How to Plan a Trip to Japan
If you’re like a lot of people we talk to, planning a trip to Japan feels... overwhelming.
Not because it's hard to get around or because it's unwelcoming. Far from it.
But because there's so much. So many places. So many opinions. So many options.
You don’t need to figure everything out at once.
You just need to get started — in the right direction.
Step 1: Start with the Shape of Your Japan Trip
Don’t begin with restaurants in Japan, or rail passes (you almost definitely don’t even need the latter).
Start with two things: how many days you’ll be in Japan, and your travel style.
A quick example:
7 nights? You’ll want to keep it tight. Maybe just two base cities: Tokyo + Kyoto/Osaka.
10–14 nights? You’ve got room to explore beyond the “big two.” Think Hiroshima, Kanazawa, the Alps, or even a smaller town or coastal area.
More than two weeks? You can start to string together a wider arc or slow it down in Japan (go deeper) with extra nights in each place.
Your travel style matters too. Are you high-energy and want to squeeze every drop out of your days? Or do you prefer to take it slow and really settle into a part of Japan? That’s going to change everything from your itinerary to your hotel picks.
Step 2: Choose Your Travel Anchors in Japan, not a Checklist
Japan should not be a checklist country.
You don’t need to see everything in Japan. In fact, trying to do so can make your Japan trip kinda all blur together.
Pick a few “anchor points” to shape the trip around. For many people, that means Tokyo and Kyoto. That’s fine, they’re both great. But even between those two, you can shape your experience in wildly different ways.
Want more food and nightlife? Stay longer in Tokyo. Want a deeper cultural hit? Give Kyoto extra time. Want to avoid crowds? Stay in a smaller town and do Kyoto as a day trip.
Once you have 2–4 core places, the rest of your planning gets easier.
Step 3: Understand How Distances in Japan Really Work
Japan is compact and efficient, but that doesn’t mean every destination pairs well.
Before adding places like Sapporo or Okinawa or the Nakasendo trail to your list, zoom out and think through the logistics.
Japan’s train network is excellent, but not everything is a direct shot on the shinkansen. That rural hot spring town might take 5 hours and three transfers to reach. Worth it? Maybe. But it should be intentional, not accidental.
Use Google Maps (or Navitime) to sanity check any city-to-city routes before locking them in.
Step 4: Lock in the Right Order for Your Japan Trip
Once you know where you want to go in Japan, figure out what order makes sense. You want a clean arc, not zigzags.
This is where flights matter too. If you haven’t booked your flights yet, look at flying into one city and out of another. For example:
Into Tokyo, out of Osaka
Into Osaka, out of Tokyo
Into Tokyo, out of another city (flying home/onward with a connection in Tokyo HND or NRT)
Open-jaw flights can save you time and sometimes even money, especially when you factor in fewer backtracks.
Step 5: Book your Stays Strategically in Japan
Not every night needs a hotel in a different city. In fact, we usually recommend the opposite.
Base yourself in one city for 3–5 nights, then take day trips. For example:
Stay in Kyoto and do day trips to Nara, Osaka, Himeji or even Hiroshima
Stay in Tokyo and visit Yokohama, Kamakura or Nikko
Fewer hotel changes = less packing, less navigating, more time to actually enjoy where you are.
Step 6: Enjoy Japan; Don’t Over-Schedule Your Days
One of the biggest mistakes we see?
Planning too much.
Japan rewards wandering. It’s safe. It’s clean. And sometimes the best part of your day is something you didn’t plan. A shop you found by accident. A bowl of ramen you ducked into during the rain. A side street you got lost on, only to find the best little local izakaya.
A few tips:
Pick one or two "main" things per day, and eave the rest open
Think in neighborhoods, not just attractions; group activities so you’re not criss-crossing the city.
Don’t treat Google Maps estimates like gospel; plan in some buffer
Step 7: How Would You Like to Eat in Japan?
Are you someone who loves hunting down specific restaurants?
Great. Just remember that many popular places come with lines or require reservations (and not all take online bookings).
Or maybe you just want to eat well without the stress. That works too. Japan has a very high floor when it comes to food; you’re unlikely to eat badly.
In either case, know what kind of diner you are, and build your food expectations around that.
Also: No shame in grabbing a train station bento on the way between cities, or getting some onigiri or a nikuman for breakfast. Japan nails the grab-and-go game.
Step 8: Leave Room for Surprises on Your Japan Trip
Not every moment needs to be efficient.
If you plan everything to the minute, you’ll miss out on the things that only happen when you leave space for them.
Some of our favorite travel memories come from:
Taking a wrong turn in a Kyoto alley and finding a hidden temple or shrine
Stepping into a kissaten (old-school café) on a rainy afternoon
Wandering into a local festival we had no idea was happening
You can’t plan those. But you can leave time for them to happen.
Still Overwhelmed by Japan? You’re Not Alone
Japan is layered.
There’s no such thing as the perfect Japan itinerary, and you don’t need to "do it right." You just need a plan that works for you.
And if you get stuck, or you want someone to help build a trip around your travel style, we do that too.
It’s going to be a great trip. Let’s just make it one that feels like yours.
Schedule your free Japan travel consultation using the calendar below.