Japan: a guide for planning your own trip
Japan stretches from north to south across several climate zones: on the same day it can be snowing in Sapporo and hot in Okinawa. Trying to see the whole country in one trip ends up as a vacation spent on trains. A first trip almost always runs along the main island of Honshu: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. This page lays the country out for independent planning: what to see, which cities and regions to choose, where to stay, how to get around, when to go and what the budget is made of. Each section is short and leads on to our detailed articles. There are no prices here: the yen exchange rate shifts noticeably, and fares for passes and accommodation are revised, so a fixed figure would quickly become misleading.
What to see: the country's main sights
The most recognizable spot in the country is Mount Fuji. You do not have to climb to the summit: the viewpoints are clustered around the five lakes north of the volcano, and there is a ropeway at Lake Kawaguchiko. The climb itself is only possible during the short summer season, and the Yoshida Trail has a daily cap and a mandatory fee.
The second layer is temples and castles. Kyoto has Fushimi Inari with its tunnels of red torii gates, the Golden Pavilion Kinkaku-ji and Kiyomizu-dera on a hillside. Himeji Castle, the “White Heron Castle,” survives as an original, while the black Matsumoto Castle is known as the “Crow Castle.” The Nikko shrine and temple complex lies about two hours north of Tokyo, and the villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Farther from the classic route are places that people plan a separate trip for: Takachiho Gorge in the mountains of Kyushu, which has no rail connection, Gunkanjima island off Nagasaki, reachable only by boat and with a guide, and the Jigokudani snow monkey park.
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Cities and regions: where to go
Three hubs carry a first trip. Tokyo is a vast capital with very different districts. Kyoto is regarded as the cultural center of the country, with hundreds of temples and the old quarters of Gion and Higashiyama. Osaka is known for its food and its evening streets and works well as a base: from here people take day trips to Nara with its deer and to Himeji Castle. Hiroshima is calmer than these three cities: people go there for the Peace Memorial Park and the island of Miyajima.
Beyond this axis the country changes. Hokkaido and Tohoku in the north mean snow and skiing in winter and a cool summer. The Japanese Alps offer mountain villages and the Kurobe Gorge Railway, and Kanazawa has kept its samurai district and Kenrokuen Garden. Kyushu and Shikoku in the south are warmer, and Okinawa has a subtropical climate.
A practical rule for choosing: first pick three or four base cities, and only then attach day trips to them. In Kyoto, stay closer to the center, because the buses there move slowly.
| City or region | Known for | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | A vast capital with very different districts | A handy starting point for day trips to Kamakura, Nikko and Mount Takao |
| Kyoto | Hundreds of temples, the old quarters of Gion and Higashiyama | Stay closer to the center: the buses move slowly |
| Osaka | Food and evening streets | A convenient base for trips to Nara and Himeji Castle |
| Hiroshima | Peace Memorial Park and the island of Miyajima | Calmer than Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka |
| Hokkaido and Tohoku | Snow and skiing in winter | Summers here are cool |
| Japanese Alps and Kanazawa | Mountain villages, samurai district, Kenrokuen Garden | Fit into a three-week itinerary |
| Kyushu, Shikoku, Okinawa | A warmer south, with a subtropical climate in Okinawa | Typhoons reach Okinawa and Kyushu first |
Where to stay: hotel, ryokan or capsule
Japan has seven main types of accommodation: hotel, business hotel, ryokan, minshuku, hostel, capsule hotel and apartment. You choose them not by stars but by purpose. A business hotel near the station is convenient for moving between cities. A capsule gives you a low price and a central location for one or two nights.
A ryokan is a traditional inn: a futon on tatami, a dinner of many dishes and often an onsen. Breakfast is rarely included at city hotels. Book apartments only if they have a registration number: private rentals are strictly regulated in the country.
What you pay for above all is location. For cherry blossom season, Golden Week, Silver Week and the fall foliage period, book ahead, Tokyo and Kyoto first of all.
| Type | Who it suits | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Business hotel | Those who move between cities often | Book near the station; breakfast is rarely included at city hotels |
| Ryokan | Those who want one or two nights with a traditional dinner | You sleep on a futon on tatami, shoes stay at the entrance, and the onsen has its own etiquette |
| Minshuku | Those who want to stay with hosts as if at home | Smaller and simpler than a ryokan, sometimes with just one or two rooms |
| Hostel | Those on a tight budget | Dorm rooms; some hostels have a curfew |
| Capsule hotel | A central stop for one or two nights | Noise and little personal space, not suitable for a week |
| Apartment | Those who are fine with a residential area or a suburb | Book only with a registration number: private rentals are strictly regulated |
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Tours, tickets and day trips
Some tickets in Japan cannot be bought on the spot. For the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka they are sold only in advance, a ticket to the Disney parks is tied to a specific date, and the teamLab digital museums run on time slots. Sumo tournaments are held six times a year, so your travel dates have to match the schedule.
Tokyo is a convenient base for day trips. Half a day is enough for Asakusa and Odaiba, while Kamakura, Nikko, Mount Takao or Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park take a full day.
Sightseeing trains are a genre of their own. On the Koshino Shu*Kura in Niigata Prefecture, lunch and sake tasting are served by reservation only.
| What | How tickets work | What to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Ghibli Museum in Mitaka | In advance only, not sold on the spot | The museum is closed on Tuesdays |
| Disney parks | The ticket is tied to a specific date | Fix the day in your itinerary before you buy |
| teamLab digital museums | Entry by time slot | Pick a time and build the day around it |
| Sumo tournament | Tournaments are held six times a year | Your travel dates have to match the schedule |
| Koshino Shu*Kura train | Lunch and sake tasting by reservation only | Runs in Niigata Prefecture and needs a separate trip |
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Food: from ramen to kaiseki
Japanese cuisine rests on rice, fish, noodles and vegetables. The easiest way in is ramen, wheat noodles in hot broth served at small places near stations, and okonomiyaki, a thick cabbage pancake cooked on a hot griddle, with Hiroshima considered its home. Next come sushi, tonkatsu and yakitori skewers. For one long evening people choose a hot pot, sukiyaki or shabu-shabu, or kaiseki, haute cuisine served in many courses. Kaiseki is most common in Kyoto, and tables there are booked in advance.
A few rules take away the awkwardness. In inexpensive places you often order through a machine that issues a ticket. Water or tea is brought free of charge, you pay at the register on the way out, and tipping is not done.
It is harder for vegetarians: many soups are made with fish stock. The cheapest food is in supermarkets and the round-the-clock konbini convenience stores: bento, onigiri, ready-made meal sets.
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Trains, passes and getting in from the airport
Between cities, people travel by train. High-speed shinkansen link Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and dozens of other cities and run on schedule. The Japan Rail Pass for 7, 14 or 21 days covers JR lines, but since the price increase it does not always pay off: on the Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka route individual tickets are usually cheaper, and Nozomi and Mizuho trains require a supplement. Regional passes, such as the JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass or the JR Tokyo Wide Pass, cover a single zone and cost less.
Cheaper alternatives are intercity and overnight buses and domestic flights on low-cost airlines. Renting a car makes sense in rural regions, and the country drives on the left. Within cities you pay with a rechargeable card, Suica or Pasmo.
Tokyo has two international airports. Haneda is closer to the center: the Monorail runs to Hamamatsuchō Station, and from there you take the Yamanote Line. Narita lies far outside the city; from there the Narita Express runs to Tokyo Station, and without a pass people take the Keisei lines. A transfer is worth it late in the evening, with children or with large suitcases.
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When to go: seasons by region
There is no single best time for all of Japan. The central part with Tokyo and Kyoto is most comfortable from March through May and in October and November. Hokkaido and the north are at their best from May through August, while the south and Okinawa are comfortable in November and December and in March and April. June and July are the rainy season, tsuyu.
Cherry blossoms on Honshu open in late March and last until mid-April, and in Okinawa the trees bloom as early as January and February. The blossom window in each city is short, about ten days. Fall foliage moves in the opposite direction: in Hokkaido the leaves turn red as early as September, in the center the peak falls in late October and the first half of November, and in Kyushu the colors last until early December.
Two risks are worth building into the plan. Golden Week in late April and early May and cherry blossom season are the most expensive and most crowded weeks. Typhoons peak in August and September: Okinawa and Kyushu are hit first, and transport is shut down ahead of time, so one free day in the itinerary is never wasted.
| Period | What happens | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| January and February | Cherry blossoms in Okinawa, snow and skiing in Hokkaido | Lowest prices for flights and accommodation |
| Late March and first half of April | Cherry blossoms on Honshu | The most expensive and most crowded weeks, book accommodation ahead |
| Late April and early May | Golden Week | The Japanese are traveling themselves, and little accommodation is free |
| May through August | Best time for Hokkaido and the north | The south is hot and humid at this time |
| June and July | Tsuyu rainy season | June is among the cheaper months |
| August and September | Typhoon peak | Okinawa and Kyushu are hit first; leave a free day in the itinerary |
| October and November | Fall foliage in the center of the country | A good time for Tokyo and Kyoto, calmer than in spring |
| November and December | Comfortable weather in the south and Okinawa | In Kyushu the fall colors last until early December |
Twelve months compared: find the best time for your trip
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Budget: how to work out your own total
A trip budget rests on three items: travel between cities, accommodation and food. On top of these come the flight and entrance tickets. Accommodation makes the biggest difference: a night in central Tokyo costs noticeably more than the same night in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, and a capsule or hostel comes out cheaper than a hotel.
You can steer the total with a few decisions. Compare the nationwide pass with the sum of individual tickets and with regional passes. Shift your dates: the lowest prices for flights and accommodation usually fall in January and February, followed by June and September.
That is why there is a calculator here instead of a figure. It separates accommodation, food, transport, tickets and a reserve, and shows which item is pushing your total up.
Calculate your Japan trip budget
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Itineraries: one, two and three weeks
In one week you can realistically see Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka at a tight pace with one day trip, to Fuji or to Himeji. If you want it calmer, take one city with its surroundings for the week, for example Tokyo with a trip to Mount Fuji.
Two weeks give you a linear route without unnecessary transfers: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and back to Tokyo for the flight out. A workable split of nights: four in Tokyo, three in Kyoto, three in Osaka, two in Hiroshima and two in Tokyo at the end. Three weeks are for those who want to add the Fuji area, Nikko, the villages of Shirakawa-go and the Japanese Alps.
The rule that breaks plans: the transfer between Tokyo and Kyoto, packing included, takes half a day, so no tour is scheduled for that day. Leave one free day for every five or six active ones.
Day planner: check what fits into one day
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Practicalities: documents, money, connectivity
Entry rules in our articles are described for passports of Germany, Austria and Switzerland: no visa is needed for a short tourist trip, and entry is allowed for ninety days. With a different passport, check the conditions before buying tickets. Fingerprints and a photo are taken at the border. Carry medication in its original packaging: some drugs that are common in Europe are restricted in Japan.
Cash still matters: small cafés, shops and temples often take nothing else. Outlets are type A/B, so you need an adapter. Eating while walking is not the custom here.
English is enough at hotels and stations, and in restaurants photo menus and Google Translate with the offline Japanese pack help. Check roaming terms with your carrier before the trip; an eSIM or a rented Pocket Wi-Fi router gives you internet from the first minute. Take out travel insurance before you leave and read exactly what it covers, including cancellations due to weather in typhoon season.
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