Sawara is my go-to when someone wants 'old Japan' without the crowds of Kawagoe or Kyoto. This canal town in Chiba is about 90 minutes out and stays gloriously quiet - a half-day of willow-lined water, Edo merchant houses and a forest shrine. It's also a smart pairing with Narita town or an airport layover.
Take the JR line out from Tokyo toward Narita/Choshi - most routes change at Narita and reach Sawara in around 90 minutes.
Walk the willow-lined canal and the preserved Edo streets - soy-sauce and sake merchants, some trading for centuries.
Visit the home and museum of the surveyor who made the first accurate map of Japan - small but genuinely interesting.
Finish at this major shrine set in old cedar forest - a calm, atmospheric end to the day.
Yes if you want a quiet 'old Japan' canal town without the crowds - Sawara is about 90 minutes from Tokyo (and very close to Narita Airport), with sappa-boat rides on the Onogawa, preserved Edo merchant streets, the Ino Tadataka museum and the nearby Katori Jingu shrine.
Half a day is plenty for the canal, the old streets, the Ino Tadataka museum and Katori Shrine. It pairs well with Narita town or works as an airport-day outing if you're flying via NRT.