Who it's for
Is Japan your trip?
Every country is somebody's favourite. The honest question is whether it is yours, and for this trip.
This is your trip if…
- You want cities and countryside in one trip without renting a car.
- You like transport that works: a 250 km/h train every ten minutes, timed to the minute, is the default here.
- You care about food but not about spending on it — the €8 lunch is the national art form.
- You travel with kids: safe, clean, stroller-friendly stations, and the toilets alone justify the flight.
- You want a country that rewards a second and third visit rather than one you tick off.
Think twice if…
- You want a lie-on-the-beach holiday. Okinawa exists, but that is not what Japan is for.
- You need everything in English and on a card — cash is still normal in the countryside and rural inns.
- You are on a tight budget and want to see all four main islands in ten days. The rail fares add up fast.
- You dislike rules. Queues, quiet carriages, no eating while walking: the etiquette is real and people notice.
When to visit
Late March – May and October – November
Spring and autumn are the answer, and everyone knows it — cherry blossom (late March in Kyoto and Tokyo) and autumn colour (mid-November) are the two most crowded, most expensive fortnights of the year. Late May and October give you the same weather with a third of the people. Summer is hot, humid and punctuated by typhoons; winter is dry, bright and superb in the mountains.
- Best
Cherry blossom
Late March – mid April
Peak Japan, peak prices, peak crowds. Book Kyoto stays six months out. The bloom moves north — Tokyo and Kyoto first, Tohoku by late April, Hokkaido in May.
- Best
Late spring
Mid April – mid June
Warm, green, fewer tourists after Golden Week (29 April – 5 May, avoid — the whole country travels). The rainy season starts in Kyushu in early June and reaches Tokyo mid-month.
- Mixed
Summer
Late June – mid September
32 °C with 75 % humidity in the cities. Worth it only for the summer festivals, the Alps, or Hokkaido, which is pleasant. Typhoon season peaks August–September and does cancel trains.
- Best
Autumn
October – early December
Clear skies, 15–22 °C, and the maples turn from late October (mountains) to late November (Kyoto). October is the single best month for an itinerary that mixes cities and hiking.
- Good
Winter
December – February
Dry and bright on the Pacific side, deep snow on the Japan Sea side and in Hokkaido. Ski, onsen, Sapporo Snow Festival. Cities are cold but empty and cheap. New Year (29 Dec – 3 Jan) closes much of the country.
Climate · monthly normals
Representative for Kyoto and Osaka too; the Japan Sea coast and Hokkaido run colder and snowier.
For contrast
Hokkaido: a different climate zone — real winters, mild summers.
Festivals
Worth planning around
Dates a plan should either aim for or steer clear of. Both are useful; the second saves more money.
Late March – early April (Tokyo, Kyoto); late April – May further north
Hanami (cherry blossom viewing)
Everywhere; Kyoto's Philosopher's Path, Tokyo's Meguro River and Ueno Park, Hirosaki Castle in Aomori
The national picnic. Not a festival so much as a two-week mood the whole country shares.
The forecast moves every year by a week or two. Book stays, then decide cities day by day.
14–15 April
Takayama Spring Festival
Takayama, Gifu
Elaborate carved floats with marionettes, in a preserved Edo-era town. One of Japan's three most beautiful festivals.
Takayama has few beds. Book a year out or day-trip from Nagoya or Kanazawa.
Whole of July; grand processions 17 and 24 July
Gion Matsuri
Kyoto
A thousand-year-old festival with 30-tonne floats hauled through the old city. The three evenings before each procession (yoiyama) are the best part: streets closed, lanterns lit, everyone in yukata.
Kyoto is humid and full. Come for yoiyama, then leave for the mountains.
24–25 July
Tenjin Matsuri
Osaka
Boats, fire and fireworks on the river — Osaka's louder answer to Gion.
2–7 August
Nebuta Matsuri
Aomori (Tohoku)
Enormous illuminated paper warriors on floats, drums, and a crowd that is invited to dance along. The best reason to visit Tohoku in summer.
Combine with Akita's Kanto (3–6 Aug) and Sendai's Tanabata (6–8 Aug) — the three run back to back.
13–16 August (most regions)
Obon
Nationwide; Gujo Odori in Gujo Hachiman dances all night
The festival of the dead: bon-odori dances in every neighbourhood, lanterns on rivers, and Kyoto's Daimonji fire on 16 August.
Domestic travel peaks. Trains and inns sell out; treat it like Golden Week.
Late October (Alps, Nikko) to late November (Kyoto, Tokyo)
Autumn leaves (koyo)
Kyoto's Tofuku-ji and Arashiyama, Nikko, the Kiso Valley
The spring crowds, in reverse. Kyoto in the third week of November is arguably its most beautiful — and its busiest.
Early February (about a week)
Sapporo Snow Festival
Sapporo, Hokkaido
Building-sized ice and snow sculptures in Odori Park. Pairs with a Niseko or Furano ski week.
Sapporo hotels triple in price; stay in Otaru or book early.
Cities & regions
Where to go in Japan
The places that earn their nights, most important first, with how long each deserves. Nobody needs all of them on one trip.
- 01
Tokyo
The largest city on earth, run like a watch
city4–5 daysNot one city but a hundred neighbourhoods on a single rail map — Shinjuku, Shibuya, Yanaka, Shimokitazawa, Kiyosumi. Give it time on the first visit and stay near a Yamanote line station. Skip the Skytree; take the free Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observation deck instead.
Best for: first-timers · food · with kids · nightlife
- 02
Kyoto
The old capital, 1,600 temples deep
city3–4 daysThe Japan of the postcards, and the most crowded place in the country between 10 am and 4 pm. Go to Fushimi Inari at 7 am, Arashiyama at dusk, and spend the middle of the day in the north (Kurama, Ohara) where the coaches do not reach.
Best for: first-timers · temples · gardens
- 03
Osaka
Kyoto's loud, hungry neighbour
city1–2 daysFifteen minutes from Kyoto by train and its opposite in temperament. Come for Dotonbori at night, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu, and use it as the base for Nara and Himeji. Cheaper hotels than Kyoto and easier to book.
Best for: food · nightlife · base city
- 04
Kanazawa
Kyoto without the crowds
city2 daysSamurai and geisha districts, Kenroku-en garden, a fish market and the 21st Century Museum, two and a half hours from Tokyo on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The best-value stop on any first itinerary.
Best for: gardens · crafts · food
- 05
The Japanese Alps
Takayama, Shirakawa-go and the Kiso Valley
region2–3 daysThatched villages, preserved post towns and the Nakasendo trail between Magome and Tsumago — a three-hour walk anyone can do. The obvious way to break the Tokyo–Kyoto journey without the shinkansen.
Best for: hiking · villages · autumn
- 06
Hiroshima & Miyajima
The Peace Park and the floating torii
city1–2 daysThe Peace Memorial Museum is the most important hour of the trip; Miyajima, forty minutes away, is the gentlest. Stay a night on the island after the day-trippers leave.
Best for: history · first-timers
- 07
Hakone & Mount Fuji
Onsen, ropeways and the mountain (weather permitting)
nature1–2 daysThe classic hot-spring stop between Tokyo and Kyoto. A ryokan night with a kaiseki dinner is the point; the Fuji view is a lottery outside winter. The Fuji Five Lakes (Kawaguchiko) give better odds of the mountain and fewer coaches.
Best for: onsen · ryokan · with kids
- 08
Hokkaido
Powder snow, lavender fields, and space
region5–7 daysA different country: wide roads, dairy farms, bears, and the best skiing in Asia (Niseko, Furano). Summer is the escape from the mainland's humidity. Rent a car — the rail network is thin outside Sapporo.
Best for: skiing · road trips · summer escape
- 09
Kyushu
Volcanoes, hot springs and Fukuoka's food stalls
region4–6 daysFukuoka (ramen, yatai), Beppu and Kurokawa (onsen), Mount Aso, Kagoshima under its smoking volcano. Warmer, cheaper and emptier than Honshu; the Nishi-Kyushu shinkansen makes Nagasaki easy.
Best for: onsen · food · second visit
- 10
Okinawa
Subtropical Japan, closer to Taipei than Tokyo
island4–5 daysCoral reefs, Ryukyu culture and a different pace entirely. Fly from Tokyo (2.5 h) or Osaka. The outer islands (Ishigaki, Miyako) are the reason to come; Naha itself is a stopover.
Best for: beaches · diving · with kids
Not to miss
The essential experiences
Not a bucket list — the handful of things that make this country this country, with the timing catch that stops people doing them well.
- 01
A night in a ryokan with dinner
Hakone, Kinosaki, Kurokawa or anywhere in the Alps
Tatami, yukata, a multi-course kaiseki dinner and an onsen at midnight. One night is enough; two is better. Book with dinner included — the meal is half the point.
- 02
Fushimi Inari before the crowds
Kyoto
Ten thousand vermilion gates up a mountainside. At 7 am you have them to yourself; by 10 am it is a queue. Walk to the top — most people turn back after the first third.
- 03
The Nakasendo trail, Magome to Tsumago
Kiso Valley, Nagano
Three hours on a preserved Edo highway between two post towns, with a luggage-forwarding service so you walk with a day pack. The best half-day in Japan for the effort.
- 04
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima
Unsentimental, precise and necessary. Go early, allow two hours, and give yourself the afternoon on Miyajima afterwards.
- 05
A sumo tournament or morning practice
Tokyo (January, May, September), Osaka (March), Nagoya (July), Fukuoka (November)
Fifteen-day tournaments; tickets go on sale about a month ahead and the cheap upper seats are fine. Outside tournament season, a stable's morning practice in Ryogoku is the alternative.
- 06
Naoshima's art islands
Seto Inland Sea, from Okayama or Takamatsu
Tadao Ando museums, a Yayoi Kusama pumpkin on a pier, and the Chichu museum's Monets lit only by daylight. Stay a night; the day-trip version misses the evening.
- 07
Depachika and the €10 lunch
Any department-store basement; any station
The food halls under Isetan or Takashimaya are the best food shopping in the world. The set-lunch culture (teishoku) means a serious meal for the price of a sandwich at home.
- 08
Koya-san temple stay
Mount Koya, Wakayama — 2 h from Osaka
A night in a Buddhist monastery, vegetarian shojin ryori dinner, 6 am prayers, and a walk through the Okunoin cemetery under 300-year-old cedars. The quiet counterweight to Kyoto.
- 09
Skiing Hokkaido powder
Niseko, Furano, Rusutsu
Fourteen metres of dry snow a season, onsen at the bottom of every lift, and lift passes half the Alpine price. January and February.
Getting around
How Japan moves
Japan is a rail country. The shinkansen network links Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Sendai and Hakodate at 250–320 km/h, on time to the minute, and regional trains fill in the rest. Rent a car only for Hokkaido, rural Kyushu, the Noto peninsula or the Alps' back roads. Fly for Okinawa and for Tokyo–Sapporo. In cities, one IC card (Suica or Pasmo, now on your phone) pays for every metro, bus and convenience store in the country.
Shinkansen and JR
Buy seats on the SmartEX app (Tokaido/Sanyo line: Tokyo–Kyoto–Hiroshima) or at any JR ticket machine; reserved seats are worth the €3. Tokyo–Kyoto 2 h 15 min, about €85; Kyoto–Hiroshima 1 h 40 min. Regional lines are slower but scenic (the Hida line to Takayama, the Kisoji).
Rule of thumb: Any Honshu city pair under four hours by train → train. Book reserved seats in peak season a month ahead.
Domestic flights
Worth it for Okinawa, Hokkaido from Tokyo (the train takes 8 h), and Kyushu from Tokyo. ANA and JAL sell foreigner-only fares (Experience Japan / Explorer) at flat rates around €60–90. Haneda is the airport you want, not Narita.
Rule of thumb: Over five hours by train, or crossing water to Okinawa → fly.
Driving
International Driving Permit (1949 convention) required — get it before you leave; some nationalities (Germany, France, Switzerland) need a Japanese translation instead. Left-hand drive, tolls are high (Tokyo–Kyoto about €70), ETC card from the rental desk. Makes sense in Hokkaido, Kyushu, Noto and the Alps.
Rule of thumb: Countryside with thin rail (Hokkaido, rural Kyushu, Noto) → car. Cities and the Tokyo–Osaka corridor → never.
Highway and local buses
Willer Express and JR Bus run overnight coaches Tokyo–Kyoto for €25–50 — the budget alternative to the shinkansen. Local buses serve Kyoto's temples (flat fare, get a day pass) and the Alps between Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa.
Ferries
The Seto Inland Sea (Naoshima, Miyajima, Shodoshima) and long-distance overnight ferries to Hokkaido and Kyushu. Miyajima's ferry is included on JR passes.
In the cities
Suica or Pasmo on your phone (Apple Wallet supports it directly) works on every metro, bus and taxi nationwide. Tokyo's metro is two companies on one map; a 24-hour combined ticket is about €10. Taxis are honest, expensive and have automatic doors. Kyoto is a bus-and-bike city.
Passes and cards, honestly
- JR Pass (7/14/21 days, from about €320): since the 2023 price rise it pays off only if you do Tokyo–Kyoto–Hiroshima–Tokyo or more inside seven days. Do the maths; most two-week itineraries lose money on it.
- Regional JR passes (Kansai Wide, Hokuriku Arch, JR East Tohoku) are the better value — the Kansai Wide pass at about €70 for five days covers Kyoto, Osaka, Himeji, Kinosaki and Okayama.
- Hakone Free Pass (2–3 days) covers the whole loop of train, cable car, ropeway, boat and bus from Shinjuku.
- Tokyo Subway 24/48/72-hour tickets, sold only to foreign visitors, are the cheapest way round the capital.
Culture
Know before you go
The things locals assume you know. Most travellers learn them by getting one wrong on day two.
- Cash is not dead
- Cards now work in cities, on trains and in chains, but rural inns, small restaurants, temples and many taxis want yen. Withdraw at 7-Eleven or Japan Post ATMs, which take foreign cards; bank ATMs often do not.
- Shoes off, and know when
- Genkan (entrance step), tatami rooms, temples, some restaurants. If there is a step up and slippers lined up, take yours off. Never wear the toilet slippers back out.
- Quiet in public
- No phone calls on trains, no eating while walking, no loud conversation on the metro. Japanese cities are astonishingly quiet for their size and people keep them that way.
- Tipping is not a thing
- Do not tip — it confuses and mildly offends. Excellent service is the baseline, not a transaction.
- Onsen etiquette
- Wash sitting down before entering the bath. Naked, no swimwear. Tattoos are still banned at many public baths — check, or book a private bath (kashikiri) at your ryokan.
- Rubbish bins do not exist
- Carry your wrappers home. Convenience stores have bins for their own products; stations generally do not.
- Reservations are formal
- Restaurants with a reservation system expect you to keep it; no-shows are a real problem and some places now bar foreign bookings for that reason. Hotels can book for you.
Practicalities
Visa, SIM, plugs & the rest
The boring section, which is why it is the one people skip and then regret at the airport.
visa
Visa
EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens get 90 days visa-free. Carry your passport at all times — it is legally required and hotels will ask for it.
money
Money
Yen. Cards accepted in cities and on rail; carry ¥20,000–30,000 in cash for the countryside. 7-Eleven ATMs are everywhere and take European cards. Tax-free shopping over ¥5,000 at marked shops with your passport.
connectivity
SIM and data
Buy an eSIM before you fly (Ubigi, Airalo, or a Japanese provider) — cheaper and faster than airport counters. Wi-Fi is decent in hotels and stations, poor in cafés. Google Maps handles trains with platform numbers; Japan Transit Planner (Jorudan) is the local favourite.
plugs
Plugs and power
Type A (flat two-pin, as in the US) at 100 V. European chargers need an adapter; most laptop and phone chargers handle the voltage.
safety
Safety
One of the safest countries in the world. Lost wallets come back with the cash in them. The real risks are earthquakes (the phone alert system works — follow it) and summer typhoons, which cancel trains for a day.
health
Health and pharmacies
Tap water is drinkable everywhere. Hospitals are excellent; travel insurance is essential because they will bill you in full. Bring your own medication with a doctor's note — some common Western drugs (pseudoephedrine, some ADHD medication) are restricted.
language
Language
English on all transport signage, menus in tourist areas, and almost nowhere else. Google Translate's camera mode handles menus; a few phrases (sumimasen, arigatou gozaimasu) open every door.
customs
Luggage forwarding
Takkyubin (Yamato) sends a suitcase between hotels overnight for about €15. Use it — shinkansen luggage space is limited and reservations are required for anything over 160 cm combined dimensions.
Sample routes
Starting points, not scripts
Each of these is a real request you could hand to Menta as written. Change the people, the month and the pace; the structure will hold.
The golden route, done properly
10 days- Tokyo
- Hakone
- Kyoto
- Nara
- Osaka
The first-timer's Japan without rushing it: four nights in Tokyo, one ryokan night, four in Kyoto with Nara as a day trip, and a final night in Osaka near the airport.
Cities, Alps and the Inland Sea
14 days- Tokyo
- Kanazawa
- Takayama
- Kyoto
- Naoshima
- Hiroshima
- Miyajima
- Osaka
Two weeks that add the Alps and the Seto Inland Sea to the classic cities. Uses the Hokuriku shinkansen out and the Sanyo line back; luggage forwarded twice.
Three weeks, two islands
21 days- Tokyo
- Nikko
- Kanazawa
- Kyoto
- Koya-san
- Hiroshima
- Fukuoka
- Kurokawa Onsen
- Kagoshima
The full first visit: Honshu's cities and temples, then Kyushu's volcanoes and hot springs by rental car. Ends in Kagoshima with a flight back to Tokyo.
Winter: powder and onsen
10 days- Tokyo
- Niseko
- Sapporo
- Otaru
Five ski days in Niseko, an onsen every evening, two nights in Sapporo timed to the Snow Festival, a day in Otaru. Fly Tokyo–Sapporo both ways.
More destinations
Where else?
- ItalyThree civilisations' worth of cities, and lunch takes two hours.
- SpainEurope's longest high-speed rail, five cultures, and lunch at three.
- PortugalTwo hilly cities, a valley of port and a long Atlantic coast.
- GreeceAntiquity, two hundred inhabited islands and a ferry timetable to respect.
- IcelandOne road, no trains, and weather that rewrites the plan daily.
- ThailandStreet food, temples, two coasts and Asia's cheapest good hotel room.
- VietnamTwo capitals, one slow railway and the best street food in Asia.
- MoroccoMedinas, the High Atlas and the Sahara, a ferry ride from Europe.
- MexicoA 3,000-year-old civilisation, the best street food on earth, and two coastlines.
Japan is a good trip. Make it your trip.
Everything on this page is context Menta already has. Add the people going, the dates and what you actually care about, and the plan starts smarter than a blank chat.
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Start planning JapanGuide last reviewed 2026-09. Check visa rules against your own passport before you book.