Shorter trips are often not the norm, but in some cases they are all that is possible for a tourist for a visit to Japan. These shorter trips are often harder to plan, especially for first timers because it’s so hard to fit so many things into that period of time – but there must be a way to see things and have an enjoyable trip without rushing from place to place, right? That’s where YOU come in!
**We’d like to challenge you to plan a 5, 6, or 7 day itinerary for someone else going to Japan for the first time!**
Keeping with our theme of planning future trips, we’d like know what our users would recommend for a trip for someone who has only 5-6-7 days for their vacation. (To make this easier, we will assume those days are aside from the day of entry and exit – so no need to plan for the day of arrival, or the day of departure!)
You can use the following questions to get you started, and add extra information if you’d like:
>- How long are you recommending they visit?
>- What cities should they make time to see?
>- What are the ideal “Must-Sees” for those places?
>- Any Specific Restaurants?
>- Other experiences you’d recommend?
>- Hotels, Hostels, Airbnb, Ryokan?
>- Plane, train or bus? What’s the best transportation type for your itinerary?
>- What budget would work best for this trip?
Have fun!
(Please keep discussion on topic, off-topic comments will be removed at Mod Discretion.
9 comments
This thread will be great for me since I’m planning a 7 day trip, and want to be able to see the “rural” part of Japan for at least a night.
For me, the key point is that it is a first trip and you do not want to rush things, so I would suggest to stick to a single regions. There is for sure several options, but I think the most natural one would be Tokyo region or Kansai region as they are the most emblematic, but for a second trip, I would for sure include other options basically around any regional airport,
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For the Tokyo option:
Obviously, Tokyo in itself have a lot different neighborhoods that have a lot to offer, so it would be easy to fill with days in area such as Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara, Odaiba, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, etc. Personally, I would try to include one observation deck, and there is several options like Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo Sky Tree, Shibuya Sky, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (to name some options). I would also try to see a garden, such as Hama-Rikyu, Koishikawa Korakuen, Rikugi-en or Shinjuku Gyoen. Then it depend on the interest of the people, for those into anime, maybe a Ghibli museum and Nakano day, for people who are into history, Edo-Tokyo Museum and Tokyo National Museum, etc. In order to not do Tokyo only, I would check to do one day trip to Kamakura, Hakone, Kawaguchiko or Nikko. And for those who would like to experience a onsen, then do an overnight trip to one of the last 3 spot named.
For a Kansai trip, for a short trip, I would likely stay in only one hotel, likely in Kyoto, while changing is also an option to have the experience of both Kyoto and Osaka. Kyoto is a minimum of two days, with one for Arashiyama and northern Kyoto Kinkaku-ji) and one for Higashiyama, and Gion area. One day for Nara and if you stay in Kyoto, I would stop by Fushimi Inari Taisha on the way back. And at least one day for Osaka and make sure to end the night around Dotonbori and could include an ovservation deck such as Umeda Sky Building or Abeno Harukas. For onsen, the easy option would be Arima onsen that can be done along a visit to Kobe, or Kinosaki, but that would take a bit longer to reach and there might be less things to do once there (but for sure the ambiance is nice). Options of day trips could include Himeji or Hikone to see an original castle, but there is much more options if you do not have enough to see in Kyoto/Osaka.
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For my “must see” list, it would likely de different depending on the interest of everybody, but I name some of the popular sports I would expect to see in a first time itinerary.
Restaurant, no recommendation, just make sure you have a phone with internet connection and just Google what you want to eat if you fail to walk in front of a dozen of restaurant that you could find about anywhere. If you are new to Japanese food, then just pay more attention to the display in front of the store and see what kind of dish exist in Japan.
For specific experience, I would actually recommend to check if there is festival or event around the dates you are visiting, my personal favorite are matsuri and dance events.
Type of accommodation depend on your budget, Hostel are great for lower budget, next would do business hotel. For stronger budget, you can go for more luxury hotel too. If you are to do an overnight outside of the main city, for sure you should check to do a night in a ryokan that offer a kaiseki meal. I do not have much experience with airbnb, but often the cheaper places are a bit outside of the city, so would not recommend wasting more time in the train if the location is not good.
For transportation, train all the way. If you do a day trip, there is different value tickets or pass that I would consider if going to Nikko, Hakone or Himeji and would consider bus to Kawaguchiko.
Basic budget excluding flight to Japan would be 100$ a day. 25-30$ for hostel, 25-30$ for food (konbini breakfast and two meal in affordable restaurant), 10$ on transportation. The rest for entry tickets, shopping and extra. Plan a bit more if you want to do a splurge night at a Ryokan, do a day trip or extra shopping. This is just a starting point, you can add more to this budget if you want to have a hotel, fancier food, more activities, …
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Actually, I think it would be more exciting an different to plan a trip something once you have already spent a week around both Tokyo and Kansai area, then I would see a lot of options that are not as “obvious” as recommending Tokyo/Kansai.
5 Day Low Budget Tokyo + Kamakura Itinerary
This is an odd one. Me and my SO did this a couple years back as we had limited time and money. We managed to snag $100 return tickets (we live in Malaysia, so it wasn’t too expensive anyway). We’re also pretty lazy people who hate packing a lot, so a lot of days were pretty free and easy. Total cost (including flights): $600 per person.
We did this in JUNE – so it was either hot or rainy.
Day O – Pretty much arrived close to midnight at Haneda before catching the last train into the city. Stay at an AirBnb in a traditional house, complete with futons on tatamis and a friendly elderly couple.
Day 1 – Meiji Jingu Shrine & Gardens (Irises were blooming in June, which were beautiful), Harajuku, Brunch at Afuri Ramen. Shibuya (It got too hot for us, so we hid out in the shopping centres here). You can take the chance to check out Shibuya Sky here.
Day 2 – Asakusa in the morning. Afternoon was Ghibli Museum (the whole neighborhood in Mitaka is lovely and we spent some time walking around there, including Gotenyama though you could also check out Inokashira Park Zoo). Stopped by Koenji on the way back to check out the neighborhood and sample the amazing tempura at Tensuke. We also took a bath at Kosugiyu. Both highly recommended!
Day 3 – Rain, rain, rain. What better way to spend it than to head to Oedo Onsen Monogatori (I believe it is now closing down, sadly) and relaxed around there most of the day. An alternative for a rainy day that I can suggest is Spa LaQua which is smaller but still pretty good, though in a completely different area than Odaiba. You can also do some sightseeing in Odaiba – I went to Teamlabs and Toyata Megaweb on a subsequent trip.
Day 4 – Kamakura & Enoshima. The hydrangea gardens at Megetsuin were lovely, if a little too slammed. Did some sightseeing at Komachi Dori and took a wonderful train ride to Enoshima (if you’re looking for the Ghibli/slice of life anime feels, this is it). Walked to the island and spent most of the day there.
Day 5 – Akihabara sightseeing. SO is a pretty big anime fan so she wanted to check out the area. Didn’t feel there’s much to do there besides that. Walked to Ameyokocho for lunch and souvenir shopping. Stopped by Nezu Jinja and Yanaka. Train to Shimo-kitazawa for more window shopping as SO wanted to check out the fashion there. The neighborhood has a really lovely feel to it. Flight back home later that night.
Kansai: The “classical” trip
Reason: Because sometimes the recommended route is the optimal one.
Budget: Standard+. Kyoto and Osaka have accommodation ranging from hostel and dormitory level to high-end hotels and ryokans.
Transport: Generally use ICOCA card. ICOCA+Haruka deals may make sense, if staying in Kyoto. JR Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass may make sense if taking a day trip to Hiroshima (and JR Kansai Wide Area Pass may make sense if taking trip to Okayama, or trips to both Himeji and Kinosaki Onsen/Amanohashidate).
3 interchangeable days in Kyoto:
Day One: Arashiyama (Tenryuji, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Okochi Sanso, Iwatayama Monkey Park), which should take a half-day and can be extended with a trip on one or two of the following: Sagano Scenic Railway, Hoguzawa River Boat Cruise, Saga Toriimoto Preserved Steet area (Otagi Nenbutsuji, Adashino Nenbutsuji), Katsura Imperial Villa and Nijo-jo.
Day Two: Higashiyama/Gion day starting with Southern Higashiyama (Kiyomizu-dera, Kodaiji, Yanaka Shrine) with a lunch around Nishiki Market, and then moving on to Heian-jingu or Nanzen-ji and along Philosopher’s Path (Eikan-do, Hozen-in, Ginkaku-ji) and ending up back in Gion/Pontocho.
Day Three: Early morning at Fushimi Inari, visiting Tofukuji and then moving to northern Kyoto (Kinkakuji, Kitano Tenmangu, Ryoanji, Ninnaji).
Day Four: Nara(/Uji) – half a day around Nara Park area (Todaiji, Nigatsudo, Kasuga Taisha, Isui-en, Kofukuji) and half a day around one of Fushimi Sake distillery, Naramachi, or Byodo-in and tea shops/houses in Uji.
Day Five: the highlights of Osaka: morning/afternoon spent around Shitennoji/Sumiyosha Taisha/Shinsekai (for historical Osaka), or around Umeda/Tenjinsujibashi/Shinsaibashi (because on a first trip you want to have a half-day for shopping/gifts) – during plum/sakura blossom season – it might be worth visiting Osaka castle ground (though the castle itself is otherwise missable). In the evening one would end up around Namba/Dotonbori (probably in the late afternoon if interested in Den Den Town).
Day Six: visiting Himeji (the imposing castle and Koko-en) and either taking a trip to Mt. Shosha (Engyoji of *The Last Samurai*) or to Kobe (Shin-Kobe Ropeway area with Nunobiki Herb Garden, or Mt. Maya for the views and Chinatown/Harborland).
Day Seven: Any of the half-day itineraries not mentioned; or visiting Hikone (castle and garden), Kurama to Kibune trail, Minoo Park, Mt. Hiei (those are each half-day itineraries). If spending a second day in Osaka – Kaiyukan and Tempozan waterfront might make some sense as a half-day destination
During Hanami or autumn foliage season – it may make sense to take a trip to Mt. Yoshino.
Other options that I consider fairly reasonable:
* a half-day at Universal Studios Japan (Osaka day or 7th day)
* a trip to Hiroshima / Miyajima (certainly doable, though Mt. Misen must be skipped)
* a trip to Okayama (Korakuen) and Kurashiki (warehouse district)
* a trip to Amanohashidate
* a trip to Miyama (as an alternative to Shirakawa-go)
* an overnight stay in Kinosaki Onsen
Options, which probably do not make much sense:
* Koyasan – if you are looking for *shukubo* – there are lodgings in Kyoto and overnight stay will effectively eat 1½-2 days of your trip
* Naoshima and Art Islands – this should be as an overnight trip, staying at one of the islands or Takamatsu
* trying to do a trip to Ine and Amanohashidate on a single day
* **this option would probably popular after 2022** – trying to visit Ghibli theme park in Aichi Earth Expo Memorial Park and Nabana no Sato on a single day (it takes about two hours to get from one park to another, on top of 1½ spent to get to respective part of Aichi from Kyoto).
Northern Kyushu: The break from Busan (or from being stationed in Sasebo).
Reason: For a quick stop in Japan, when already visiting South Korea.
Budget: Standard+. There are less budget options in Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Beppu, however, peak season is limited – festivals, marathons and major events aside – will not break your bank.
Transport: Use your IC card in Fukuoka and the major card coverage area (most likely nimoca – if you arrive by ferry and Hayakaken – if you arrive by flight, but Sugoca is also available at Hakata). JR Northern Kyushu passes may make some sense.
Destinations:
Historical Japan: Dazaifu (medieval capital of Kyushu: Dazaifu Tenmagu Shrine, Kanzeonji, Komyozenji) and Yoshinogari Koen – day trips from Fukuoka, each trip will get you back in time to enjoy nightlife.
Nagasaki – where Japan meets Outside World: Sofukuji, Glover Garden, Koshi-byo, Dejima, Mt. Inasa (Nagasaki can be an intensive day trip, or two-day trip, if visiting atomic bomb sites).
Atomic Bomb Reminders – Nagasaki (A-Bomb Museum, Cenotaph, Urakami Cathedral) or Hiroshima (Atomic Bomb Dome, Museum, Peace Park). Hiroshima can be combined with a visit to Miyajima.
Famous Onsen Destination: Beppu Hells, Yufuin, Kurokawa Onsen (note that aside from Beppu – overnight stay is necessary to enjoy your visit)
Japanese Industrial Revolution sites: Yawata Steel Works, Mojiko
Eat Japan: Explore *yatai* in Fukuoka, champon in Nagasaki, fugu in Shimoneseki/Kitakyushu
Secrets of Japanese Pottery: Arita and Okawachiyama are a prime destination, but so is Karatsu-yaki in Karatsu
Fukuoka Waterfront: Momochihama Beach, PayPay Dome (yes, Toyo Carps in Hiroshima would be unique experience, but realistically it will be much easier to get tickets for SoftBank Hawks), Fukuoka Tower, Uminonakamichi Seaside Park with Marine World,
Shopping: Tenjin area or Canal City in Fukuoka
Plan:
Day One: Enjoy Fukuoka and get to know the city and its food culture.
Day Two: A day trip to Dazaifu to learn about Kyushu’s history.
Day Three: A trip to Nagasaki following your chosen path in that city.
Day Four: Visit Arita/Imari area for pottery, or Kitakyushu for modern industrial experience (or be honest for toilet seat museum).
Day Five/Six: Take a bus to Kurokawa Onsen, or a train to either Beppu or Yufuin.
Day Seven: whatever you choose to do of the proposals above (add a day to Nagasaki trip, visit Yoshinogari Koen, do some shopping).
Alternative destinations:
* Karatsu (and Nagoya Castle)
* Kumamoto (castle, Suzeinji, Hosokawa Residence)
* Tsuwano (samurai district, Taikodani Inari shrine)
* Kagoshima (with Sakuraijima as a main attraction)
What you might be tempted to do, but you shouldn’t (unless these will become your primary destinations and you are renting a car)
* Takachiho Gorge
* Mt. Aso area
* Hagi (it’s well-worth visiting, however it’s three hours away by train, and the train schedule is rather infrequent)
>What cities should they make time to see?
For this post, the answer is (mostly) none!
This is a post about hiking (and camping, though definitely on the more comfortable side of camping) in Japan.
There are examples of itineraries aplenty when it comes to places like Tokyo, Kyoto. But you, that’s not for you. For whatever reason, you decided to fly (for some of you) halfway around the world just to spend time in nature. I commend you, because Japan has some great nature and some great infrastructure to support it.
Japan is a country bisected north/south by a range of mountains called the “Japanese Alps” – this was named by a European whose name I cannot remember but that’s just to put those mountains into perspective, though they are not quite as tall as the European Alps. The tallest mountain in Japan is Mt. Fuji (not part of the Japanese Alps) at 3776 meters and the rest top out at just over 3000 meters; there are about 30 or so named peaks over 3000 meters.
Now you may be thinking, well, hiking is all well and good but a multi-day trip into nature requires preparation and gear which is not necessarily convenient for an overseas tourist trip. You’re not wrong! But, as I said earlier, Japan has great infrastructure set up to support this.
**I want to emphasize that the trails in Japan range from “a walk in the park” to “don’t slip because you’ll die” – so be very, very careful to research what you are getting yourself into.** While many people hike these trails safely, serious injury and death DO occur so do not be overconfident – that’s the quickest way to a bad, bad place!
One of the most famous section of mountains in Japan is called Kamikochi (上高地). This section of mountain is located in Nagano Prefecture. It consists mainly of a river valley with lined with several peaks, namely Yarigatake (槍ヶ岳) to the north and nominally West Hotaka 西穂高岳 to the west/south. Obviously the mountains continue but that’s what I’ll limit my post to.
The main peaks on the west/north side of the Kamikochi valley are, from north to south, **Yarigatake**, “Mt. South”/Minamidake 南岳, North Hotaka/**Kitahotakadake** 北穂高岳, **Karasawadake**/涸沢岳, Mt. Hotaka/**Okuhotakadake** 奥穂高岳, “Front Mt. Hotaka”/**Maehotakadake** 前穂高岳 (the route here splits from the main trail along the mountain ridge), and West Hotaka/**Nishihotakadake** 西穂高岳.
As I said, the trails vary greatly in difficulty. The route between Yarigatake and North Hotaka (including Minamihotaka) is a knife edge – step off and you die. It’s called the Daikiretto 第きれット (“the big cut”). There are sections where your only foothold is a steel plate bolted into the side of the mountain. If you’re not sure if this is for you then the answer is that it is not for you. The route between Okuhotaka and Nishihotaka is even more dangerous; it involves traversing a couple intermediate peaks called the Gendarme ジャンダルム and the uhh, Donkey’s Ear ロバの耳 (I didn’t name it). These peaks are very borderline mountain climbing and if you’re not the kind of hiker that likes to wear a helmet and cling to the side of a wall of rocks, this is not for you.
Okay! Introduction finished!
**When:** The mountains and valley is closed during the winter months. Kamikochi is open from around mid-April to mid-November. The best times to hike are the summer months (July-ish) and around when the leaves change, around October. Note that the conditions in the valley are much better than up the mountains so keep that in mind if you’re not hiking in summer. Even then, there are permanent ice fields you’ll be traversing (yes, in July).
**Transportation:** The valley is not accessible by private cars. You can drive near the valley but you’ll have to take a bus or taxi the rest of the way in (and out) of the valley. There are several ways there, including direct buses from Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka, by bus from Takayama -> Hirayu Onsen, by train/bus from Matsumoto -> Shin-Shimashima station, or you can drive near the valley, park your car at one of the many lots available, and take a bus the rest of the way. [Japan-guide.com](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6040.html) has a good summary of transportation options.
**What:** to bring! While normally on a multi-day hiking trip you wouldn’t even question basic things like tent, sleeping bag, etc., it is not even a question, each peak in Kamikochi (and many other parts of Japan) have manned mountain “huts” (they’re much bigger than that) at or near the top with full service except showers/running water. Remember that many/most of these buildings are serviced either by people packing things in or by helicopter. But, this does mean that you could potentially hike the entire route without any camping equipment.
The cost for food and to rent a futon in which to sleep is around 10000 JPY / 100 USD. The cost to rent a camping spot is about 1000 JPY / 10 USD. Much cheaper but you do have to bring your own tent…
Note that you’re climbing into the mountains! It will be cold, especially at night, even during summer months. Pack warm clothing for evenings! Temperatures will be below freezing overnight.
**Routes:** I’m going to suggest a few different options. One will be for advanced hikers/alpinists that includes traversing the Daikiretto and the other does not, though it does involve a section with scrambling and a couple sections with chain handholds and a steel ladder. The latter option is perfectly fine for even moderately experienced hikers, though you do need to be in shape for it.
Trail maps: I think there may be printed detailed trail maps available in English but I’ve not found them. I personally use this app called [Yama to Takahara Chizu (Mountain and Highlands Map) 山と高原地図](https://www.mapple.co.jp/product/mountainmap/) (search this in the app store). Unfortunately, it’s not free (about 500 JPY per map, though you’ll only need one for Kamikochi) and more importantly, it’s Japanese-only. In addition, the maps are only images so you cannot try to copy/paste for translation. If you decide to get the maps (which you should anyway, IMO, as some signs like a big yellow ! are pretty universal, and the terrain/trail information is invaluable). Frankly, I think for 500 JPY, there’s absolutely zero reason not to buy it for something like this. If you download the app, click the first sign 地図を選ぶ and then the grey ドウンロード button at the bottom. This will take you to a list of maps – you want map 38, 槍ヶ岳 ・ 奥穂高 上高地. Click the button at the bottom and then I think the payment method should be fairly straightforward.
**Schedule:**
In comment below because I’m a windbag.
Here’s the Trip Report I did on using the 5-day JR East Tohoku Pass to visit Aomori and Akita during Cherry blossom season. A great option to see Sakura, a castle, take an amazing sightseeing train along the coast, and explore Samurai history.
– [Chasing Cherry Blossoms and Samurai History in Aomori and Akita ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/nahtfk/chasing_cherry_blossoms_in_aomori_and_samurai/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
We also took a 5-day trip to Toyama and Ishikawa to see the snow walls on the Kurobe Alpine Route and drive through the Noto Peninsula. If you’re willing to rent a car/drive I highly recommend spending two days exploring the Noto Peninsula.
– [5-day Road Trip to Noto Peninsula (Ishikawa) and Toyama Alpine Route](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/o0tn59/road_trip_to_toyama_and_noto_peninsula_ishikawa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
I’d have to suggest not trying to see to many different cities in such a short time. Tokyo is not all there is in Japan but I think for such a short visit it would be a very good home base.
Get a place to stay near a major train station like Ueno or Tokyo station so you can save time on travel. From there you can take day trips to places like Yokohama, Nikko, and a bunch of other interesting places outside of the megacity.
If you really want to see Osaka and/or Kyoto then see if its possible to fly into Osaka or transfer in Tokyo to a domestic flight there the day you arrive. Then use Osaka as your homebase. I personally enjoyed Kyoto more than Osaka but with such a limited time I think staying in a place with more of a night life would be beneficial and from there its easy to leave early morning and get to Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. Also in Osaka there is the House museum and aquarium all really close together so its easy to enjoy both of those on the same day and not have to rush through them.
# **~ A Week in Northern Japan ~**
**Length of Visit**: 7 days
**Cities**: Hakodate > Aomori > Morioka/Hachmantai > Sendai/Yamadera
**Budget**:
– **Budget Traveler**: $2,000 to $2,400 (normal hotels/AirBnB, food and alcohol from konbini)
– **Normal Traveler**: $2,400 to $2,900 (normal hotels/AirBnB, normal eating and drinking out, small souvenirs)
– **Luxury Traveler**: $2,900 to $4,000 (luxury hotels/AirBnB, higher-end dining, lots of souvenirs)
Arrive in Japan via HND, stay overnight in a nearby hotel. The following morning, take a quick flight up to Hakodate in Hokkaido (~$100 via Japan Explorer Pass, JAL). Flight time is 1 hour, 20 minutes.
## – HAKODATE –
**Stay**: 2 Nights
**Points of interest in Hakodate**:
– Hakodateyama
– Goryokaku Tower/Park
– Red Brick Warehouse
– Daimon Yatai Village.
**Restaurants**:
– Butadon Porco
– Daimon Yatai Village
– Restaurant Genova (atop Mt. Hakodate overlooking the whole city)
**Recommended Hotel(s)**:
– Hotel Paco (inexpensive, nice, close to nightlife and JR station, great breakfast)
After checking out of Hakodate, you’ll hop on the Shinkansen for a quick day-trip to Aomori-shi before heading into Morioka. This is where you’ll start your JR East Tohoku Pass ($200 for 5 days). Transit time is about 2 hours, 15 minutes.
## – AOMORI –
**Stay**: 3 to 5 hours
**Points of interest in Aomori-shi**:
– A-Factory
– Nebuta Museum WA RASSE
*~ Both are next door to the JR station*
**Food of Interest**:
– Miso curry milk ramen
After enjoying the museum, grabbing some hard cider from A-Factory, and having lunch, you’ll hop back on the Shinkansen and head down to Morioka. Transit time averages about 1 hour, 45 minutes.
## – MORIOKA –
**Stay**: 2 Nights
**Points of Interest**:
– Hachimantai
– Iwateyama
– Morioka Castle Park
– Ishiwarizakura
– Kakunodate (former Samurai stronghold town)
– Walks by the river
**Foods of Interest**:
– Wanko soba
– Jajamen
– Gyukatsu
**Specific places**:
– SUNDANCE (amazing izakaya with lots of locals and local business owners)
– Kyoto Katsugyu (gyukatsu restaurant across from Morioka Castle Park)
– Pizzeria Piace (Neapolitan pizza, Napoli certified)
**Recommended Hotel(s)**: Brand new Dormy Inn
After checking out of Morioka, you’ll take the Shinkansen down to Sendai. Transit time averages about 45 minutes.
## – SENDAI –
**Stay**: 3 Nights
**Points of Interest**:
– Yamadera
– Tashirojima
– Yamagata-shi
– Shopping arcades
**Food of Interest**:
– Gyuton
– Jiro style ramen
**Specific places**:
– Osteria Gabu (awesome izakaya with incredible pizza and fantastic owner)
– Ramen Billy Plus (Jiro-style ramen)
After checking out of Sendai, you can either take a Shinkansen back down to Tokyo to fly back home, or you can take the JR over to Yamagata, then fly to HND directly for about $52 (recommended for budget travelers).
# Cost Breakdown
**Flights (*includes domestic flights*)**: $950 to $1,350 (depending on your location)
**Accommodations**: $360 to $1,200 (from normal hotels to luxury)
**Food/Drink/Entertainment**: $270 to $900 (how drunk would you like to be?)
**JR East Pass, Tohoku**: $200 (5-day pass)