I saw a lot of posts an each one recommends a different time of year or different things to do.
My question is if you could go to japan for only 1 time in your life for 14 days, when would you go and what would you do?
Basically I have been saving for 15 years to see japan for the first time and I probably won't be able to go back, so I wanted to see the most things that I can on this trip and have the best time possible.
by ItchyEvidence5553
26 comments
Things to consider:
* What time of the year you’re planning to visit
* Your budget
* Your interests
* Which regions/cities you want to visit
Damn saving 15 years!? Bless you, have an amazing trip.
Go when its pleasant weather. Spring or Fall. I like retro games, Nintendo, night life, ramen, and theme parks. So these are my recommendations.
Whatever you do, avoid going in summer.
We’re just back from our first trip and had a great time, but the weather was brutal. Would absolutely not choose to travel to Japan in August (or any summer month) again.
If I could recommend one thing, it would be splurge for a night’s stay on Miyajima. It is absolutely magical there and was probably the top highlight of our trip.
If you’re a sports fan (even a very casual one), I would also recommend going to a baseball game.
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In the last two years, I took multiple trips to Japan and experienced all seasons. I assume you have saved sufficient and will be able to explore/experience/eat anything you wish?
Firstly, do you want to experience the typical Japan, checking all the boxes? Or do you want something different? This will help you narrow down the places to visit
But while in Japan, here are things that over the trips, I would recommend others to do
– stay in an onsen hotel for a few nights, probably one leg of your trip. No need for private bath in your room, public for hotel guest is fine
– as long as it is within your means, buy whatever you want: that handmade plate? that cute keychain from Ghibli store? (Stating my regrets)
– Omakase, at least once
– around your hotel, use google map “food near me” and look thru the list, likely you will find food only known to locals, they are the best!
– be flexible, don’t overpack your itinerary, have sometime and walk around aimlessly, Japan surprises you in many ways
As for when? Do you want to see cherry blossom? Autumn leaves? Snowy Japan? Summer is hot but plenty of festivals – do u want to see them?
I personally love the fall season and the country side destinations in Japan. But I think people would be able to give you better advice if you’s list some of your wishes and preferences?
I would advise you, especially if you’re going for 14 days, to pick one region and not travel all over. It sucks to maybe miss out on something, but better pick a place that gives you a lot of possibilities for day trips rather than loosing a lot of time going from one end of the country to the other. So maybe, good old Osaka/ Kyoto region because you have: big city, history, nature all close to each other. Day trips to Nara, Kobe, mt Koya, Himeji, Uji, Arashiyama… temples castles, nature, tech and nerd stuff, food. Everything within reasonably traveable reach.
I did exactly this last year. I’d saved pretty much my whole life, and finally went when I was 40.
I decided to go in Autumn, for the maples. I figured as great as Sakura season would be, it would be horrendously busy, summer would be too hot, and winter might make travelling difficult.
I travelled around quite a lot. It was almost 3 weeks total but my longest stint anywhere was 4 days. I arrived 2nd November and went Tokyo>Kawaguchiko>Matsumoto>Kamikochi>Takayama>Shirakawago>Kanazawa>Kyoto then back to Tokyo.
It was incredible. It was everything I dreamed and more. Now having done it, I can honestly say that since you seem to have dreamed as much as me, no matter when you go you’re going to love it!
I’ve gone in May, November, and August. For me, November was the most comfortable temperature-wise, least crowded with tourists and most beautiful for fall foilage almost everywhere I went. May is also great, but doesn’t have cherry blossom or fall foliage views.
If you have only one chance, do the “standard” golden route during cherry blossom season.
Tokyo – Osaka/kyoto – Himeji – Hiroshima.
Add a visit to Fuji or Kobe depending on your time and preferences.
Surely if you’ve been saving for that long you must have a strong idea of why you want to go?
I am biased with my own experience but definitely go for Kyoto (+Takayama) and if you can, Tokyo (+ Kamakura (or any nearby smaller city/town either coastal or maybe one of those with views of Mount Fuji)
I see a lot of expensive food recommendations here but honestly you could also visit markets / fish markets, festivals and get to try different food even if smaller portions, the chain restaurants are pretty good too and a nice way to people watch. Don’t be one of those tourists who think Japanese food is all about expensive sushi and izakayas, go for the home food too – ramen, soba, somen, udon, the underrated roasted sweet potato in the supermarket, the Okonomiyaki, yakitori, Takoyaki at food stalls in festivals or markets, grilled tuna at the fish market etc. Try bentos.
Ice cream is so underrated, I would take matcha ice cream over mochi or daifuku anyday to be honest, but that is me. Single mochi sold in one of those common 7/24 shops was top notch.
I did try the more fancy food as well, as I was on a business trip but honestly I prefer some small shop Soba anyday!
So I did a big once in a lifetime trip earlier this year and I just want to go back and will do somehow but here are my suggestions, they might not appeal to you and thats fine but I like visiting cities and snow so bare that in mind.
If you want to see impressive snow (skiing etc) then you want to go at some point in Feb and visit Nagano/Shiga Kogen for skiing or Hokkaido Sapporo/Asahikawa for just impressive snow festivals and then when you leave the mountains and go to Tokyo, Osaka etc the weather is actually quite pleasant (rains occaisonally but not cold).
Now if you don’t care about snow then I’d suggest doing end of March into April, the weather is starting to get warmer and is normally sunny and you’ll likely catch cherry blossom season and get to see some classically beautiful sites and not feel like your walking around in a sauna. The added bonus of March is if you start in Osaka then the Sumo is on and you might get lucky and get a ticket.
Places I loved and would recommend to visit:
Tokyo (of course)
Osaka
Kyoto
Nagano
Sapporo
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Activities I loved
Watching the Sumo in Osaka during March
Biking around Kyoto with a French guide (lives in Kyoto)
Nagano Zenkōji temple was really impressive and you can do a day trip from Tokyo including the Snow onsen monkey park
Exploring cities with no real plan (don’t plan out every minute of your time there)
Meeting other travellers and locals in random bars and the crazy adventures that led to
Food and drinks, try to make a list of foods to try but be flexible and try a new drink every day
* Ride the shinkansen
* Night view of Tokyo from high up
* Fresh sushi where you can watch the chef work
* Seasonal nature views – e.g. cherry blossoms, fall leaves, etc
* Try to find a cool local festival
* Go to a concert
* Go to a baseball game
* Eat and drink in an izakaya
* See the ocean
* See Mt. Fuji
* Visit a temple on a mountain
* Go to the basement food hall at a department store or major train station
We’ve visited three times in the past 2 years, each time for about 3 weeks. My favorite time so far is late October to early Nov. Cherry blossom time was bonkers and I wouldn’t recommend anytime near there unless Sakura is on your Japan bucket list.
You say you’ve been saving for 15 years – great commitment!! Why are YOU interested in visiting Japan? There must be a reason it’s such a priority for you. I would answer that and design your itinerary around that.
This is not an itinerary, but here are some of our favorite things or places:
-Kanazawa is one of our favorite cities. Busy with Japanese tourists, but fewer foreign tourists. Fantastic and diverse older areas, just as pretty as Kyoto, imo. Felt more local.
-Nagasaki is a stunning harbor town with the most unique history in Japan, literally. It was the only city allowed to have foreign trade take place during the 200 years when Japan closed its borders. Because of that, there are sections of the city that look extremely western, and that’s wild to see in Japan. Stunning city setting. Also was 1 or 2 cities to have an atomic bomb dropped on it.
-Hiroshima is the other, arguably more famous, city to have an atomic bomb dropped on it. The Peace Memorial is extremely moving. In addition, we found the city to be one of our favorites in Japan. After the day trippers leave, it was us and locals. Great base for daytrips to Miyajima, Iwakuni, and a lot more.
-Tokyo was not my personal favorite city. For me, it was way too big and spread out. I feel overwhelmed there and like I don’t get to know the “essence” of Tokyo. Most people prefer Osaka or Tokyo – I prefer Osaka. Since you “only” have 14 days, think about what you want. Don’t feel like you HAVE to visit somewhere. This is your trip – design it for your interests.
-I thought Nara was overrated so we skipped it on our first visit and went on our 2nd. We were completely wrong and the deer and town totally charmed us.
-Japan is a country with a very strong hiking scene. We really enjoyed doing part of the Nakasendo trail, hiking above Hiroshima from a nearby temple, and hiking around Miyajima. We want to return next year to hike in the Japanese alps.
Flights within Japan are not expensive. Consider in-country flights if the distance by train is greater than 4 hours.
These are places we’ve visited, in case you have specific questions:
Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Iwakuni, Nagoya, Kanazawa, Toyama, Takayama, Shirakawago, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, central Kyushu by RV (Mt Aso area).
I went mid-May until Mid-June and the weather was perfect! Also less tourists in May and June nothing was really overly crowded. I’d go back again that time of year. I can’t say what other times of year are like because I haven’t been there then only been told that never come in July and August as the heat is too much.
My advice- Learn some Japanese! Do the language tapes and Duolingo and library books and everything you can get your hands on. And try to learn some Japanese characters and history and culture. It will take effort and time but to get from zero to anything above zero …it looks more daunting then it really is and it will mind-blowingly improve how good of a time you will have.
Definitely go to Team Lab in Tokyo! There’s another place similar to that nearby I think too. I don’t recall the name of the place though.
Eat lunch beforehand as there is only one restaurant in the area, a vegan ramen place at Team Labs & a snack cart.
May or October
I live in Kyoto and for some reason many friends came to visit “because it was cheap”, despite all advice otherwise. It’s hell rescuing people who DO know better. I just want to go slow and take it easy myself but…
If you can only come once, come in May or November. Not too hot, not too cold. Very beautiful.
May – “shinryoku” time. “New Greenery” time is very beautiful and fresh feeling. Why isn’t this better marketed???
November – “kōyō”. Come and enjoy Autumn colours. A bit expensive season, but for good reason. More beautiful than Sakura and much easier to time as it lasts a while and is fairly reliable.
Once in a lifetime… I would do the classical thing end of March before golden week during cherryblossom, start in Tokyo, do 1-2 days Tokyo, 1 day Kyoto, 1 day Osaka, 1 day Kobe and Himeji, 2 days Hiroshima
Then the less obvious things, I would continue to Fukuoka 1 day, Kumamoto and a Ryokan there, see Mt Asso and the nature for maybe 3 days, then Fukuoka 1 day and fly back to Tokyo.
This is 10 days – I suggest adding one day at the beginning and at the end for relaxation and with the remaining 2 days you can either fit Nagasaki in or prolong whatever feels good to you to take out some pressure.
With this schedule you do end on the more relaxed side and experience japanese.nature and scenery at the end.
I would go in November for the fall leaves, and also you can check out Aboard in Japan 14 day video, that hits most of the spots I would want to visit if it was my one and only time in Japan
https://youtu.be/DBVAAnq1dHo?si=qdV6xveH-25hoRkl
I wish I had gone to Japan while I was younger. I’ve sorta made up for it by going two times in the last two year. I’m also trying for a third visit this October.
I recommend autumn. It’s cool and less touristy than Spring and you can def enjoy an onsen visit with the cooling weather. The typical essential trip does the Tokyo – Hakone (Mt Fuji) – Kyoto – Osaka. But it really depends on what you like to do for activities – for some ppl – Tokyo and Kyoto is enough too. Like if you like history, then maybe it’s Kyoto and Nara and you can enjoy the sites etc. I personally enjoy the quiet country-side now but I have already done the essential tourist stuff some years back.
oof thats a tough one, theres an absurd amount to do all over so picking specific things is tough especially without knowing your interests, the closest ill go is listing my fave 3 cities, Osaka, Kanazawa and Sapporo, all 3 are full of great things to see and do
spring is lovely for the cherry blossoms.
I went for 13 days (lost a day flying from USA). Booked a tour that included hotel, ryokan, transfers to and from airport, Shinkansen rides, museum and food vouchers. Went from Tokyo>Hakone>Ainokura villages>takayama>kanazawa (met nice elderly lady who wanted a picture with me (was walking to samurai museum with group, went solo) >kyoto>hiroshima>kyoto>osaka (airport via ana flight) to Tokyo and flew back to USA that way. This was a luxury tour and my flight was separate with preferred airline. Still upgraded seat for more room. I also went twice in a year. Used a travel agent, you could also look at vacation packages. I prefer to stay away from tours now and self explore. It’s good if you never been and need help getting around, but after that. It’s more fun to explore on your own.
Went to Tokyo DisneySea and land. Also booked Teamlab planet and boarderless.
Tokyo tower and skytree have mini malls inside them. I had card issues (not related to going out of country)
Shibuya sky and some pet cafes would be better reserved by card. Less likely to get in if you wait. You’d be surprised on whatever you saved up that you could do it on smaller budget too.