Japan is one of those countries where first-timers try to do too much.
Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Hiroshima — suddenly your holiday becomes seven hotels and half your photos are taken inside train stations.
You really don’t need to cover the whole country in one trip.
Tokyo Can Easily Take 4–5 Days
Tokyo is huge, and every area feels different.
Shibuya and Shinjuku are good if you want the big-city Japan everyone imagines. Akihabara is worth checking out for anime and games, Ginza for shopping, and Asakusa when you want something more traditional.
I’d also leave some time just to explore without chasing attractions. Walk into a random ramen shop, spend too much money in Don Quijote, check out a neighbourhood supermarket or somehow disappear inside a department store for two hours.
That is part of Tokyo too.
Kyoto: Go Early or Share It With Everyone
Kyoto is beautiful, but you are definitely not the only person who knows that.
Places like Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizudera and Arashiyama can get very busy. If there is somewhere you really want to see, going earlier in the morning makes a noticeable difference.
Don’t try to visit ten temples either.
Pick a few, then spend some time walking around Gion and Higashiyama. Kyoto is much nicer when you are not rushing from one temple entrance to another.
Osaka Is Where I’d Relax More
After Tokyo and Kyoto, Osaka feels easier.
Eat, shop, drink, repeat.
Dotonbori and Namba are obvious places for a first visit, but don’t only stand under the Glico sign and leave. Walk around Shinsaibashi, Kuromon Market, Ura Namba or Tenma and see what you find.
Food you should probably try at least once:
- Takoyaki
- Okonomiyaki
- Kushikatsu
- Yakiniku
- Ramen
- Whatever looks good at 11pm
Osaka is also one of the better cities if you actually want nightlife rather than another early morning temple visit.
Add One Day Trip, Not Five
This is where people destroy their itinerary.
If you are based in Osaka or Kyoto, Nara is an easy choice. Go see the deer, visit the temples and come back the same day.
From Tokyo, you could do Kamakura, Yokohama or a Mount Fuji area trip depending on what you want.
One or two day trips are enough. You don’t need to wake up at 6am every day of your holiday.
Get an IC Card and Stop Thinking About Every Train Ticket
For city transport, an IC card such as Suica or PASMO makes life much easier. You can tap through many train and bus systems and use the same card for plenty of convenience-store and vending-machine purchases.
Google Maps is also ridiculously useful in Japan because it normally tells you the train line, platform and transfer.
Convenience Stores Are Part of the Trip
You will eventually become attached to 7-Eleven, FamilyMart or Lawson.
Breakfast, coffee, onigiri, fried chicken, late-night snacks, ATM, random dessert you bought because the packaging looked nice — convenience stores solve a surprising number of travel problems.
Don’t feel like every meal has to be some famous restaurant.
Sometimes the ¥200 snack you grabbed at midnight becomes the thing you remember.
How Long Do You Actually Need?
For a first trip, 7–10 days is enough for a really good Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka route without turning the holiday into a race.
If you have two weeks, then start adding Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Kyushu or smaller towns.
Japan is not going anywhere.
You don’t need to finish it in one trip.
