3 Useful Japan travel itineraries

If you’re thinking of visiting Japan but need some ideas to plan your trip, you’re in perfect place. In this post, I am sharing 3 different Japan itineraries- each 1 week long. You can study these itineraries, use them as is or modify for your needs and preferences.

Before you plan your itinerary, do check these posts- JapanTourist Visa for Indians  * Japan onbudget- expense guide * Japan Rail Pass- All you need to know*

Below is quick summary of itineraries detailed in this blog post

Itinerary 1: Tokyo and nearby attractions, no JR Pass, at leisure

Itinerary 2: Enter at Osaka, exit at Tokyo, JR Pass recommended, hectic schedule for maximum coverage

Itinerary 3: Enter and exit at Osaka, JR Pass recommended, hectic schedule for maximum coverage

A hectic schedule attempts to make use of early morning and late evening hours and aims to explore maximum possible places in limited time. A leisure schedule covers less attractions, but with more time to spare. I’ve considered Tokyo and Osaka as entry and exit airports. There’re few more  airports in Japan- like Sapporo but most international tourists arrive and leave via Tokyo or Osaka.

Itinerary 1: Ex Tokyo, No need for JR Pass, Leisure plan.  This plan is useful if you’d like to stay at Tokyo for all nights and visit various places of interest around Tokyo with day trips
Day	Plan	Remarks
01	Arrive in Tokyo, plan rest of your day depending on how much time you have and if you’d like to relax/explore. If you have half a day to explore, visit Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo Skytree and/or any of the gardens in the city closer to your hotel (Yoyogi Koen or Shinjuku Gyoen recommended)	Be sure to stay close to a train station. Try Capsule hotels at least for few nights.
02	Day trip to Nikko Nikko is couple of hours by train from Tokyo, can spend a day at leisure here, visiting Shrines, Museums, landscape Trains to Nikko start from 4 AM onwards- possible to cover in half day if you can leave really early. If you wish leave at leisure by say 8 AM, then factor full day.	Nikko is about 2.5-3 hours by train from Tokyo.
03	Full day at Disney Land Or refer Day 06 options for alternate things to do If your day 03 happens to be a weekend, swap Disneyland visit plan with other days- try to visit on weekday
04	Mount Fuji day trip Dozens of companies operate day trips to Mount Fuji- join one of them or manage on your own with train & bus	Only close view of the mountain, no hiking to top except in July-Sep timeline
05	Tokyo Local: Morning: Asakusa and Sensoji temple, Tokyo Skytree Optional: Edo-Tokyo Museum Afternoon:  Imperial Palace (3 hours), Yoyogi, Ueno  or any other gardens Evening: Shibuya Cross, shopping or try any of the options from below Optional: National art centre (closes 6 PM) Use this map link	Imperial Palace closed on Monday, Friday n few other occasions.
06	Depending on season & interest Option 1: Explore various gardens for Cherry Blossom Option 2: Visit a ski resort/mountain Option 3: Visit a Sumo Wrestling (if an event is scheduled) Option 4: Rent a gokart and explore Tokyo city Option 5: Day trip to other cities (Osaka/Hiroshima/Kyoto) in a bullet train
07	Return flight. If you have half a day to spare, try any of the option listed above or visit any of the museums based on your interest

The second itinerary below is designed to cover attractions between Osaka and Tokyo, south eastern Japan

Itinerary 2: Enter at Osaka, Exit from Tokyo, JR Pass needed, hectic plan
Day	Plan	Remarks
01	Arrive in Osaka Kansai, get your JR Pass Train to Osaka city, assuming you’ve some spare time, visit Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building  Walk around Shinsekai area	Stay @Osaka
02	Option 1: Train to Hiroshima, visit war memorial, museum and castle [Details] Train to Himeji, Visit Himeji Castle Train to Kyoto-night stay at Kyoto Option 2: Full day at Universal studios, stay either in Osaka (leave early morning next day to Kyoto) or reach Kyoto by night. Option 3: Half day visit to Wakayama station (has a cat as station master, 2 hours from Osaka + Half day in Osaka city- Castle, Umeda Sky building, Tenma etc	Stay @Kyoto
03	Kyoto on its own needs 7 days to explore fully. With only 2 nights, you can target the below, or chose any other attractions from this list Bamboo Forest (no timing, can visit as early as 6 AM) Kinaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) Fushimi Inari Shrine  These 3 will take most of your day. If time permits visit  Saiho-Ji temple or any park/shrine closer to your hotel. Nijo castle I would say avoid. Alternatively you can cut a night at Tokyo n explore Kyoto bit more	Stay @Kyoto
04	Check out Half day visit to Nara, back to Kyoto Go to top of Kyoto Tower if interested Kyoto to Tokyo by train Be alert to get a glimpse of Mount Fuji on the way Reach Tokyo by late evening, time and interest permitting, visit Shibuya Crossing/Tokyo sky tree, else rest	Stay @Tokyo
05	Half Day trip to Nikko (catch first train of the day at 4AM) Back in Tokyo by 3PM, Tokyo, visit imperial Gardens (entry closes by 5 PM), Shibuya crossing & Yoyogi gardens (if not already visited) Rest at Tokyo	Stay @Tokyo
06	Depending on season & interest Option 1: Explore various gardens for Cherry Blossom Option 2: Visit a ski resort/mountain  Option 3: Visit a Sumo Wrestling (if an event is scheduled) Option 4: Rent a gokart and explore Tokyo city	Stay @Tokyo
07	Return flight. If you have half a day to spare, try any of the option listed above or visit any of the museums based on your interest

Above: Bamboo forest, Kyoto
Below: Shibuya Cross, Tokyo

Below itinerary focuses extensively on Osaka, Kyoto and nearby areas. If you’ve planned two separate trips to Japan (let us say because you can’t get a long leave) you can use ex-Tokyo itinerary for one trip and below listed ex-Osaka itinerary for the second trip. Or, if you’ve 10-14 days to spare, you can merge these two itinerary to create your grand 2 week Japan trip itineray.

Itinerary 3: Entry & Exit from Osaka, JR Pass recommended, cover western Japan
Day	Plan	Remarks
01	Arrive in Osaka Kansai, get your JR Pass Train to Osaka city, assuming you’ve some spare time, visit Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building  Walk around Shinsekai area	Stay @Osaka
02	Train to Himeji Visit Himeji castle Proceed to Hiroshima Hiroshima, visit war memorial, museum and Castle Night stay at Hiroshima	Stay @Hiroshima
03	Option 1: Miyajima island day visit Option 2: Day visit to Nagasaki (3 hours by train one way) and back to Hiroshima Optional-Try to reach Kyoto same day n stay at Kyoto, you will get more time next day to explore Kyoto	Stay @Hiroshima
04	Kyoto on its own needs 7 days to explore fully. With only 2 nights, you can target the below. Bamboo Forest (no timing, can visit as early as 6 AM) Kinaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)  Fushimi Inari Shrine  These 3 will take most of your day. If time permits visit  Saiho-Ji temple or any park/shrine closer to your hotel. Nijo castle I would say avoid. Alternatively you can cut a night at other cities n explore Kyoto bit more	Stay @Kyoto
05	Daigoji Shrine/Any other attractions in Kyoto Half day visit to Nara Park Visit parks for Cherry blossom (if season) Reach Osaka by night, stay at Osaka (or spend an extra night at Osaka	Stay @Kyoto/Osaka
06	Train to Osaka Option 1: Full day at Universal Studios, Osaka Option 2: Visit Wayagama cat station (if you love cats)- closer to airport will be a half day program + visit any of the mountains in the region- Mt. Manaitaishi, Takagiyama hill  or Mt Koyasan etc Option 3: Attend a Sumo Wrestling event (if scheduled during your visit) or visit various museums in Osaka Stay closer to airport in case of early flight	Stay @Osaka
07	Plan your day based on departure flight time. If you’ve few hours/half a day, try below Rinku Park near airport- giant wheel, shops and attractions for kids Kishiwada Castle or any option from Day 06

My personal itinerary was as below
Day 01- 2.40 PM- arrive in Osaka Kansai, collect JR pass, reach Osaka, check-in, explore few gardens and Umeda Sky Building
Day 02: Train to Kyoto- Bamboo forest, a shrine nearby, Nijo Castle, Philosopher's Path and a shrine nearby
Day 03- Maruyama park, Kyoto tower, train to Tokyo, Tokyo Sky tree, Shibuya cross
Day 04- Nikko half day visit, Tokyo local-Imperial Palace, Yoyogi gardens
Day 05- Train to Nara, visit Nara park, proceed to Hiroshima, night stay at Hiroshima
Day 06- Himeji castle, back to Osaka, visit Osaka castle (got some rains)
Day 07- Rinku park and early morning flight out.

Hope this helps. Read my other Japan posts here