Kantō
Tokyo
Thirteen cities in one. Late-night alleyways, quiet shrines and the best eating in the world — if you know where to look.
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14 Days
Japan in 14 Days
Tokyo → Fuji → Kyoto → Hiroshima → Osaka
Overview
Two weeks is where Japan opens up. There is room for the two great cities, a mountain interlude, a day that slows everything down in Hiroshima, and enough unscheduled hours to follow your own curiosity.
The route runs one way from east to west along the shinkansen spine, so you never double back. Four bases in fourteen nights keeps packing to a minimum.
Sara Lindqvist · Updated 30 August 2026
Check train optionsFind your stay
- Best for
- A complete first trip
- Pace
- Comfortable
- Bases
- Tokyo ×5, Fuji ×1, Kyoto ×5, Osaka ×3
- Rail
- Pass likely worth it
- Season
- Spring or autumn
Day by day
The route, one day at a time
Each day is a suggestion, not a schedule. Swap freely — the order is what matters.
Day by day itinerary
- Day 1
Arrive in Tokyo
Train into the city, a short walk, an early dinner nearby and sleep.
Base · Tokyo - Day 2
Shibuya, Harajuku, Ebisu
Meiji Jingū at opening, the Harajuku backstreets, Shibuya at dusk and dinner south of the station.
Base · Tokyo - Day 3
Asakusa and Yanaka
Sensō-ji before the crowds, then the old low-rise lanes, second-hand shops and a neighbourhood kissaten.
Base · Tokyo - Day 4
Museums and Marunouchi
A gallery morning, the Imperial Palace gardens, Ginza in the afternoon and a rooftop view at sunset.
Buy timed tickets the week before — the popular ones go early.
Base · Tokyo - Day 5
Kamakura day trip
An hour south: temples in the hills, the Great Buddha and a walk to the beach.
Base · Tokyo - Day 6
To the Fuji Five Lakes
Bus or train out, an afternoon by the lake, then a ryokan dinner and an onsen soak.
Forward your main suitcase straight to Kyoto and carry an overnight bag.
Base · Kawaguchiko - Day 7
Mountain morning, on to Kyoto
Sunrise by the water, then the long travel leg west. Arrive in time for dinner along the river.
Base · Kyoto - Day 8
Eastern Kyoto
Higashiyama at first light, one garden at length, the Philosopher's Path in the afternoon.
Base · Kyoto - Day 9
Arashiyama
Bamboo and the river early, a mountain temple, then a craft workshop or tea house back in town.
Base · Kyoto - Day 10
Nara
Tōdai-ji at opening, the lantern-lined climb to Kasuga Taisha, lunch in Naramachi.
Base · Kyoto - Day 11
Kyoto, unplanned
Fushimi Inari before breakfast, then a day with no fixed plan — the one most people remember.
Base · Kyoto - Day 12
Hiroshima and Miyajima
Early shinkansen west. The Peace Memorial Museum in the morning, the island in the afternoon, then on to Osaka for the night.
Check the tide table before deciding when to cross to Miyajima.
Base · Osaka - Day 13
Osaka
Kuromon Market, the castle grounds, Shinsekai for kushikatsu and Dōtonbori after dark.
Base · Osaka - Day 14
Depart
Last breakfast, gifts from a depachika, then the express to Kansai Airport.
Base · Osaka
Route map
Where this trip takes you
Map coming soon
Tokyo → Fuji → Kyoto → Hiroshima → Osaka
Stay
Where to stay
- Tokyo
- Five nights. One hotel, well connected — Shinjuku or Tokyo Station.
- Kawaguchiko or Hakone
- One night in an onsen ryokan with dinner.
- Kyoto
- Five nights centrally, ideally including a ryokan or machiya night.
- Osaka
- Three nights in Namba or Umeda for food and the airport line.
Book ahead
Things to book
- Accommodation in Kyoto
- Book first; everything else can flex around it.
- The ryokan night
- Small properties with dinner included fill months ahead.
- Seat reservations for the long legs
- Especially Kyoto–Hiroshima with luggage.
- One or two standout meals
- Reservation-only counters open their books a month or more in advance.
Travel tips
What we'd do differently
Budget
Planning your budget
We don't publish sample prices — rates move constantly. Here is where the money actually goes.
- Rail
- The biggest variable. Compare a nationwide pass with point-to-point fares for this exact route.
- Accommodation
- Ryokan nights and Kyoto in high season push the average up; business hotels bring it down.
- Food
- Ranges from a few hundred yen at a noodle counter to a kaiseki dinner. Plan a couple of splurges.
- Experiences
- Museums, workshops and day trips — modest per item, worth budgeting as a block.
Before you go
Guides for this trip
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