Itineraries
This is every Japan itinerary I’ve published, on one page: 11 day-by-day routes running from a single long day in Hiroshima to a ten-day arc across the whole golden route, plus the two planning guides that help you choose between them. Every route is a real plan with trains, costs and places to sleep — not a listicle. Find your trip length below, open the route that matches, and use it as your template.
First trip: start with one of these two
For most first-time visitors the decision mostly makes itself: the golden route (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) stacks three completely different cities along a single shinkansen corridor — central Osaka is one short transfer from Shin-Osaka — which is why it has survived every generation of guidebook. The only real question is whether you have seven days or ten.
7 Days in Japan: Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka
The classic first trip, fully planned — trains, neighborhoods, bookings, day-by-day. Full pace, every move worked out.
8–10 Day Japan Itinerary: Golden Route + One Quiet Detour
The same spine with room to breathe: an onsen night in Hakone or a Hiroshima run, plus the slack that makes a trip feel like travel.
The full index, by trip length
| Days | Route | Region | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiroshima & Miyajima in One Day | Chugoku | A Kansai base, one unforgettable day out |
| 1 | Kiso Valley: Naraijuku to Tsumago by Train | Chubu (Kiso Valley) | Old post towns without a car |
| 3 | Yakushima in 3 Days | Kyushu islands | Cedar forests, moss and slow walking |
| 5 | 5 Days in Shikoku: Naoshima, Iya Valley & Dogo Onsen | Shikoku | Art islands and vine bridges at an unhurried pace |
| 5 | Tokyo to Tohoku in 5 Days: Sendai, Yamadera, Ginzan Onsen & Hirosaki | Tohoku | The north most first trips skip — and shouldn’t |
| 7 | 7 Days: Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka | Kanto → Kansai | The first trip, done honestly |
| 7 | 7 Days in Kansai, Beyond Kyoto | Kansai | Second-trippers going deeper, not wider |
| 7 | The Sapphire Route: 7 Days of Blue Japan | Multi-region | Coasts, gorges and water-colored places |
| 7 | The Emerald Route: 7 Alpine Days | Chubu (Alps) | Forest bathing and mountain air |
| 7 | The Ruby Route: 7 Volcanic Days in Kyushu | Kyushu | Volcanoes, hot sand baths, big landscapes |
| 8–10 | 8–10 Days: Golden Route + One Quiet Detour | Kanto → Kansai + | First trip with breathing room |
Two planning guides sit alongside the routes: Japan vs Korea for a 5-day trip, which is really an honest look at what five days in Japan can hold, and Beyond the Golden Route, the overview that introduces the Sapphire, Emerald and Ruby trio above.
Five days, three very different Japans
The five-day slot is where itineraries stop being interchangeable. The same five days buys you Tokyo with day trips, the gaslit river street of Ginzan Onsen on the Tohoku route, or Naoshima’s art islands and the Iya Valley’s vine bridges on the Shikoku route. None is a lesser version of the golden route — they’re built for different trips, and the route pages spell out which one is yours.
The same five days buys you gaslit snow in Yamagata or an art island in the Seto Inland Sea.
How to choose, in order
Four decisions, made in this order, will get you most of the way:
1 · Days
Count nights minus one, then read how many days do you need? — the honest 5 vs 7 vs 10 vs 14 comparison.
2 · Season
Dates flexible? Decide the month before the route: best time to visit Japan, 12 months compared.
3 · Route
Pick from the table above — first trips take the golden route, return trips take everything else.
4 · Bookings
Rooms before trains, trains before tours: the booking timeline says what to lock and when, and the JR Pass math says whether the pass pays.
Book the skeleton, improvise the rest
Common questions
Which itinerary is best for a first trip to Japan?
The 7-day Tokyo→Kyoto→Osaka route if you have a week; the 8–10 day version if you can stretch. Both cover the golden route — the second just lets it breathe.
How many days do I need for Japan?
Seven on the ground is the honest minimum for the classic Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka trip; ten is comfortable; five works if you stay in one region. The full comparison is in how many days do you need in Japan?
Can I do these itineraries without a car?
The core routes are train-first, which is how I travel. Two exceptions worth planning around: parts of Shikoku’s Iya Valley and Yakushima are considerably easier with a rental car or local buses.
Are these itineraries kept up to date?
Yes — fares, schedules and opening details get rechecked as things change, and each article carries its own updated date at the top so you can judge freshness at a glance.
What if I’ve already done Tokyo and Kyoto?
Go where most itineraries don’t: deep Kansai, Tohoku, Shikoku, Kyushu or Yakushima. That’s the half of Japan this site exists for.
Eleven routes is a lot of Japan, but it’s still a fraction of it. If none of them fits the trip in your head, the first-trip guide and the Find Your Japan quiz will get you to a shortlist — and somewhere in the 44 hidden gems is probably the place you didn’t know you were looking for.