Japan

Day by day

1. 1
   Day 1Tokyo

   Arrival in Tokyo

   ▾

   

   

   

   Straight out of the airport, grab a rechargeable IC card and pocket Wi-Fi (or a travel eSIM) and hop on the train into town. Trust me on this: don't try to see everything today — jet lag is real and Tokyo isn't going anywhere. Drop the bags, step outside, and let the neighbourhood light up around you.

   Your first night in Tokyo almost never goes to plan, and that's exactly the charm of it: you wander by accident into an alley of six-stool bars, a train roars by overhead, a vending machine lights up an empty street… and it hits you that this giant city can be weirdly quiet too. Don't fight the tiredness — just let it carry you.

   Our take

   My take: don't book anything demanding for tonight. A relaxed first dinner at a neighbourhood izakaya, a cold beer, an early night — tomorrow-you will say thanks.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Shinjuku or Shibuya at night
   • ✦ First izakaya dinner

   💡 Tip: The Narita/Haneda airport trains and limousine buses are the easiest way into the city.

2. 2
   Day 2Tokyo

   Old Tokyo: Asakusa & Ueno

   Incense, giant lanterns and craft-shop alleys… then a neon jolt in Akihabara.

   ▾

   

   

   

   Start the day on the east side at Senso-ji, Tokyo's oldest temple. You enter through the mighty Kaminarimon gate and its car-sized red lantern, reaching the temple along Nakamise street, packed with sweet stalls and souvenirs. Get lost afterwards in the lanes of old Asakusa, cross to Ueno Park (museums, and cherry blossoms in spring) and end as the light fades in Akihabara — a wonderful chaos of electronics, arcades and anime.

   Asakusa carries its history so casually it's infectious. Through the incense smoke — which people fan toward their faces for luck — you spot a rickshaw puller in tabi boots, a craftsman hammering away at a knife stall, the five-storey pagoda catching the afternoon light. Then you hop on the metro, pop up in Akihabara, and it's like switching planets: loud, bright and gloriously nerdy.

   Our take

   One detail that makes or breaks the day: hit Senso-ji early (before 8am) and you'll have it almost to yourself; by mid-morning it's shoulder-to-shoulder. And dodge the restaurants right by the temple — eat a couple of streets back and you'll eat better and cheaper.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Senso-ji & Nakamise street
   • ✦ Ueno Park & museums
   • ✦ Akihabara electronics & anime
3. 3
   Day 3Tokyo

   Modern Tokyo: Shibuya & Shinjuku

   Postcard Tokyo: the impossible crossing, a shrine hidden in the trees, and a skyline send-off.

   ▾

   

   

   

   Plant yourself at the Shibuya crossing and watch a thousand people cross at once without colliding (a small daily miracle). A few minutes away, Meiji Jingu shrine greets you with forested calm — a contrast that feels almost unreal. Browse the boutiques of Harajuku and Omotesandō, then close the day with a free sunset from the Metropolitan Government Building observatory in Shinjuku.

   The Shibuya crossing has its own addictive rhythm: the lights hold, the crowd piles up on every corner, and then everything releases at once — umbrellas, phone screens, shopping bags — flowing in every direction. Twenty minutes later, beneath the huge wooden torii of Meiji Jingu, the city noise just switches off. That contrast, inside half an hour, is Tokyo in its purest form.

   Our take

   Let me save you some money: skip the paid observation decks. The Metropolitan Government Building's is free with a similar view. For the crossing shot, the Starbucks opposite is the usual cliché; I prefer the angles from the pedestrian bridges.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Shibuya Crossing
   • ✦ Meiji Jingu shrine
   • ✦ Harajuku & Omotesando
5. 4
   Day 4Hakone

   Hakone & Mt. Fuji views

   Swap the city for volcanic valleys, a lake under Fuji, and a hot soak you'll remember.

   ▾

   

   

   

   Escape to the mountains of Hakone (on a day trip, or better, staying overnight). It's a toy-like loop: mountain railway, cable car and a boat across Lake Ashi. On clear days Mt. Fuji floats on the horizon while down below the sulphur vents of Owakudani steam away. And to finish, an onsen (hot-spring bath) that leaves you brand new.

   Fuji is famously shy — it spends half the year hidden behind cloud — so the moment it shows up, perfectly symmetrical above the lake, it stops everyone mid-sentence. But even if it stays hidden, Hakone is worth every minute: the slow rattle of the loop, the smell of sulphur, the black eggs boiled in the hot spring… you feel like you're in another country, barely an hour from Tokyo.

   Our take

   If the budget allows, sleep one night in a ryokan with an onsen. I mean it: it's one of the most relaxing things you'll do on the whole trip. And get the Hakone Free Pass — it usually pays off if you ride the full loop.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Lake Ashi cruise
   • ✦ Owakudani volcanic valley
   • ✦ Onsen (hot spring) soak

   💡 Tip: Mt. Fuji is often shrouded in cloud; mornings in autumn and winter give the best odds.

6. 5
   Day 5Kyoto

   Bullet train to Kyoto

   Glide west at 300 km/h and land straight in Kyoto's greatest hits.

   ▾

   

   

   

   🚆Getting there: Shinkansen Tokyo → Kyoto (about 2h15m)

   Board the Shinkansen in Tokyo and watch the country blur past the window; if you're on the right side and lucky, Fuji flashes by near Shin-Fuji (have your phone ready). In Kyoto, head straight for the towering Arashiyama bamboo grove, the golden Kinkaku-ji mirrored in its pond, and — once night falls — the lantern-lit wooden lanes of Gion.

   Stepping off the bullet train in Kyoto, the shift is instant: the pace drops, the buildings shrink, temple roofs start peeking between the houses. At dusk in Gion, if you're quiet and a little lucky, you might hear the quick clatter of wooden geta — a geiko hurrying to an appointment down a street that looks unchanged in a hundred years. Goosebumps.

   Our take

   Two things. One: Arashiyama's bamboo is magic right at opening and a scrum by 10 — go early and you'll have it almost empty. Two, and it matters: in Gion don't chase or hound the geiko with your camera. Admire from a distance; it's their job and their neighbourhood, not a theme park.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Arashiyama bamboo grove
   • ✦ Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)
   • ✦ Gion geisha district
7. 6
   Day 6Nara

   Fushimi Inari & Nara day trip

   Ten thousand vermilion gates at dawn, then a town full of bowing deer.

   ▾

   

   

   

   🚆Getting there: Train south via Fushimi Inari to Nara (about 1h in total)

   Get up early to beat the crowds at Fushimi Inari and climb its tunnels of vermilion torii up the mountain: the higher you go, the quieter and emptier it gets. Then take the train south to Nara, Japan's first permanent capital, where sika deer roam the park freely and the huge wooden hall of Todai-ji guards a 15-metre bronze Buddha that genuinely takes your breath away.

   Most people snap the first hundred gates at Fushimi Inari and turn back. You keep climbing: within twenty minutes the selfie sticks vanish and it's just you, the forest, and that rhythmic red of the torii repeating up the slope. In Nara, the deer have learned to bow for a cracker — adorable — until one decides your map is also a snack and tries to nick it from your pocket.

   Our take

   Make the most of Fushimi Inari being open 24/7 and free: going at sunrise is worth the early alarm, promise. In Nara, buy the crackers (shika senbei) from the official stalls and hand them over quickly; remember they're wild animals, not plushies.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Fushimi Inari torii gates
   • ✦ Nara Park deer
   • ✦ Todai-ji Great Buddha
8. 7
   Day 7Osaka (Kansai)

   Departure

   One last quiet morning before Kansai sends you home.

   ▾

   

   

   🚆Getting there: Kansai International Airport (KIX) is well connected to Kyoto, Nara and Osaka

   Save the morning for whatever you're already missing: one last temple, one last bowl of ramen, or a souvenir hunt through a depachika (the food floor of a department store — an experience in itself). Then it's off to Kansai International Airport, well connected to Kyoto, Nara and Osaka. Left wanting more? This is exactly where the 15-day route picks up.

   Japan has a bad habit of making you plan your return before you've even left. Somewhere over the Pacific you'll already be missing the konbini clerk's bow, the trains' punctual chime, and that very Japanese way a country of 125 million people has of feeling quietly considerate. Don't worry: you always come back to Japan.

   Our take

   Leave more time than you think to reach the airport: Kansai sits on an artificial island and the train or bus can take 75–90 minutes from Kyoto. Little trick: spend your last yen on terminal snacks — the best plane food there is.

   Highlights

   • ✦ Last-minute souvenirs
   • ✦ Fly home from Kansai (KIX)

At a glance

Frequently asked questions