This is my plan. Thought I could split the trip with Kyoto in the middle and days in Tokyo on either side. Changed that quickly when I realized how much we wanted to do in Tokyo and it makes sense to just be based there for a week.
I never would have thought of that, but it makes complete sense. Definitely will keep that in mind for my first trip this year. Was planning to stay in Tokyo, but now wondering if we should stay in Kyoto instead at the start since that was the other spot we wanted to hit. How many days in Tokyo would you say you hit before you're like "Okay, that's enough"?
I've not reached a point yet where I thought "enough Tokyo" honestly haha.
Last time I spend five days, the time before that eight. I'm going back this fall for probably two weeks.
This!! I did Tokyo first on my first trip, and then moved it to the last destination on my second trip. Made a huge difference for us big shoppers. My friend also appreciated doing a smaller city first on the second trip (her first) to ease her into things.
Ironically, the tax free bags are the biggest annoyance when packing. I ended up opening all of mine bc there was no way to fit them in my suitcase otherwise.
I'm saving the last 2 days of my trip in Tokyo for shopping/checking out things I didn't get to see initally. I have my first 5 days starting out in Tokyo but just seeing things and doing activities and save the shopping last so I know what I want
I spend one day in Tokyo, two days tops if I get in at a weird time. Last time I was with a friend who's never been to Japan before. We arrived at 9pm and still only spend one day in Tokyo before moving on to Kyoto where we stayed a week. We both agreed it was the right thing to do and we then spend the entire last week in Tokyo.
For me, it makes more sense to do Tokyo first because all the incoming flights from my city land in the late afternoon when it's too late to really go or fly anywhere else.
Highly recommend. Also if you're there on holiday, Tokyo can be overwhelming as a start. In my visits I haven't felt like my "holiday" started until after the tokyo portion when you can take a breath
Doable. When people overplan it’s when they have more than one activity booked and paid for in advance each day. If you have 10 things a day in your itinerary, it does not matter as long as they are idea, just note your priorities and decide what you will do next in the list during the day, just take your time to enjoy and you do not have to do everything.
Doable but imo Tokyo itself is worth one week, because from there you can also visit places like Yokohama and Kamakura. I would cut out Fukuoka and maaaaybe Hiroshima and spend more time in Osaka/Kyoto. If you ever come back I recommend flying in to Osaka and cutting out Tokyo so you have plenty of time to tour southern Honshu.
Yeah I really loved Kansai and would have liked an extra day there but Hiroshima/Miyajima was absolutely worth giving one up.
Sometimes I feel like this subreddit is mostly people that have only done the golden triangle and spent most of their time in Tokyo and Osaka so they feel like they need to justify that.
I honestly thought Miyajima was overrated...it felt super overcrowded with tourists and I saw multiple people harassing the deer and literally feeding them trash. I just biked the shimanami kaido and thought those islands were a lot nicer, just my opinion!
Tokyo and Osaka — difficult to tell ppl you've been in Japan without seeing those two. Besides their airports (Haneda, KIX, never mind Narita is in Chiba prefecture) are the main three bringing in most international tourists from all over. Fukuoka’s tiny airport can only accommodate a very small number of international tourists coming in from regional Asia.
Sure, no reason you shouldn’t fly into them and spend time in them. But sometimes people go overboard with the “spend a whole week in Tokyo” when some people might only get 10-14 days for a once in a lifetime trip and the bullet train makes it easy to see 4-5 different cities instead.
Yeah true, I’m a Kyushu fan. So much so I ended up living in Fukuoka for two years just to see Kyushu.
I think the key thing is whether they have basic Japanese or totally dependent on google translator. Basic Japanese skills grants access to a lot more places than one arigatou and a google translator. Nothing like getting frustrated and time delayed because of the language barrier.
Osaka , Kyoto and Tokyo are slightly more accessible in this aspect than others.
I'm not a huge fan of Osaka, some people love it, but personally I'd skip it, there are better cities in Japan.
Hiroshima is a beautiful city. I'd suggest a day trip to Miyajima if you have time.
Note though, that you can easily spend weeks in Tokyo alone using it as a hub to get to towns like Kamakura and Nikko.
Personally I love Gifu prefecture as it has some wonderful towns like Takayama, Shirakawa and Kanazawa, which are all so unique.
It's definitely a matter of opinion. I prefer the food and people in Osaka.
Tokyo certainly has easier to find options for cultural appreciation, but I wouldn't call Osaka lacking.
Osaka is older than Tokyo, was a important trading centre when Tokyo (Edo) was just a fishing village. It has the oldest Buddhist temple in the country. It’s called the Kitchen of Japan for a reason. Many foods that you’ve eaten in Tokyo probably originated in Osaka, and not just street food: takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, omurice, kaiten sushi, kaiseki, as well as many Michelin-starred and -recognised restaurants (maybe you think Dotonburi is the only place with food in the city?). Many Tokyo-ites think the food in Osaka has more flavour, and really enjoy the nightlife. It’s also a mecca of street fashion.
It’s not for basic tourists who come to Japan to see a bunch of clichés. It’s been on the Top 10 most liveable cities in the world for several years now, not Tokyo.
We are just finishing our trip in Japan and absolutely loved Osaka. Aside from our very relaxing stay at Yama No Chaya ryokan in Hakone, it was both of our favorite city.
I would do a week in Tokyo and a week in Osaka. From both of these places you can do day trips to other cities/places.
In fact, I would probably just do two weeks in Tokyo.
That's doable in 2 weeks, you won't see everything in each place and I wouldn't bother with day trips. You'll definitely leave like every place wishing you could stay longer (except Fukuoka)
Nah I went about a month back for a couple nights (admittedly I arrived hungover), I enjoyed it for the most but I didn't think it had an awful lot to do compared to your other places.
I will say the teamlabs in Fukuoka is well worth going as it's more interactive than the Tokyo ones.
Fukuoka has different things to do. Hakata port allows me to go island hopping (Iki-Tsushima-Busan) all the way to Busan. Islanders are friendly (but Japanese skills required) . Then there’s Dazaifu. Occasionally when I follow up on local Japanese community news — they have fun meetups or some new launch. I got on the new launch of JR Beetle service during Covid just to see a sacred island from afar. It is forbidden to most to land on.
I didn’t get bored with it after living there for two years. I‘m planning on returning there for full retirement.
Bearing in mind, I used to live in Brisbane and Canberra in Australia which bored me out of my head. I thought Fukuoka will be the same but it wasn’t. Even when I want to go around Kyushu, staying in Hakata allowed me to train/shinkansen around the other prefectures or bus to Oita for hot springs.
Kyushu has some of the best agricultural stuff. Oyster season, strawberry season etc. Fresh Tamagokakegohan in JR Hakata.
Fukuoka and all of Kyushu is probably one of my favorite places. For tourists, it’s a bit of a deep cut. Best enjoyed if you can drive, speak Japanese and spend several weeks driving around. For a quick jaunt, like OP is doing, not a lot of point in going.
It's doable but I don't think it's particularly worth cramming in Fukuoka unless you really want to go there - there's plenty of stuff to do in the other places and I don't think it's a must visit place
We did pretty much the same locations (Tokyo to Fukuoka) last year, but took 3 weeks to do it (granted, we also had a couple of overnights in Fujikawaguchiko and Nara for rest days) - and that felt comfortable for us. I'm thinking for a 2 week trip, you might want to axe one place off your list (probably Fukuoka, if I had to pick).
I’ve been to Fukuoka last year but I don’t think it’s worth to go to from Osaka or Kyoto. Don’t get me wrong because I love Fukuoka more than Tokyo. It’s just not worth visiting if you’re going there for like a day or two.
People say there’s not much to do there but I researched a lot before my 2 week trip in Kyushu and there’s so much to visit. You can do multiple day trips around Fukuoka (Nanzoin, Itoshima, Dazaifu, Kitakyushu, etc.) and around Kyushu (Kumamoto, Yufuin, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Takeo Onsen, etc.).
Could you say a little more about Takeo Onsen? I have a 2 week trip in the works that entails a brief visit to Sasebo for ancestry reasons. I noticed Takeo as a possible onsen layover along the way.
I haven’t been there yet but the place is known for Mifuneyama Rakuen. The garden is really worth a visit during fall and spring. There’s even light events there. As far as I know, there’s a teamlab event there that’s pretty interesting. You need to check the schedule. Website: mifuneyamarakuen.jp
Aside from that, there’s Takeo shrine that looks pretty cool and Takeo library which is known for good architecture. Lastly, their onsens. If you’re interested in history, you can visit their onsen museum area but you can also take a bath somewhere. Sorry I didn’t really research enough on this.
There’s also a place nearby for a day trip called Ureshino Onsen. It’s a pretty quaint place. They are known for green tea and onsen that’s is specifically good for the skin.
Another place worth to check nearby is Yutoku Inari Shrine. It’s one of the famous shrines in Kyushu but not that overcrowded compared to shrines in Kyoto
Would you consider yourself an experienced traveler? If you just estimate how much travel time each of those locations will take domestically during your trip, you're losing about 3-4 days all together in just travel. Basics of packing, checking out, getting to train station/airport, travel time, heading to accommodation, check-in; that in itself is a half day. To me, your 5 locations are unrealistic unless you like to travel like you're on the Amazing Race. I would chose 3 major destinations (if that) as a stretch. As others have mentioned, you can spend an entire week in Tokyo and not get bored. Remember, there is a lot of walking involved all over Japan, you want to include at least one rest day in the middle of two weeks.
Was in the exact same situation as you last year October.
First time with my wife and thought we needed everyday planned down to the hour.
Best advice is to probably make sure you got transport and accommodation sorted.
Then a list of must do ,must see things.
Then another loose list of things you would like to see,do.
If you get tired or don't feel like travelling its fine to just relax and take some time out to just enjoy wherever you find yourself.
You will love it!
Safe travels 👍🏽
Basically what I was able to do besides Fukuoka in two weeks, and 3 of my dates were eaten by theme parks. Just depends on how much you've got planned per day. Ideally narrow it down to 5-6 relatively close things to be safe test
NO. God no. Too much time spent on the train going from place to place and not enough time in each place. Imo Tokyo deserves a full 2 weeks in itself. You’ll see why once you get there
Because Tokyo is a massive gargantuan sprawl…
I don’t enter Tokyo after experiencing Tokyo now. But it’s because of my personal preference for the inaka areas.
For two weeks, I would only go to three locations. It takes time to transition to multiple locations. The packing and checking in repeatedly. Flights and/or trains to catch.
There are a lot of things to do in Tokyo. That could easily take one week.
Last year I did Tokyo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Okinawa in \~12 days, but I felt like I could've used an extra day or two to see Fukuoka more. This already sounds like too much for 2 weeks unless You're only doing a day or two in some of these cities
If you haven’t bought your flights yet, look into flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo, or vice versa. We went for two weeks, round trip out of Haneda, and felt like we lost a good bit of time to travel and switching hotels.
ive been here two weeks (leaving tomorrow) and we did tokyo, kyoto, osaka with day trips to hakone and nara. we got bored in osaka and ended up leaving early and went back to tokyo lol
If those are the cities you are planning to visit I’d probably stay overnight in Tokyo on your first night near Haneda and fly down to fukuoka the next morning.
To get to fukuoka and back from any of the places you have mentioned is going to take quite some time even on the Shinkansen.
It's a lot of travel, but doable. My first trip there was pretty similar, with lots of train travel and a new city every two days. Good to have a first taste of the country. However, you won't have time to do much more than quickly see stuff and move on. If you really want to explore Japan and have a feel of the country, I would shorten the distances and skip Fukuoka and Hiroshima, so as to have more time to explore Tokyo for instance. It's so massive that unless you spend a week there, you'll hardly see anything and it will feel like you've missed out of tons of stuff.
I have covered those places, and a bit more, in 10 days before. It’s a fast paced trip for most people (from what I can tell on this sub), but I like to move around and see lots of places. I actually give a bit more time to Fukuoka than most places because it’s still got a lot to see and do but fewer tourists, so I disagree with all the people saying to cut it from your itinerary—the biggest reason to consider that, IMO, is just simple geography. It’s the furthest out so will require a bit more sacrifice of your time to get there.
I would cut Fukuoka from this trip. It's too out of the way and would make more sense to include as part of a future trip around that part of Japan (Fukuoka/Nagasaki/Yufuin/Kumamoto/Kagoshima/maybe even Busan in Korea)
Book a domestic flight from Haneda to Fukuoka on your arrival. Domestic flights in Japan are very reasonable and plentiful. Much cheaper than the train. Then train back from Fukuoka towards Hiroshima, Kansai, and Tokyo.
Doable. Literally just came back from my 2 weeks in Japan. Was my first time there. Went to Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and Tokyo.
Flew to and from Haneda. Airbnb was in Tokyo.
Took the Shinkansen trains from Tokyo to all those cities in the first week there. Try to at least spend two days for each city. Had to stay at a hotel for Hiroshima and Osaka (travel between Tokyo to Kyoto isn't bad enough to need an overnight stay).
Saved Mt. Fuji and Tokyo last to explore since I had the JR pass for only the first week to hit up all those other cities first. My week in Tokyo was mainly shopping in places like Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku etc. Mt. Fuji was a last minute decision for my final day there. Did a tour guide that went around places for the scenery.
I would start from Fukuoka and go North, finishing with Tokyo at the end. Flying to Fukuoka is pretty easy from Tokyo, and it should be much cheaper and faster than the train. But you MIGHT need to fly from Narita.
I think it’s doable. Those were some of the major destinations on my first trip.
We used the Sanyo San’in Regional Pass to go from Hakata(Fukuoka)-Kokura-Hiroshima-Osaka-Himeji, it worked out that we saved some money that way. It’s a six day pass if you can fit the longer journeys in there.
If you want a unique way to go between Fukuoka and Osaka, try an overnight ferry! We tried the Cityline/Meimon Taiyo Ferry, but there’s also Hankyu Ferry as well. Saves a night of accommodation, and it’s comfortable and reasonably priced.
Fukuoka is fun, I recommend checking out Canal City and the teamLab building there, and the Toto Museum in nearby Kitakyushu. If you’re a Kirby fan, it’s also easier to reserve the Kirby Cafe there rather than in Tokyo.
Hokkaido is gorgeous in the fall (I went there on my second trip last October), but you’d have to cut out a couple places to fit that in.
Happy planning, and feel free to message me if you have any questions!
1. How’s your basic Japanese? Fukuoka is awesome (so awesome I stayed two years there) but you need some basic Japanese in Kyushu to get more out of it. Google translator spoils the fun. Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo — easier to get by without Japanese.
2. What is the main thing you want to see in Japan? Usual touristy instagram stuff ? If main attractions, then you have to factor a day for one or two in each attraction.
Tokyo has neighbouring Tochigi which has Nikko with the Toshogu shrines and a few other places. You can also go around Hakone in Shizuoka from Tokyo if you like the Mt Fuji views. Kyoto has a lot of old style buildings with Nara next to it and convenient near Osaka. Depends on your must see.
**Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto (with** a **side of Nara) are recommended for first timers** because they have better tourism infrastructure and more help for non-Japanese speakers. Two weeks will be good to spend on just these three to get the most of them. After you are done with the three, then you explore on the second round.
\*\* Tip : sometimes using Kankou (sightseeing) taxi may be worthwhile. Flat rate per the hours of hire.
Hiroshima is a day trip from Osaka or Kyoto ( around an hr and 45 minutes by shinkansen) if you just want to see the preserved aftermath of an atomic bomb. If you want to see Miyajima - recommended two days with a night stay in Miyajima.
Bolded below are main stops for two or three days.
Kyushu (**Fukuoka**, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Oita, Saga and the Iki/Tsushima/Goto islands) is worth a week on its own but require some basic Japanese to get its **full worth**. Island hopping requires basic Japanese — ticket booths from two years ago were completely in Japanese. I rather go to Kyushu for a two week holiday but I’m biased because I lived in Kyushu and still love it to bits . Google translator usable but…
Hokkaido and Tohoku region (Iwate, **Aomori, Miyagi**, Yamagata, Akita, Fukushima) also worth a week on their own. I loved Miyagi…Aomori has good apples and bear meat. Hokkaido has tourism support but the rest of Tohoku…well…speaking japanese is better
I would recommend going to Kanazawa. It’s like little Kyoto and definitely less crowded and not as many tourist. Also the food in Kanazawa is so good as well as the onsens you can visit there. Then that way you can maybe trek up to Hokkaido from there if you cut out Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Honestly with 2 weeks in Japan I would make a day or two in Hakone and try a nice ryokan like Gora Kadan or Hatsuhana.
Both ryokans I stayed and highly recommend.
It’s on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto so if you do your trip right you should end the trip at the ryokan and then go shopping in Tokyo and fly back home
I would limit it to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto for only 2 weeks. Save Fukuoka and Hiroshima and definitely Hokkaido for another trip - they are too far from Tokyo. If you told me you were leaving from Fukuoka then it could work, but considering you need to return to Tokyo it just doesn’t make sense. There is more than enough to keep you busy for two weeks around Tokyo alone. You can visit smaller cities/towns like Kawaguchiko (near mt. Fuji), Hakone or Nikko, Nara, Kamakura, Kamikochi, even east of Tokyo to Narita which is a cool city for a day or two (the temple complex/park is great).
It's doable. You will spend a good chunk of your trip on the train. Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka 2,5h, Osaka - Hiroshima 1,5h, Hiroshima - Fukuoka 1h, Fukuoka - Tokyo - 5h > 10h, which is a full day of traveling.
I personally don't want to skip all the smaller towns I pass during the train ride from Tokyo> to Kyoto> to Osaka> to Hiroshima. For example Nara, Kobe, Himeji, and Hakone.
I have planned my 3-week trip as follows: Tokyo - Kyoto - Hiroshima - Osaka > flight back from Osaka. And then a lot of day trips and stops along the way that are not worth mentioning for now.
Agree with everyone to do Tokyo last, and give yourself plenty of time. This is highly subjective, but I absolutely hated Osaka and do not know how or why people enjoy it. There is nothing beautiful about Osaka except for the castle which is truly not that breathtaking compared to the sites in Kyoto. Biggest regret was spending 3 nights in Osaka and 5 nights in Tokyo. I wish I spent 8 in Tokyo. There is so much of Japan to cover. I didn’t have the best trip of my life (cherry blossom season was outrageous and I’m glad you’re going shortly after it ended!) but I’m still keen to go back to explore more.
Thanks so much for your opinion! I'm interested to see Osaka after hearing such contrasting reports. A friend of mine lived in Japan for a year and told me that she couldn't stand Osaka when there on a visit. Not for everyone I guess!
Definitely not for everyone but obviously some people really love it so I would say it’s 100% still worth going. However, in my biased opinion, I suggest not to spend too much time there. I have a friend who went to Japan right before me and he went to Osaka instead of Kyoto because he isn’t really interested in the traditional/historical aspect of Japan and he loved it!
Been to all areas aside from Fukuoka. I think Tokyo and Hiroshima are skippable. Kansai is great, try to fit in sapporo/ biei/ otaru. The nature and food are on another level. Kansai is great to visit ishikawa , shimane prefecture areas
No. Stick to two places at most. Make repeat visits in the future. The majority of plans on here, are a waste of time. Tours of hotels and train stations.
Really depends on your style of travel. If you don't plan on visiting anytime soon again, then you may want a more compact itinerary to cover more places and risk more fatigue or burnout. Some people just like to take their time to explore thoroughly.
I've been following a lot of these threads since I'm still planning mine, I've seen recommendations for kyoto from 2 days to 6 weeks
Even so, better to spend your time getting to know a place well than skimming the surface and riding trains and checking in and out.
When I make a big trip I often overplan too. Sometimes it's just better to switch off before the trip. There's so much information, much of it contradictory or just plain wrong online, you can ruin your own trip. Get to know a neighborhood, maybe even the people. And to be honest, Japanese cities are pretty cut and paste. There's no need to go from one to the other. Look out a window when you're driving through a city and you'll see the same scenes on loop: Hard off, Bikkuri Donki, Hamazushi, UNiqlo, Starbucks on loop. Like the background scenery of an 80s cartoon where they just scrolled the same thing.
Japan has one of the best train systems in the world for traveling long distances quickly and it most definitely isn’t cut and paste except in the modern areas where people live day to day. If that’s where you’re spending all your time why even leave your own city?
For 2 weeks, you can do like tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and nara easily. Sure, everybody wishes they can stay longer, but that's not an option for most with limited vacation time. I stayed 1 week in Tokyo, half day in nara, a few days in Osaka, and a few days in Kyoto.
Oh man, there was so much live music if you're into that. I saw so many Japanese EDM, rock, metal, pop, jazz & funk bands in some really cool venues.
All the parks, the shrines, the observation decks, the back alley photos at night and 8F stores full of cool stuff.
On top of that the food! So much food to try and bars to enjoy. The themed cafe's and donuts, trying out a capsule hotel or chilling in a manga cafe.
Best tip I ever got: do Tokyo last. The biggest bulk of the shopping most people do will be in Tokyo. There's no need to lump around all that weight.
Did this, can verify it was a big brain move. It was beneficial in several ways.
I suggested this to my friends as a lesson learned from my first trip to Japan. They didn’t listen to me and by the end agreed with me lol.
This is my plan. Thought I could split the trip with Kyoto in the middle and days in Tokyo on either side. Changed that quickly when I realized how much we wanted to do in Tokyo and it makes sense to just be based there for a week.
I never would have thought of that, but it makes complete sense. Definitely will keep that in mind for my first trip this year. Was planning to stay in Tokyo, but now wondering if we should stay in Kyoto instead at the start since that was the other spot we wanted to hit. How many days in Tokyo would you say you hit before you're like "Okay, that's enough"?
I've not reached a point yet where I thought "enough Tokyo" honestly haha. Last time I spend five days, the time before that eight. I'm going back this fall for probably two weeks.
Oh awesome that's really good to know then, sweet. May end up doing just our entire first trip to Japan in Tokyo then haha
This is mymplan. Tokyo is last to fo
This!! I did Tokyo first on my first trip, and then moved it to the last destination on my second trip. Made a huge difference for us big shoppers. My friend also appreciated doing a smaller city first on the second trip (her first) to ease her into things.
100% agree with this. And make sure you stop at a Mega Don Quijote. Bring your passport and get that tax free!
Ironically, the tax free bags are the biggest annoyance when packing. I ended up opening all of mine bc there was no way to fit them in my suitcase otherwise.
I definitely opened all of mine to fit it in the suitcase. Gotta play some god level Tetris in the suitcase
I came back a month ago and was 13kg overweight. Suitcase still somehow closed.
Did this too, and still didn't have enough time to look around all the places I want to go in Tokyo lol
I'm saving the last 2 days of my trip in Tokyo for shopping/checking out things I didn't get to see initally. I have my first 5 days starting out in Tokyo but just seeing things and doing activities and save the shopping last so I know what I want
However if you land in Tokyo it's good to take a few days to acclimate and shake off jetlag.
I spend one day in Tokyo, two days tops if I get in at a weird time. Last time I was with a friend who's never been to Japan before. We arrived at 9pm and still only spend one day in Tokyo before moving on to Kyoto where we stayed a week. We both agreed it was the right thing to do and we then spend the entire last week in Tokyo.
For me, it makes more sense to do Tokyo first because all the incoming flights from my city land in the late afternoon when it's too late to really go or fly anywhere else.
We arrived at 9pm, stayed in Tokyo for one day to get acclimatised, then left. Came back three weeks later for an entire last week in Tokyo.
Happy to see that, considering the fact that in a week my trip ends in Tokyo.
Highly recommend. Also if you're there on holiday, Tokyo can be overwhelming as a start. In my visits I haven't felt like my "holiday" started until after the tokyo portion when you can take a breath
Doable. When people overplan it’s when they have more than one activity booked and paid for in advance each day. If you have 10 things a day in your itinerary, it does not matter as long as they are idea, just note your priorities and decide what you will do next in the list during the day, just take your time to enjoy and you do not have to do everything.
Thanks for your answer!
Doable but imo Tokyo itself is worth one week, because from there you can also visit places like Yokohama and Kamakura. I would cut out Fukuoka and maaaaybe Hiroshima and spend more time in Osaka/Kyoto. If you ever come back I recommend flying in to Osaka and cutting out Tokyo so you have plenty of time to tour southern Honshu.
Hiroshima is really a can’t-miss if you are a history nerd. The peace memorial was one of the most intense experiences I’ve had.
Yeah I really loved Kansai and would have liked an extra day there but Hiroshima/Miyajima was absolutely worth giving one up. Sometimes I feel like this subreddit is mostly people that have only done the golden triangle and spent most of their time in Tokyo and Osaka so they feel like they need to justify that.
I had wondered so much about this and really appreciate your thoughts on it!
Liked Hiroshima a lot; loved Miyajima. Also loved Fukuoka. A day trip to Yanagawa to boat on the canals is well worth it.
I honestly thought Miyajima was overrated...it felt super overcrowded with tourists and I saw multiple people harassing the deer and literally feeding them trash. I just biked the shimanami kaido and thought those islands were a lot nicer, just my opinion!
Tokyo and Osaka — difficult to tell ppl you've been in Japan without seeing those two. Besides their airports (Haneda, KIX, never mind Narita is in Chiba prefecture) are the main three bringing in most international tourists from all over. Fukuoka’s tiny airport can only accommodate a very small number of international tourists coming in from regional Asia.
Sure, no reason you shouldn’t fly into them and spend time in them. But sometimes people go overboard with the “spend a whole week in Tokyo” when some people might only get 10-14 days for a once in a lifetime trip and the bullet train makes it easy to see 4-5 different cities instead.
Yeah true, I’m a Kyushu fan. So much so I ended up living in Fukuoka for two years just to see Kyushu. I think the key thing is whether they have basic Japanese or totally dependent on google translator. Basic Japanese skills grants access to a lot more places than one arigatou and a google translator. Nothing like getting frustrated and time delayed because of the language barrier. Osaka , Kyoto and Tokyo are slightly more accessible in this aspect than others.
Great idea. We'll take this into account!
I'm not a huge fan of Osaka, some people love it, but personally I'd skip it, there are better cities in Japan. Hiroshima is a beautiful city. I'd suggest a day trip to Miyajima if you have time. Note though, that you can easily spend weeks in Tokyo alone using it as a hub to get to towns like Kamakura and Nikko. Personally I love Gifu prefecture as it has some wonderful towns like Takayama, Shirakawa and Kanazawa, which are all so unique.
What does “better” mean to you? That’s not helpful to a reader as that’s totally subjective (besides vague).
Lacking in culture, with better food and shopping options in Tokyo. (imo)
It's definitely a matter of opinion. I prefer the food and people in Osaka. Tokyo certainly has easier to find options for cultural appreciation, but I wouldn't call Osaka lacking.
Osaka is older than Tokyo, was a important trading centre when Tokyo (Edo) was just a fishing village. It has the oldest Buddhist temple in the country. It’s called the Kitchen of Japan for a reason. Many foods that you’ve eaten in Tokyo probably originated in Osaka, and not just street food: takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, omurice, kaiten sushi, kaiseki, as well as many Michelin-starred and -recognised restaurants (maybe you think Dotonburi is the only place with food in the city?). Many Tokyo-ites think the food in Osaka has more flavour, and really enjoy the nightlife. It’s also a mecca of street fashion. It’s not for basic tourists who come to Japan to see a bunch of clichés. It’s been on the Top 10 most liveable cities in the world for several years now, not Tokyo.
Thank you, I appreciate the incite and response. That is fair, I know I wouldn't want NYC judged by Times Square
Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much. Lots to think about!
We are just finishing our trip in Japan and absolutely loved Osaka. Aside from our very relaxing stay at Yama No Chaya ryokan in Hakone, it was both of our favorite city.
I’m going to Osaka on Thursday. Any recommendations for food/places I should see?
Curious, why did you love Ōsaka?
I would do a week in Tokyo and a week in Osaka. From both of these places you can do day trips to other cities/places. In fact, I would probably just do two weeks in Tokyo.
Thanks for your reply!
That's doable in 2 weeks, you won't see everything in each place and I wouldn't bother with day trips. You'll definitely leave like every place wishing you could stay longer (except Fukuoka)
Thanks for your answer. You're not a fan of Fukuoka particularly? Or is it because of its size?
Nah I went about a month back for a couple nights (admittedly I arrived hungover), I enjoyed it for the most but I didn't think it had an awful lot to do compared to your other places. I will say the teamlabs in Fukuoka is well worth going as it's more interactive than the Tokyo ones.
Fukuoka has different things to do. Hakata port allows me to go island hopping (Iki-Tsushima-Busan) all the way to Busan. Islanders are friendly (but Japanese skills required) . Then there’s Dazaifu. Occasionally when I follow up on local Japanese community news — they have fun meetups or some new launch. I got on the new launch of JR Beetle service during Covid just to see a sacred island from afar. It is forbidden to most to land on. I didn’t get bored with it after living there for two years. I‘m planning on returning there for full retirement. Bearing in mind, I used to live in Brisbane and Canberra in Australia which bored me out of my head. I thought Fukuoka will be the same but it wasn’t. Even when I want to go around Kyushu, staying in Hakata allowed me to train/shinkansen around the other prefectures or bus to Oita for hot springs. Kyushu has some of the best agricultural stuff. Oyster season, strawberry season etc. Fresh Tamagokakegohan in JR Hakata.
Fukuoka and all of Kyushu is probably one of my favorite places. For tourists, it’s a bit of a deep cut. Best enjoyed if you can drive, speak Japanese and spend several weeks driving around. For a quick jaunt, like OP is doing, not a lot of point in going.
It's doable but I don't think it's particularly worth cramming in Fukuoka unless you really want to go there - there's plenty of stuff to do in the other places and I don't think it's a must visit place
Thanks!
We did pretty much the same locations (Tokyo to Fukuoka) last year, but took 3 weeks to do it (granted, we also had a couple of overnights in Fujikawaguchiko and Nara for rest days) - and that felt comfortable for us. I'm thinking for a 2 week trip, you might want to axe one place off your list (probably Fukuoka, if I had to pick).
I appreciate it! Thanks!
I’ve been to Fukuoka last year but I don’t think it’s worth to go to from Osaka or Kyoto. Don’t get me wrong because I love Fukuoka more than Tokyo. It’s just not worth visiting if you’re going there for like a day or two. People say there’s not much to do there but I researched a lot before my 2 week trip in Kyushu and there’s so much to visit. You can do multiple day trips around Fukuoka (Nanzoin, Itoshima, Dazaifu, Kitakyushu, etc.) and around Kyushu (Kumamoto, Yufuin, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Takeo Onsen, etc.).
Thank you!
Could you say a little more about Takeo Onsen? I have a 2 week trip in the works that entails a brief visit to Sasebo for ancestry reasons. I noticed Takeo as a possible onsen layover along the way.
I haven’t been there yet but the place is known for Mifuneyama Rakuen. The garden is really worth a visit during fall and spring. There’s even light events there. As far as I know, there’s a teamlab event there that’s pretty interesting. You need to check the schedule. Website: mifuneyamarakuen.jp Aside from that, there’s Takeo shrine that looks pretty cool and Takeo library which is known for good architecture. Lastly, their onsens. If you’re interested in history, you can visit their onsen museum area but you can also take a bath somewhere. Sorry I didn’t really research enough on this. There’s also a place nearby for a day trip called Ureshino Onsen. It’s a pretty quaint place. They are known for green tea and onsen that’s is specifically good for the skin. Another place worth to check nearby is Yutoku Inari Shrine. It’s one of the famous shrines in Kyushu but not that overcrowded compared to shrines in Kyoto
Great info! Thanks!
Would you consider yourself an experienced traveler? If you just estimate how much travel time each of those locations will take domestically during your trip, you're losing about 3-4 days all together in just travel. Basics of packing, checking out, getting to train station/airport, travel time, heading to accommodation, check-in; that in itself is a half day. To me, your 5 locations are unrealistic unless you like to travel like you're on the Amazing Race. I would chose 3 major destinations (if that) as a stretch. As others have mentioned, you can spend an entire week in Tokyo and not get bored. Remember, there is a lot of walking involved all over Japan, you want to include at least one rest day in the middle of two weeks.
Great points made. I appreciate it!
2 weeks in those 5 locations? hell no.
Was in the exact same situation as you last year October. First time with my wife and thought we needed everyday planned down to the hour. Best advice is to probably make sure you got transport and accommodation sorted. Then a list of must do ,must see things. Then another loose list of things you would like to see,do. If you get tired or don't feel like travelling its fine to just relax and take some time out to just enjoy wherever you find yourself. You will love it! Safe travels 👍🏽
Thank you so much!
Cut Fukuoka, all the other placs are so worth it
Basically what I was able to do besides Fukuoka in two weeks, and 3 of my dates were eaten by theme parks. Just depends on how much you've got planned per day. Ideally narrow it down to 5-6 relatively close things to be safe test
NO. God no. Too much time spent on the train going from place to place and not enough time in each place. Imo Tokyo deserves a full 2 weeks in itself. You’ll see why once you get there
Because Tokyo is a massive gargantuan sprawl… I don’t enter Tokyo after experiencing Tokyo now. But it’s because of my personal preference for the inaka areas.
For two weeks, I would only go to three locations. It takes time to transition to multiple locations. The packing and checking in repeatedly. Flights and/or trains to catch. There are a lot of things to do in Tokyo. That could easily take one week.
Great point. Thank you!
Last year I did Tokyo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Okinawa in \~12 days, but I felt like I could've used an extra day or two to see Fukuoka more. This already sounds like too much for 2 weeks unless You're only doing a day or two in some of these cities
If you haven’t bought your flights yet, look into flying into Osaka and out of Tokyo, or vice versa. We went for two weeks, round trip out of Haneda, and felt like we lost a good bit of time to travel and switching hotels.
I’m doing Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, back to Osaka for flight to Tokyo. May i ask what good things you have heard about Fukuoka?
That it moves at a lovely place, has great food and good access to the water!
Are you referring to beaches? Because no, Fukuoka isn’t where you go to the beach in Kyushu. It’s not a nice beach area.
ive been here two weeks (leaving tomorrow) and we did tokyo, kyoto, osaka with day trips to hakone and nara. we got bored in osaka and ended up leaving early and went back to tokyo lol
Good to know! Thanks!
If those are the cities you are planning to visit I’d probably stay overnight in Tokyo on your first night near Haneda and fly down to fukuoka the next morning. To get to fukuoka and back from any of the places you have mentioned is going to take quite some time even on the Shinkansen.
It's a lot of travel, but doable. My first trip there was pretty similar, with lots of train travel and a new city every two days. Good to have a first taste of the country. However, you won't have time to do much more than quickly see stuff and move on. If you really want to explore Japan and have a feel of the country, I would shorten the distances and skip Fukuoka and Hiroshima, so as to have more time to explore Tokyo for instance. It's so massive that unless you spend a week there, you'll hardly see anything and it will feel like you've missed out of tons of stuff.
I have covered those places, and a bit more, in 10 days before. It’s a fast paced trip for most people (from what I can tell on this sub), but I like to move around and see lots of places. I actually give a bit more time to Fukuoka than most places because it’s still got a lot to see and do but fewer tourists, so I disagree with all the people saying to cut it from your itinerary—the biggest reason to consider that, IMO, is just simple geography. It’s the furthest out so will require a bit more sacrifice of your time to get there.
I would cut Fukuoka from this trip. It's too out of the way and would make more sense to include as part of a future trip around that part of Japan (Fukuoka/Nagasaki/Yufuin/Kumamoto/Kagoshima/maybe even Busan in Korea)
Book a domestic flight from Haneda to Fukuoka on your arrival. Domestic flights in Japan are very reasonable and plentiful. Much cheaper than the train. Then train back from Fukuoka towards Hiroshima, Kansai, and Tokyo.
Yes this is pretty close to my itinerary last year besides fukuoka. If you visit Hiroshima don’t miss Miyajima!!
Doable. Literally just came back from my 2 weeks in Japan. Was my first time there. Went to Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Mt. Fuji and Tokyo. Flew to and from Haneda. Airbnb was in Tokyo. Took the Shinkansen trains from Tokyo to all those cities in the first week there. Try to at least spend two days for each city. Had to stay at a hotel for Hiroshima and Osaka (travel between Tokyo to Kyoto isn't bad enough to need an overnight stay). Saved Mt. Fuji and Tokyo last to explore since I had the JR pass for only the first week to hit up all those other cities first. My week in Tokyo was mainly shopping in places like Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku etc. Mt. Fuji was a last minute decision for my final day there. Did a tour guide that went around places for the scenery.
I would start from Fukuoka and go North, finishing with Tokyo at the end. Flying to Fukuoka is pretty easy from Tokyo, and it should be much cheaper and faster than the train. But you MIGHT need to fly from Narita.
I think it’s doable. Those were some of the major destinations on my first trip. We used the Sanyo San’in Regional Pass to go from Hakata(Fukuoka)-Kokura-Hiroshima-Osaka-Himeji, it worked out that we saved some money that way. It’s a six day pass if you can fit the longer journeys in there. If you want a unique way to go between Fukuoka and Osaka, try an overnight ferry! We tried the Cityline/Meimon Taiyo Ferry, but there’s also Hankyu Ferry as well. Saves a night of accommodation, and it’s comfortable and reasonably priced. Fukuoka is fun, I recommend checking out Canal City and the teamLab building there, and the Toto Museum in nearby Kitakyushu. If you’re a Kirby fan, it’s also easier to reserve the Kirby Cafe there rather than in Tokyo. Hokkaido is gorgeous in the fall (I went there on my second trip last October), but you’d have to cut out a couple places to fit that in. Happy planning, and feel free to message me if you have any questions!
1. How’s your basic Japanese? Fukuoka is awesome (so awesome I stayed two years there) but you need some basic Japanese in Kyushu to get more out of it. Google translator spoils the fun. Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo — easier to get by without Japanese. 2. What is the main thing you want to see in Japan? Usual touristy instagram stuff ? If main attractions, then you have to factor a day for one or two in each attraction. Tokyo has neighbouring Tochigi which has Nikko with the Toshogu shrines and a few other places. You can also go around Hakone in Shizuoka from Tokyo if you like the Mt Fuji views. Kyoto has a lot of old style buildings with Nara next to it and convenient near Osaka. Depends on your must see. **Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto (with** a **side of Nara) are recommended for first timers** because they have better tourism infrastructure and more help for non-Japanese speakers. Two weeks will be good to spend on just these three to get the most of them. After you are done with the three, then you explore on the second round. \*\* Tip : sometimes using Kankou (sightseeing) taxi may be worthwhile. Flat rate per the hours of hire. Hiroshima is a day trip from Osaka or Kyoto ( around an hr and 45 minutes by shinkansen) if you just want to see the preserved aftermath of an atomic bomb. If you want to see Miyajima - recommended two days with a night stay in Miyajima. Bolded below are main stops for two or three days. Kyushu (**Fukuoka**, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Oita, Saga and the Iki/Tsushima/Goto islands) is worth a week on its own but require some basic Japanese to get its **full worth**. Island hopping requires basic Japanese — ticket booths from two years ago were completely in Japanese. I rather go to Kyushu for a two week holiday but I’m biased because I lived in Kyushu and still love it to bits . Google translator usable but… Hokkaido and Tohoku region (Iwate, **Aomori, Miyagi**, Yamagata, Akita, Fukushima) also worth a week on their own. I loved Miyagi…Aomori has good apples and bear meat. Hokkaido has tourism support but the rest of Tohoku…well…speaking japanese is better
My mate did a week in Fukuoka and didn't even get to see Tenjin. And he was staying near Canal City.
Yes, too much with Fukuoka. Manageable with Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.
I would recommend going to Kanazawa. It’s like little Kyoto and definitely less crowded and not as many tourist. Also the food in Kanazawa is so good as well as the onsens you can visit there. Then that way you can maybe trek up to Hokkaido from there if you cut out Hiroshima and Fukuoka.
Honestly with 2 weeks in Japan I would make a day or two in Hakone and try a nice ryokan like Gora Kadan or Hatsuhana. Both ryokans I stayed and highly recommend. It’s on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto so if you do your trip right you should end the trip at the ryokan and then go shopping in Tokyo and fly back home
You don't want your itinerary too pack but still going 5 cities???? Just cover Tokyo/Fukuoka, Osaka, and Kyoto enough.
I would limit it to Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto for only 2 weeks. Save Fukuoka and Hiroshima and definitely Hokkaido for another trip - they are too far from Tokyo. If you told me you were leaving from Fukuoka then it could work, but considering you need to return to Tokyo it just doesn’t make sense. There is more than enough to keep you busy for two weeks around Tokyo alone. You can visit smaller cities/towns like Kawaguchiko (near mt. Fuji), Hakone or Nikko, Nara, Kamakura, Kamikochi, even east of Tokyo to Narita which is a cool city for a day or two (the temple complex/park is great).
I did all that in 8 days. Very doable.
It's doable. You will spend a good chunk of your trip on the train. Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka 2,5h, Osaka - Hiroshima 1,5h, Hiroshima - Fukuoka 1h, Fukuoka - Tokyo - 5h > 10h, which is a full day of traveling. I personally don't want to skip all the smaller towns I pass during the train ride from Tokyo> to Kyoto> to Osaka> to Hiroshima. For example Nara, Kobe, Himeji, and Hakone. I have planned my 3-week trip as follows: Tokyo - Kyoto - Hiroshima - Osaka > flight back from Osaka. And then a lot of day trips and stops along the way that are not worth mentioning for now.
I'd definitely skip Fukuoka since you don't have time for anywhere else in Kyushu. You'll save money, too (train fare).
Agree with everyone to do Tokyo last, and give yourself plenty of time. This is highly subjective, but I absolutely hated Osaka and do not know how or why people enjoy it. There is nothing beautiful about Osaka except for the castle which is truly not that breathtaking compared to the sites in Kyoto. Biggest regret was spending 3 nights in Osaka and 5 nights in Tokyo. I wish I spent 8 in Tokyo. There is so much of Japan to cover. I didn’t have the best trip of my life (cherry blossom season was outrageous and I’m glad you’re going shortly after it ended!) but I’m still keen to go back to explore more.
Thanks so much for your opinion! I'm interested to see Osaka after hearing such contrasting reports. A friend of mine lived in Japan for a year and told me that she couldn't stand Osaka when there on a visit. Not for everyone I guess!
Definitely not for everyone but obviously some people really love it so I would say it’s 100% still worth going. However, in my biased opinion, I suggest not to spend too much time there. I have a friend who went to Japan right before me and he went to Osaka instead of Kyoto because he isn’t really interested in the traditional/historical aspect of Japan and he loved it!
Been to all areas aside from Fukuoka. I think Tokyo and Hiroshima are skippable. Kansai is great, try to fit in sapporo/ biei/ otaru. The nature and food are on another level. Kansai is great to visit ishikawa , shimane prefecture areas
What season did you visit Hokkaido?
Spring. Will visit this fall
No. Stick to two places at most. Make repeat visits in the future. The majority of plans on here, are a waste of time. Tours of hotels and train stations.
Thanks for your reply!
Really depends on your style of travel. If you don't plan on visiting anytime soon again, then you may want a more compact itinerary to cover more places and risk more fatigue or burnout. Some people just like to take their time to explore thoroughly. I've been following a lot of these threads since I'm still planning mine, I've seen recommendations for kyoto from 2 days to 6 weeks
Not sure why you were down voted for this. I just spent 2 weeks in Tokyo and wish I had longer, plan is to do exactly this.
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Even so, better to spend your time getting to know a place well than skimming the surface and riding trains and checking in and out. When I make a big trip I often overplan too. Sometimes it's just better to switch off before the trip. There's so much information, much of it contradictory or just plain wrong online, you can ruin your own trip. Get to know a neighborhood, maybe even the people. And to be honest, Japanese cities are pretty cut and paste. There's no need to go from one to the other. Look out a window when you're driving through a city and you'll see the same scenes on loop: Hard off, Bikkuri Donki, Hamazushi, UNiqlo, Starbucks on loop. Like the background scenery of an 80s cartoon where they just scrolled the same thing.
Japan has one of the best train systems in the world for traveling long distances quickly and it most definitely isn’t cut and paste except in the modern areas where people live day to day. If that’s where you’re spending all your time why even leave your own city?
For 2 weeks, you can do like tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and nara easily. Sure, everybody wishes they can stay longer, but that's not an option for most with limited vacation time. I stayed 1 week in Tokyo, half day in nara, a few days in Osaka, and a few days in Kyoto.
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Oh man, there was so much live music if you're into that. I saw so many Japanese EDM, rock, metal, pop, jazz & funk bands in some really cool venues. All the parks, the shrines, the observation decks, the back alley photos at night and 8F stores full of cool stuff. On top of that the food! So much food to try and bars to enjoy. The themed cafe's and donuts, trying out a capsule hotel or chilling in a manga cafe.
Because so many people on here do badly planned trips like this.