[CHALLENGE] Traveling All 47 Prefecture in 1 Month

29 comments

1. Sounds like a massive waste of time and money. You’ll spend the vast majority of your time just sitting on trains and/or busses, and very little time actually doing or seeing anything. If you just want to be able to say that you’ve been to all 47 prefectures, you’d save yourself a lot of time and money by just lying. And if you just stayed at home you wouldn’t really be missing out on much because you’d be experiencing almost as much of each prefecture as you would if you had done the trip. Of course there are some very nice scenic train routes in the country that are very worth riding, but a lot of them might only take you through part of 1-2 prefectures over the course of many, many hours, and even then that’s assuming you aren’t making stops.

   >I want to hear comments and suggestions from YOU

   My suggestion would be to never do a trip a like this. I would pick a limited number of locations and spend more time in each of them rather than rushing from place to place before you have time to do or see anything–ESPECIALLY if you haven’t spent much (or any) time in the country before.

   >Which cities should I stop in the prefecture?

   Cities? Plural? You’ll be lucky to have time for a couple of hours in one city at the pace you’re talking about–and even then, you probably won’t have time for anything too far from the station.

   >Which prefectures should I spend more time in?

   By more time you mean half a day as opposed to half an hour?

   >What traveling method can I make it very affordable?

   How fast can you peddle a bicycle?

   >Along with flights, I will most likely use the JR Pass for cheaper prices

   It would be cheaper still to stay home.

   >and would probably spend half the trip like a homeless man and not stay at a hotel (this might be a bad idea…).

   It ***might***(?!?!?) be a bad idea?

   >I really don’t mind if it’s a bustling city or a historic town filled with shrines and temples, or even a countryside village where normal tourists wouldn’t even go to!

   …you realize that a lot of the historic towns, villages, temples, shrines, etc. (especially where tourists tend not to go) will often require even more detours, right? And that you’ll actually need time to see these things once you get there…right?

2. I have actually created a couple of spreadsheets (for my own amusement) for:

   * how many days it takes to visit 100 Japanese castles (probably ~65 by public transport, ~55 when self-driving);
   * how many days it takes to have a meaningful tour of every prefecture of Japan (~80 with Tokyo, Kyoto, Hokkaido and Okinawa being major time sinks).

   While it may be technically possible to visit all prefectures within a month (I have actually plenty of doubts about it as Okinawa pretty much is a time sink), this will not be meaningful experience as certain prefectures (Kyoto, Tokyo) need 3-4 days for the highlights tour and it seems a waste of time to visit Okinawa for a single day. **So this is not something a sane person would do.**

   You will probably need some combination of JR Passes (local and national), bus passes and low-cost air carriers, if you are looking for a budget tour.

   For time (and cost) saving purposes, you would probably need to look into at least a couple of overnight buses and a Yawatahama-Beppu or Oita-Kobe ferry.

   Note that for whirlwind tour, I would actually look for booking accommodation ahead of time – you will be extremely tired. And with a whirlwind tour, places like Amakusa don’t even come into play (by public transport, they will take two days to get up/down).

3. Kanazawa is beautiful. I would suggest staying there for as long as possible!

4. Japan Sightseeing Speedrun Any %, all 47 prefectures

5. Do you want to do just every prefecture, or you want to visit all area? There are certain differents, the main one being:

   1. Hokkaido. Hokkaido is very large.
   2. Kii Peninsula. You can just visit Wakayama City and Tsu city and call it done, or you want to transverse the route between Tsu and Wakayama by the Kisei Main Line train?
   3. Shikoku. The eastern side between Kochi city and Matsuyama city (The Shimanto River basin area, including cities like Uwajima and Shimanto) is very large but out of the way.
   4. Yamaguchi. Again one of the very large and poorly connected prefecture.
   5. Okinawa. Just Naha, or all the way to Ishigaki.

   If you know Japanese, there are many YouTubers doing what they call 日本一周 (One Loop around Japan) For example, this [series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-O-x-OOFzg&list=PL5iby-DCjd3zuM4v7eyvu1Q9y5B9qfy8r) by Suit, who is a very famous train YouTuber here. The series is also done on a cheap, so it can be a very good reference. He did it in 58 days and ~400,000JPY IIRC.

   ———–

   If you are visiting every place, then JR Pass might not actually be the best ticket. There are other ticket like Seishun 18 Ticket (~2400/day) or Hokkaido & Higashi Nihon Pass (~1700/day). There are also multiple regional pass that are much better valued than the entire country JR Rail Pass.

   Not staying at hotel can be a really bad idea in summer because of insects. Capsule hotel and internet cafe can be very cheap (1000~3000JPY per night, depend on the city) and is available in most places.

   For a simple list of cities to visit, I tend to use [Japan-Guide.com](https://Japan-Guide.com) as a reference, as the more popular tourist cities are likely to have a page there.

   Ferries and overnight bus are not that useful here because if you are visiting every prefectures, most of your travel is quite short.

   Also note that long distance JR tickets in most case allow stopovers, so you can save money this way buy buying a long distance ticket and stopping over at stations along the way.

   It’s easier to do it in loop because in many area, especially in Tohoku, Chugoku and Kyushu, the prefecture are arranged as such. One of the possible route can be:

   >Hokkaido -> Aomori (Ferry) -> Hirosaki -> Akita -> Tsuruoka -> Yamagata -> Fukushima -> Aizu-Wakamatsu -> Nikko -> Omiya -> Takasaki -> Niigata -> Nagano (via Joetsu) -> Matsumoto -> Tateyama Alpine Route -> Toyama -> Takayama -> Shirakawago -> Kanazawa -> Fukui -> Hikone (via Maibara) -> Kyoto -> Osaka -> Kinosaki Onsen + Amanohashidate -> Tottori -> Matsue -> Izumo -> Yamaguchi -> Mine (bus, via Akiyoshidai) -> Shimonoseki -> Kokura -> Fukuoka -> Nagasaki -> Kumamoto -> Aso -> Kagoshima -> Miyazaki -> Oita -> Beppu -> Matsuyama (via Ferry) -> Uwajima -> Kochi -> Tokushima -> Naruto -> Takamatsu -> Marugame -> Matsuyama (again) -> Hiroshima (via Ferry) -> Iwakuni -> Onomichi -> Okayama -> Kobe -> Osaka (again) -> Wakayama -> Shirahama -> Shingu -> Tsu -> Nagashima -> Nagoya -> Hamamatsu -> Shizuoka -> Fuji -> Koufu -> Shirakawago -> Gotemba (via bus) -> Hakone (via Bus) -> Odawara -> Yokohama -> Tokyo -> Chiba -> Kashima -> Mito -> Iwaki -> Sendai -> Morioka -> Aomori (again) -> Hokkaido
   >
   >(fly to Okinawa somewhere from the major cities in the above list)

   Not sure if you can realistically do that in one month though.

6. I’ll do the math

   With an assumption of 18 waking hours per day, you want to attempt 1.5 prefectures/day or 12 hours/prefecture. It sounds nice and dandy, until you remember that…

   >I will of course probably spend time in multiple prefectures in one day
   >
   >treat some with more attention and others with less

   So to balance that out you’ll have to increase the rates on some day to maybe 2-3 prefectures/day or 6 hours/prefecture. Still sounds fine until you remember that you have travel times to factor in, and with a very generous assumption of 2 hours between prefectures that brings this down to 4 hours per prefecture. You might get a bit more time if you go for night buses instead. Still sounds doable…

   Until you remember that in whichever prefecture you’re probably going to have to move away from the station to see anything meaningful, assuming 1 hour of travelling to your destination and back to the station you’re left with 3 hours per prefecture. It sounds tiring but perhaps possible with some effort, until you remember…

   You’re travelling in the fucking summer! Where temperatures can go up to 40 degs. You’ll die with an intensity like this. And in addition you’re considering…

   >not stay at a hotel

   That’s a huge recipe for disaster not getting any proper rest moving around like this. You’ll likely give up in no time. And to top it off I haven’t even factored in meal times in my calculations, unless you are fine with eating onigiri and bento boxes on the go for a month you’ll likely want to sit down in a proper restaurant and that’ll eat up a further 1-2 hours every day.

   If your purpose is to claim that you’ve visited every prefecture you’ll have an easier time riding through Japan on Google Street View.. I once attempted something similar for a day, going from Fukuoka-Kumamoto-Saga-Fukuoka and I was fucking battered by the time I was done, and that was in the autumn.

   I’m not the first person to say this, but you’re better off not trying to do this and go save up your money for multiple trips to Japan, staying longer periods in each prefecture to fully absorb the surroundings.

7. Although I also have the goal of visiting all of the prefectures, my gut says this goal is a mistake. Have you been to Japan before? Do you speak Japanese? If not, I can imagine a lot going wrong. Do you have a hobby? You might want to set some sort of success criteria so you actually feel like you had a good time (e.g. see all the Castles) otherwise you’ll find yourself rushed and strained and ultimately unhappy in the end.

   In the last year or so here, I’ve visited about 18 prefectures – typically by car (inc. plane to Okinawa, then car). Some of these trips I really felt like I could see and do more in planning and in execution, things got in the way that hampered by plans. Things to consider: if it rains, lots of outdoor activities could be nixed. The speed limit is way lower here. Sunset times might affect things, and some cities “close” early. Cost of parking, cost of gas, and tolls (they’re expensive). Also, the need to have a car to get to interesting areas like into the mountains or to remote islands.

   For some added texture, I spent a week in Okinawa and hoped to circle all of Naha – seemed easy for a week, since I’ve crossed New Zealand and circled Iceland before too. In the end, I ended up only doing half of Naha because the snorkeling and weather were just too fantastic to miss. On a trip to Kyushu, when we got to Kumamoto, we were so gassed and strained to hit our agenda, we skipped Kumamoto Castle altogether. It was rainy in Nagasaki and we barely went outside. On a trip to Nagano, Kamikochi was rained out and we skipped that.
   That all sounds bad, but improvising travel and taking advantage of special moments and discovering amazing food and places through wandering should be considered.

   With that all said, based on my experiences which only include Kanto, Kansai, Chubu, and Kyushu:
   **- Which cities should I stop in the prefecture?**
   Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Naha
   **- Which prefectures should I spend more time in?**
   Kanto, Okinawa
   **- What traveling method can I make it very affordable?**
   Train I guess with a JR Pass (and bus?) if you can. But it won’t make it most enjoyable.

8. Personally I do not consider that you have visited a prefecture if you have not at least visited a city. And I would say that spending less than one day to visit a city is not really worth it.

   So 47 prefectures in 30 days mean 1.5 city by day… When you can easily find 2-3 cities by prefecture that would be interesting to visit, without taking into account that for some cities, 2 days or even more for the biggest cities would be better.

   So if you do it, you’ll have to spend a lot of time in the train to move between cities, so JR Pass would probably be good value, and to cover the full month, you can use a regional pass too.

   There is also a problem of logistic of the order. Yes, you can start north and go down, but as soon as you hit Tohoku, you will notice that it is 2 prefecture wide, so you have to move east/west quite a bit to hit all prefectures, and move even further to hit the interesting cities. So realistically, you would probably have to spend the day in the train to move from city to city, leaving little to no time to visit the cities. And keep in mind that interesting things are not always just next to the train station, and not all prefectures have shinkansen.

   Not sure where you plan to sleep if you do not rent accommodation. I would at least stay in hostel, it’s cheap and at least you have a place to sleep, wash yourself and even cook if you want to.

   For the questions

   1. there is 47 prefectures, I won’t name 47 citites… I could name 2-3 by prefecture just to scratch the surface, more like 5 to 7 to have deeper view of the prefecture. Here is [map](https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1GyzefYIS2r4dwNGhHqbF6y2P5Wo&ll=35.0702414245583%2C135.08758399999996&z=6) of where I went (blue) and where I want to go (orange/yellow) and I can probably find more, that is just to give you an idea of how much places can be interesting.

   2. You cannot realistically spend more time in a city if you already have more than 1 to do each day. But Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo are place where I went that are obviously worth more than 1 day for me.

   3. Bus can be more affordable, but much slower, so train with rail pass might be better at least for speed. In some place, you’ll have to consider ferry too.

   I would suggest you read my itinerary for 21 days from Tokyo to Nagasaki to Hakodate ([here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/ctsuml/trip_report_21_days_around_japan_from_nagasaki_to/)), to make it short, If I had to do it again, I would take more time to visit each area, especially as I found new places I want to visit in the regions I already went to, so now I’ll have to go in the same area again as I missed interesting spots.

   If you tell me you want to do all 47 prefectures, I would stay take more time, go slower, visit more places, so you do not have to return again and again in the same regions. My guess, take at least 3 months to do it. If you only have, 1 month, then to 1/3. You can easily do 3-4 weeks for Kyushu, 2-3 for Shikorku, 3-5 weeks for Chugoku, 3-4 weeks for Kansai, 2-4 weeks for Chubu, 3 weeks for kanto, 2-3 weeks for Tohoku and 1-2 weeks for Hokkaido.

9. A cross country trip to Japan suits better for longtime residents, not first time visitors. Focus on two (or three) regions at most. You could spend a week or two in one prefecture alone and the places to visit isn’t even exhaustive.

10. This plan sounds ridiculous. My sempai on JET did this over three (3) years and he actually spent time, seeing and doing things & meeting people. As ALTs we had 11 weeks paid vacation (summer, new year’s & spring) plus some long weekends. He never traveled around Asia and was constantly planning his trips in excruciating detail with train, bus and ferry schedules. He shared pictures and omiyage with his teachers and board of Ed. It was an obsession. I was sort of jealous but I had friends and saw Oz, Thailand & Bali.

11. Sounds exhausting.

12. Sounds like a bad idea but good luck 🙏

13. For the purposes of this trip there’s not really much point saying what you should see – You won’t have time to see much… That’s a new location every 15 hours if everything ran 24hrs and night and day weren’t a thing. And you are going to be spending 8 hours asleep + eating + travel time… Where is the free time to explore? And after 31 day’s of being homeless and not having hotels (If that’s even legal – I bet the police won’t like it if you are found) you are going to feel rough, not to mention the smell of not having showered and the buffet you’ll be putting on for the mosquitos.

    Can you drive? You could hire a car? That might be the fastest and only way to do it, plus that way you could plot routes that might nip through a corner of a prefecture then into another to save time?

    I like a challenge but maybe try something more like the Japan Guide itineraries for the ‘Great Traverse of Japan’ and aim to go the full length – Start in Okinawa and work your way up along the Shinkansen lines when you are back in the main islands? It’s still fast paced and a challenge but you’ll see more.

14. As someone who visited **17 prefectures in 2 weeks**, please **don’t try to visit more than one prefecture per day.**

    If you want to do a “whirlwind tour”, do what I did –

    * Book AirBNBs/business hotels near Shinkansen stops, so you can immediately leave the prefecture when you wake up
    * Sleep on overnight ferries between prefectures that don’t have Shinkansen connections
    * Stick to ONE prefecture per day, unless they’re adjacent (for example, you could do both Nara and Osaka in one day if you wanted to)
    * Eat at konbinis/7-11 for every meal, preferably without leaving the train station
    * Get good sleep. This pace of travel is exhilarating, but exhausting.

    My itinerary was:

    * Osaka (arrival)
    * Takamatsu
    * Kochi
    * Ehime
    * Oita
    * Hiroshima
    * Kyoto
    * Otsu
    * Wakayama
    * Fukui
    * Ishikawa
    * Toyama
    * Gifu
    * Nagano
    * Niigata
    * Tokyo
    * Tottori
    * Nara
    * Osaka (Departure)

15. I don’t know why the post is getting downvotes (52% upvoted on my view) but.. challenge accepted for me! Considering the amount of free time we’re having right now thanks to covid, I don’t mind making my mind (and others) wander on such pursuits.

    But honestly, my take – and echoing others – I definitely will not do it. It does sound like a big time and money sink overall with no worthwhile ROI. I will most likely be spending 90% of the time in some sort of transport with only a short time to fully experience what each prefecture can truly offer.

    Anyways, to the point.. this is what I would probably do to tackle it (if given the time and money to do so).

    * [Day 1] Fly into Tokyo via Narita (**Pref #1: Chiba**). I would opt to try and get a red-eye flight so I can land bright and early. Head over to Narita town, visit Narita-san, and get some good unagi while you’re there. One of the best.
    * [Day 1] Get into Tokyo (**Pref #2: Tokyo) -** up to you how to roll around here. Perhaps some izakayas and ramen to wrap the night up.
    * [Day 2] Railway Museum in Omiya (**Pref #3: Saitama).** Try not to take longer than half a day. Then stop by Utsonomiya (**Pref #4)** for the unagi before heading out to Nikko
    * [Day 3] Spend a night here the day before and explore the area.
    * [Day 3, evening] Back-track a bit to Hitachi/Hitachinaka (**Pref #5: Ibaraki)** and overnight here
    * [Day 4] Check out the Seaside Park and/or Nakaminato for it’s seafood market. IMO worth a stop if you’re already in the area. Wrap things up by lunch/late afternoon.
    * You can either back-track back to the main Shinkansen line further inland westwards from here or follow the local train along the coast – you will eventually get into Fukushima **(Pref #6)**. No idea what’s around. If you take the Shinkansen you can check Fukushima city itself since the Shinkansen stops here and can spend a night.
    * [Day 5] Continue on to Sendai (**Pref #7: Miyagi)** and Morioka **(Pref #8: Iwate).** Reasonably sized cities worth their weight. Half day in Sendai and half day in Morioka before shooting up to Aomori and sleep there.
    * [Day 6] Get some apples from Aomori **(Pref #9)** and take the Tohoku Shinkansen all the way into Hakodate **(Pref #10: Hokkaido)**. People can be pedantic here if they want too since Hokkaido is more than just that small tip you’re headed into. But since Hakodate is in it you technically have visited the prefecture. Spend the second half of the day here and overnight.
    * [Day 7] Get back to Aomori and either follow the Shinkansen trunk line back into Morioka or follow the west coast JR tracks. Both will lead you to Akita (**Pref #11).** Even on the Shinkansen it’s just under 3 hours so start early.
    * Continue bearing south preferably along the west coast as this will bring you into Yamagata (**Pref #12).** I’m not familiar with this area apart from Mt Zao which is deep inland (close to Yamagata). Otherwise choose your pickings.
    * [Day 8] Your choice of city in Yamagata prefecture and spend the night here
    * [Day 9] Owards into Nigata **(Pref #13).** Big city with plenty to do.
    * [Day 10] Work your way to Kusatsu Onsen **(Pref #14: Gunma).**
    * [Day 11] Work your way to Nagano **(Pref #15)** and move westwards to Toyama **(Pref #16)** for it’s famed white shrimp sushi
    * [Day 12] Bus to the village of Shirakawago **(Pref #17: Gifu)** and bus back to Kanazawa **(Pref #18: Ishikawa).** Seafood/sushi in Kanazawa is amazing too – try and grab some. This is a VERY long day considering the bus schedules between Toyama – Shirakawago – Kanazawa.
    * [Day 13] Get to Fukui **(Pref #19),** and Otsu **(Pref #20: Shiga).** Unfortunately a bit of back-tracking from here since you need to get into Kyoto first. Then double back again into Kyoto **(Pref #21)** for the night.
    * [Day 14] This is where it gets the craziest. Head into Osaka **(Pref #22)** and get to Itami airport instead of Kansai. Fly to Okinawa **(Pref #23)** and do a day-trip in Naha before flying back to Kobe **(Pref #24: Hyogo)** airport directly (UKB code)

    ***Cont on post below…***

16. Really, you should not do that. If you plan to speed run Japan to see as much as possible just go and use Google Street View. 10h / prefecture is a waste of time and money.

    Japan is such a beautiful place, if you go there please enjoy and don’t rush. And if I’m allowed to say that: You really don’t need to visit every single prefecture.

    If you want to see “everything of Japan” simply pick some cities from the map and travel there, like: Sapporo, Sendai, Niigata, Toyama, Oosaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka+Kumamoto, Tokyo.

    That’s 8 locations all over the country, which is still a lot for a month. So 3 days per region (no need to stay inside the cities only) plus some extra days for traveling longer distances, day trips or just doing nothing.

    If you really really want to visit every prefecture you should do something like work & travel. One year so 1 week per prefecture sounds doable.

    Edit: Forgot to mention: In bigger cities the people barely speak english, outside of them they don’t.

17. I would not do this trip in the summer time. There’s typhoon and rainy season to consider. Trains and planes will stop running.
    I live in Hokkaido. It is HUGE. Most likely, you’ll only visit either Sapporo OR Hakodate, not both. You won’t have enough time. Plus, Shinkansen won’t be finished in time for your trip so if you’re doing the JR Pass, you’ll probably just stop by in Hakodate from Honshu.

18. Here’s my experience:

    Moat recently I travelled for 28 days through 13 prefectures. Took a week to travel from my home in Saitama to Osaka. Then we went to Hyogo, Tottori, Shimane, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Ehime, Kochi, Kagawa, Tokushima, and then it took 4 days coming back from there through Kobe, Nagoya, Hakone.

    That was a long time. By the end of the 3rd week I was ready to go home. Even going by car with my wife with all the freedom to do and go where and when we pleased.
    Also, we included a couple of about 3 days with no particular plans just to rest, relax. Travelling can be hectic.
    Were saw lots of good stuff. But every single prefecture we visited still has lots more to offer because we usually went to 1, 2 or 3 main destinations within each prefecture. I wouldn’t say it was rushed, but perhaps just right. But it was quite long in the end.

    47 prefectures in one month. Is barely imaginable. I’m sure you understand the maths, but thats more than one per day. You will be spending several days doing almost nothing but travelling between places just to keep up. In my mind, an extraordinary waste of time and money and effort.

    My suggestion is you pick one region like Tohoko, or Kyushu, or Kansai, and plan a trip through that region. Maybe also cut it back from a whole month, unless you really know what you’re doing. The last thing you want is to start waiting for the holiday to end because its gone on too long.

19. My advice is don’t do it. If you wanna visit every prefecture why don’t you do it in separate trips. Maybe do 10 in one month and that’s still not much in my opinion. You won’t be doing or seeing anything if you try and do 47 in a month you’ll literally only be on trains that’s it. If you wanna enjoy the country and not just have a badge saying I was technically in every prefecture then maybe do a couple trips and every trip visits few more new prefectures.

    Also you’ll be dead half way into the trip and most likely will be mentally and physically exhausted and probably won’t even enjoy it

20. Hope your trip goes well! I’d love to challenge this as well sometime.

21. It’s cute someone thinks COVID will be done in summer of next year.

22. 47 prefectures in one month means less than a day in each. Theoretically you get more light during summer (August-ish) but that’s light in an environment that’s like Satan’s sweaty crotch – humid and hot and will enervate you from 4am to 7pm. Or if you go for either July or September, it means rains or even typhoons. Maybe you can start south then work your way up north, doing your best to stay ahead of rain.

    Now – this means you’d have ‘flyover’ prefectures (or bus-, or train-over, depending on your mode of transport). Given you’ve done the various golden routes and have seen a bunch of cities, you can safely cross those out, or use them as jumping points. Which might leave you with… one prefecture per day or thereabouts. You can sorta cheat by going over said flyover prefectures using overnight buses (ie maximize your waking time in a new prefecture).

    Then there are the flights to consider. Flight in and out of the country, and to and from Okinawa.

    Doable? Depends on your tolerance for pain, bad food, sleep deprivation and/or really poor sleep quality, and your taste for sentos (I mean, you need to take a shower every day, right?). If you do end up doing something crazy like this tell us all about it.

23. >Instead of more “don’t do it”s, can you add suggestions on what would u do?

    I hitch-hiked Sapporo -> Osaka in 18 days, stopping in a few cities along the way for 1~2 days each. It’s cheap and the trips get much more interesting than sitting on a train (top of my head I remember getting picked up by an architect, a delivery man, a rock band, a couple of nurses, a mom and son both fan of heavy metal, a family of 6, a salaryman who picked 3 other hitch-hikers along with me…).

    That’s something you could do. Pick up a region or two (a tour of Kanto/Tohoku/Chuubu would allow a nice diversity of sceneries), buy the [Touring Mapple](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%84%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AA%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%83%9E%E3%83%83%E3%83%97%E3%83%AB-%E9%96%A2%E6%9D%B1%E7%94%B2%E4%BF%A1%E8%B6%8A-%E6%98%AD%E6%96%87%E7%A4%BE-%E5%9C%B0%E5%9B%B3-%E7%B7%A8%E9%9B%86%E9%83%A8/dp/4398656499) of the region (those are great to let you know of off-road secret spots) and make a trip plan. Focus on the experience, not on the numbers like 47 prefectures or 1 month. PM me if you want hitch-hiking tips.

24. Hmm. A lot of good points here but also, I get what it’s like to have a goal in your mind and want to achieve it just to say you did. If that’s the case, why a month? Why not extend to 47 prefectures in 47 days? Just give yourself those extra weeks to not be desperately rushing around. It’s not like this is a Guinness World Record challenge, it’s your personal challenge, so why not change some of the parameters so it’s not so unnecessarily restrictive?

25. I think it’s a wonderful idea & was planning on backpacking across Japan myself until COVID stopped that! I love taking pictures & everyone said I was crazy to go alone ( as a woman) but life is short make it a wonderful adventure!
    Enjoy your trip, I may bump into along the road 😁

26. In response to your new questions:

    >WHY IS THIS GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION!??

    Because it’s a travel sub with almost 1.5 million subscribers that nobody is posting on due to the global pandemic. Haven’t you heard?

    >I noticed lots of comments on why NOT to do this trip or why this trip is a bad idea… but for new people who want to add on to this thread… Instead of more “don’t do it”s, can you add suggestions on what would u do? Even if you can’t do this within a month’s time span, how would u tackle traveling across the 47 prefectures in general?

    As I’ve already said–I wouldn’t. Not under any circumstances. Because it’s a bad idea. If someone held a gun to my head and said you had to do it, I know it could be done, but there is no way to do it an way that would make it worth spending your time and money if you actually had a choice in the matter. Detailing how I would do it if I had to is ultimately pointless and uninteresting because it would basically boil down to a list of train transfers.

    >Another thing is I don’t think anyone here has actually traveled 47 prefectures?

    Most of them (I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and taken an inventory though).

    >Or if they did, but not within again that said month period… how long did it take, or did you just travel all the prefectures by coincidence?

    Well, I lived in the country for over 6 years and I’ve been to the country on multiple occasions outside of that…so let’s just say…over 6 years.

27. Pure challenge mode (part 1):

    *italics* – city with overnight accommodation.

    **bold** – attraction

    This is for US visitors (late afternoon arrivals). EU visitors (morning arrivals) could actually conceivably do 47 prefecture a day faster (on a day of arrival visiting **Narita-san** in Chiba and **Kairakuen** in Ibaraki and taking an early morning flight to Okinawa on day 2).

    ​

    * Day 1: arrive in Tokyo; fly from Haneda to Naha (19:55 JAL or 20:15 ANA are most likely for US visitors). Overnight stay in *Naha*.
    * Day 2: Since most of the attractions on Okinawa are far enough to make a solid full day trip and Sunpu Castle has been destroyed by fire, I will go with **Shinkaien Garden**, maybe combined with **Tamaudun** (#1: Okinawa). Taking a flight to *Fukuoka* in the early evening (17:55 ANA, 18:20 JTA) means one can enjoy **yatai stands** (#2: Fukuoka) before going to sleep in that city.
    * Day 3: I would begin the day not the day, perhaps not that early (8:14 Kamome 101 or 8:11 regular JR Kagoshima to Tosu to transfer to 8:48 train for Yoshinogari Koen) to visit **Yoshinogari Historical Park** (#3: Saga). Then I would take 12:18 train to Saga to switch to 12:33 Kamome 19 for Nagasaki to visit **Atomic Bomb Museum and** **Glover Garden** and perhaps **Inasa-yama** (#4: Nagasaki) and return with 21:37 Kamome 48 to Hakata.
    * Day 4: Begin the day with taking 07:22 Sakura 403 to Kumamoto and tram A to **Suzeinji Garden** (#5: Kumamoto). I would probably aim for 12:18 Sakura 409 to Kagoshima-Chuo to visit **Kagoshima Aquarium,** peak at **Sakurajima**, and then relax at **Satsuma no Yu** (#6: Kagoshima). I would stay in *Kagoshima* for the night.
    * Day 5: A relax is needed, because the next day stars with 5:43 to Minami-Miyazaki, where one could hopefully find breakfast before taking 9:14 train to **Aoshima** (#7: Miyazaki). Now, we take a local 13:48 train for Minami-Miyazaki, where we switch for 14:27 Nichirin 18 for Oita and then take a train to Beppu, where we I would hopefully take advantage of **Takegawara** or **Hyotan Onsen** and see some **Beppu Hells** (#8: Oita) before taking 23:50 *ferry* to Yawatahama (one can take a nap and stay onboard until 5:30).
    * Day 6: Now, I would take 6:12 train to Matsuyama to get into the city in time for some breakfast and **Dogo Onsen Honkan** (#9: Ehime) before catching 14:30 Super Jet hydrofoil to Hiroshima. The tram from Ujina should get me into the city in time to visit **Peace Memorial Museum** and **Atomic Bomb Dome** (#10: Hiroshima).
    * Day 7: Day has to begin with a fairly early morning trip to Iwakuni (local trains every 10-15 minutes) to visit **Kintai-kyo Bridge** and **Iwakuni Castle** (#11: Yamaguchi), and I will try to catch 12:25 train to Hiroshima to transfer to 13:50 Sakura 552 to Okayama to catch glimpses of **Korakuen** (#12: Okayama). I generally prefer *Takamatsu* to Okayama, so we would head on one of the Marine Liners thereafter.
    * Day 8: I can start in the morning to keep momentum going with 8:24 Uzushio 5 to Hiketa, where I would transfer to 9:39 local train to Bando, where **Ryozenji** (#13: Tokushima) is located. Then take back 11:19 local train to Itano to transfer to 11:48 Uzushio 12 for Ritsurin, and the walk to **Ritsurin Garden** (#14: Kagawa). I would aim to catch 15:38 Kotoden to Kotohira, to switch for 17:07 Nanpu 17 to *Kochi*.
    * Day 9: With morning spent at **Chikurinji** or in **Makino Botanical Gardens** (#15: Kochi), the rest of the day would be all travel. 13:13 Nanpu 16 to Okayama, then 16:05 Yakumo 19 to *Matsue*.
    * Day 10: Morning of the day belongs to **Matsue Castle** and **Samurai District** (#16: Shimane) before taking off with 12:24 Aqua-Liner for Yonago, where I would transfer to 12:56 Tottori Liner. Hopefully, getting to see **Tottori Sand Dunes** and **Sand Museum** (#17: Tottori). Not willing to get stack in Tottori. so taking 18:40 Super Hakuto 14 to *Osaka* makes most sense.
    * Day 11: I would start a day with taking a special rapid service (every ~15 minutes) to Himeji at 07:45 to see **Himeji Castle** and **Koko-en** (#18: Hyogo), and then concentrate on what Osaka has to offer: maybe take some park in **Minoo Park**, followed by exploration of **Shinsekai** and an evening around **Den-Den Town** and **Dotonbori** (#19 Osaka).
    * Day 12: Let’s start a day with a trip to iconic **Fushimi Inari** (#20: Kyoto) with a 6:07 Keihan train from Yodoyabashi, followed by taking 9:36 train from Inari to Nara to see **Todai-ji**, **Nara Park** and **Kasuga Taisha** (#21: Nara). Afternoon will see me taking 15:15 Yamatoji line rapid service to Shin-Imamiya to tranfer to 16:02 Nankai Koya Line Express for Hashimoto, where I would switch for another Nankai train to Gokurakubashi then take a cable car to *Mount Koya*, where I could lodge at one of the temples and see **Okuno-in** (#22: Wakayama) in the eerie darkness.
    * Day 13: Temple lodgings mean an early start to a day, and taking 7:52 train from Gokurakubashi to Hashimoto, followed by another Nankai train (8:46) to Shinimamiya, where I would switch for 9:37 Osaka Loop Line train to Osaka to catch 10:00 rapid service to Hikone to see **Hikone Castle** and **Genkyuen** (#23: Shiga). Then, I would catch 13:38 JR Biwako line train to Maibara to transfer to 13:55 Shirasagi 55 for *Kanazawa*. Then catch a quick ride on one of the loop line or local buses to **Kenrokuen** (#24: Ishikawa). And we are halfway there.
    * Day 14: Starting with a 7:49 train from Kanazawa to Maruoka and then taking a Gurutto Sakai bus to see **Maruoka Castle** (#25: Fukui). I need to be done by noon to catch a bus back to Maruoka station to get on 12:24 train back to Kanazawa and then take 13:56 Hakutaka 566 to Toyama, where **Toyama Glass Art Museum** and **Ikeda Yasubei Shoten** (#26: Toyama) are a quick tram ride away. Then I would catch 17:14 Hida 14 to *Takayama*.
    * Day 15: In the morning I would visit **Takayama Old Town**, **Morning Market** and walk through **Temple Town** (#26: Gifu). Taking 12:50 Alpico bus to Matsumoto, should give me enough time to **Matsumoto Castle** (#27: Nagano). Still, to avoid falling behind the schedule 17:52 Shinano 22 to *Nagoya* awaits.
    * Day 16: Starting early with 6:50 Kintetsu Limite Express to Iseshi is preferable. My reward would be seeing **Ise Grand Shrines** (#28: Mie) before possibly returning with 13:16 limited express to Nagoya and taking Aonami line to Kinjofuto (every 15 minutes) for JR Central’s **SCMAGLEV and Railway Park** (#29: Aichi).
    * Day 17: So now I would take 8:43 Hikari 640 to Shizuoka and switch to JR Tokaido line (every 10 minutes or so) to Shimizu to visit **Verkehr Museum** and **Kashi-no-Ichi Market** (#30: Shizuoka). After feasting on seafood, I hopefully catch 13:41 Hikari 506 from Shizuoka Station (after backtracking from Shimizu) and take 14:10 bus from Mishima to Kawaguchiko. It should be early enough to see **Yamanashi Gem Museum** or **Herb Hall** and catch a few **Views of Mount Fuji** (#31: Yamanashi).

28. During the latter years of the 2010s, I visited all 47 prefectures of Japan over the course of three trips (each trip about 23 days give or take a day). I typically used a base city, like Tokyo or Kobe, and did day trips to interesting places in the target prefecture. During the last trip, I walked a total of 502,901 steps, and travelled a total of 11,724 km by train. 21-day JR pass for the win!

    So for my style of travelling, a minimum of 10 weeks would be required to visit all 47 prefectures. Less time than that and I would feel rushed. But don’t let us dissuade you from your dream if that’s what you really want to do.

29. Sounds amazing. I’ve been there about five times and been wanting to do a trip like this, as I have limited time for trips (house, family, pets etc) so something like this has always been on my mind.