Japan

The short version

Japan is a 3,000-kilometre archipelago that fast rail makes deceptively small: Tokyo to Kyoto is about two and a quarter hours, Kyoto to Hiroshima under two more. That corridor is where a first trip belongs, and the real decision is not which cities but how many — three bases in two weeks leaves whole days to walk a neighbourhood, while five turns the trip into checkout mornings. The second decision is when. Blossom and autumn colour move across the country over weeks, and the three domestic holidays — Golden Week in early May, Obon in August and New Year — tighten trains and rooms harder than any foreign season does.

Pick a region

Three ways to split it

Compare the cities

Where the days go, and what they cost

Cost per day is a mid-range, per-person figure for a bed, food and local transport, before the bigger paid experiences. It converts to your selected currency.

What it costs

A day, by how you travel

• Lean ≈€38–59/day Rate 2026-08-26

  Hostel dorm or basic guesthouse, inexpensive noodles and set meals, local trains and buses, mostly free sights. Long shinkansen legs are not in this every day.

• Private and flexible ≈€70–119/day Rate 2026-08-26

  Simple private or business-hotel room, mixed casual and sit-down meals, IC-card transport, paid sights and the occasional luggage forwarding or short taxi.

• Comfortable ≈€135–215/day Rate 2026-08-26

  Good small hotel or apartment, restaurants most nights, reserved intercity rail averaged across the trip and an occasional taxi or domestic flight. Not luxury.

Japan stays manageable when you book ordinary rooms, eat where residents eat and stop using taxis as public transport. Intercity rail and peak-season accommodation move the total; bowls of noodles do not.

When to go

Month by month

• Jan Good
• Feb Good
• Mar Good
• Apr Prime
• May Good
• Jun Mixed
• Jul Wet
• Aug Wet
• Sep Mixed
• Oct Prime
• Nov Prime
• Dec Good

Prime Good Mixed Wet

A national calendar is only a baseline. Blossom, autumn colour, rainy season and snow all move across a long country, and Hokkaido and Okinawa routinely ignore the shorthand used for Tokyo and Kyoto.

Eat here

What to order, and the tell

The dependable cheap meal is at a station counter, a neighbourhood shokudo or a shop that only makes one thing. Convenience-store food solves timing problems; it should not become the food itinerary.

• Rāmen ≈€4–8 Rate 2026-08-26

  A busy counter shop with a short menu or a ticket machine. The basic bowl is enough; landmark queues and topping bundles guarantee nothing.

• Udon / soba ≈€3–6 Rate 2026-08-26

  Station and neighbourhood noodle shops are the useful version. Start with a plain bowl — the tray gets expensive one piece of tempura at a time.

• Teishoku ≈€5–10 Rate 2026-08-26

  Look for a lunch board outside a plain shokudo. Rice, soup and pickles should be included; the view and the English tasting copy are the surcharge.

• Kaiten-zushi ≈€6–16 Rate 2026-08-26

  A chain or busy local shop with plate prices shown clearly, ordered from the tablet. Losing count of the plates is the usual budget failure.

The essentials

Before you go

Visa and entry

Eligible passports enter at ¥0 for 15, 30 or usually 90 days, depending on nationality. Where a visa is required, the standard single-entry fee is about ¥15,000 for applications accepted from 1 July 2026, with nationality-based exceptions. Complete Visit Japan Web for immigration and customs before you fly.

Money and cards

Cards work widely in cities, but keep cash for small restaurants, temples, rural buses and older machines. Seven Bank and Japan Post ATMs accept most overseas cards; an IC card covers local transport and small purchases.

Getting around

Rail is the default between major stops, with buses, ferries and domestic flights filling the gaps. Compare individual tickets and regional passes before the nationwide JR Pass, and verify the exact station name before booking a hotel or a connection.

Connectivity

Prepaid SIMs, eSIMs and pocket Wi-Fi are all easy to arrange. Your phone must be unlocked for a local SIM; airport collection is convenient, while setting up an eSIM in advance avoids starting the trip at a telecom counter.

Language

Japanese is the default. Major stations and visitor services usually have English signage and announcements; small restaurants and rural transport often do not. Save addresses in Japanese and keep camera translation ready.

Water and health

Tap water is safe. Summer heat and humidity are the routine health risk, so carry water and follow heat and storm alerts. Treatment can be expensive for visitors, so travel insurance is strongly recommended.

Plan the shape

Routes by trip length

1. 8–10 days

   The useful first trip

   One fast rail spine and three bases; a fourth city mostly adds checkout mornings rather than places.

   Tokyo · Kyoto · Osaka

2. 12–14 days

   Corridor with one slower night

   Break the city sequence with one onsen night, then continue west to Hiroshima instead of returning to Tokyo.

   Tokyo · Hakone · Kyoto · Osaka · Hiroshima

3. 18–21 days

   Cities and the alpine interior

   Cross the mountains by bus, rejoin fast rail at Kanazawa and finish in the west with time still in hand.

   Tokyo · Takayama · Kanazawa · Kyoto · Osaka · Hiroshima

4. 21–28 days

   Pacific spine to Kyushu

   Mix the major rail stops with two slower detours, then fly home from the south rather than doubling back.

   Tokyo · Hakone · Kanazawa · Kyoto · Hiroshima · Fukuoka

Read the fine print

Book with your eyes open

• Do the rail-pass arithmetic

  The ordinary 7-day nationwide JR Pass is ¥50,000 online, and its overseas-agency price rises to ¥53,000 on 1 October 2026. Price the actual route and the regional passes first.

• Avoid the three domestic rushes

  Golden Week, Obon and New Year tighten trains and accommodation nationwide. Book early or move the route; a more expensive room does not fix a sold-out reserved seat.

• Reserve space for a large suitcase

  On the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu shinkansen, baggage over 160 cm in total dimensions normally needs an oversized-baggage seat reservation. Forwarding the bag one stop ahead is often easier.

• Read the ryokan arrival rules

  Dinner is commonly tied to a fixed arrival window, and some baths still restrict visible tattoos. Confirm both before booking — arriving late can mean losing a meal you paid for.

• Treat blossom dates as forecasts

  Cherry blossom and autumn colour move by region and by weather. Book the route rather than one exact tree, and keep a flexible day instead of prepaying a chain of seasonal tours.