a traditional inn should be part of every trip to Japan in my opinion.  This site let’s you do the booking ahead of time and sorts the language barrier: https://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/

For temple/shrines, the three biggest ones in and around Tokyo I would suggest are:
Asakusa: functional temple (Buddhist) in a district of Tokyo that was only minimally firebombed during the war so has a lot of older architecture leans into the “traditional” image.  Has a wonderful street market and shopping near by as well as excellent tempura restaurants.  Really fun area to shop and wander in, very tourist friendly.
Meiji Jingu: functional shrine (Shinto) in Western Tokyo.  Feels much newer/fresher, and is mostly forest, but the main shrine is nice to see and there are few interesting museums on the grounds as well as an archery (kyudo) range etc.  A good place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city of you need a breather.
Nikko: small city a day trip outside of Tokyo with several temples and shrines but most famous for the shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu.  The region is famous for it’s wood carving and the Toshogu carvings are spectacular.  Unlike the other two I mentioned, this one has much more of a “historic site” feel with lots of information panels and historical info.

If you want to do some light hiking/nature walks in Tokyo, Takao-San is easily accessible from the train system (Takaosanguchi Station).  It’s about a small mountain (takes maybe 1-2 hours to go up depending on which trail you take) but if you’re lucky there’s a great view of Mt Fuji from the summit.

Tokyo Disney is fun!  Maybe try Tokyo DisneySea because main Tokyo Disney is modeled on the Magic Kingdom park in FL but DisneySea is unique?  I admit I’m not much of a theme park person but this is what my friends tell me.  Also if you like roller coasters, Fuji Q Highlands is really fun and not too busy during the week.[/quote]

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