{"id":24281,"date":"2020-04-08T19:06:25","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sommertage.com\/?p=24281"},"modified":"2023-11-29T17:26:04","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T16:26:04","slug":"japan-itinerary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sommertage.com\/en\/japan-itinerary\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan 2 Week Itinerary: The TOP Destinations for First-Timers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan. Shinto shrines and temples, skyscrapers and Shinkansen high-speed trains, sushi and ramen. Also known as the land of the rising sun<\/strong>, Japan is hard to describe in words. It\u2019s different, yet mysterious, sometimes strange or even disturbing, often surprising and always fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this travel guide, we will share with you our itinerary through Japan<\/strong>. This itinerary is perfect for those who are travelling to Japan for the first time and want to get a glimpse of the best highlights in the country. We use the word \u201cglimpse”, because Japan is so diverse that not even a lifetime would be enough to see and know everything there is to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our itinerary for Japan took us a good two weeks. Give or take a few days, it would also take you roughly 14 days to do this itinerary. Our flight to Japan<\/strong> was thanks to a collaborative invitation by All Nippon Airways (ANA). You’ll find our detailed review further down in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"Japan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1. Top Destinations for Two Weeks in Japan: Our Itinerary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our itinerary will take you right through Japan’s largest and most significant island – Honshu<\/strong>. On this island, you will find the capital of Tokyo, as well as Mount Fuji. We spent 14 days travelling around Honshu, which is just one of four large main islands in Japan. Harbouring thousands of smaller islands around the country, it just goes to show how incredibly diverse and vast this seemingly small country is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to get around between the cities, we took advantage of Japan\u2019s well-developed train network<\/strong>. We will share more information about the Railway and Train passes further down in this travel guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tokyo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start the itinerary in the City of all Cities<\/strong>: Tokyo. This city simply has so much to offer that there\u2019s no way you can see everything – in fact, you hardly scratch the surface. But the good news is that there is nothing this city does not have. In Tokyo, you can find everything<\/strong> you can think of – plus the crazy, unimaginable things you never knew existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tokyo city was the perfect first stop for us on our itinerary in terms of adjusting to the new culture and to the time difference after our long flight. Although, what we found most surprising, was how most of the districts in Tokyo were actually much cosier and quieter than we had expected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of districts, the main city attractions or highlights in Tokyo are not your typical touristic landmarks, but rather the collection of the numerous diverse districts within the city. For example: Akihabara<\/strong> – the crazy electronics district; or Harajuku<\/strong> – the main district of Japan’s cosplay scene. On top of that, there are also the classic tourist highlights, such as: The Tokyo Skytree<\/strong> – the second tallest building in the world; the Sens\u014d-ji Temple; and of course the Shibuya Crossing<\/strong> – one of the most famous intersections in the world. There are endless things to keep you on your feet in Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We decided to split our time in Tokyo with 2 nights at the beginning and another 4 nights at the end of our 2 week Japan itinerary. Definitely an arrangement we would do again.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our accommodation in Tokyo:<\/strong> OMO5 Tokyo Otsuka<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our detailed blog article:<\/em> Tokyo Travel Tips<\/a>
Recommended stay:<\/em> 5-6 nights in total (we stayed 2 at the beginning and 4 at the end of our trip to Japan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reiseroute<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Tokyo<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Tokyo<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hakone (Lake Ashi)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

About 100 kilometres west of Tokyo, located on the Lake of Ashi is the next stop of our 2 week Japan itinerary: the town of Hakone. This region is well known for two reasons: firstly, Hakone is one of the most popular places in Japan to bathe in the hot springs (the so-called Onsen<\/strong>); secondly, you get a nice view of Mount Fuji<\/strong> from Hakone when the weather is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, it\u2019s not always the case that you get good weather and during our visit, Mount Fuji was hidden behind clouds. The opportunity to actually see Mt Fuji is less than you think, so if you are only coming here to get a view of Mt Fuji, then we would rather recommend a trip to Kawaguchi Lake. However, it appears that visibility is supposedly better in winter than in summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, Hakone has much more to offer than the distant view of Mount Fuji – such as the Onsen Hot Pools, which we mentioned before. Perhaps the most popular photo spot in Hakone is the famous Red Torii<\/strong> down by the lake shore. It belongs to the Hakone Shrine, which is the main Shinto shrine in this region.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our accommodation in Hakone:<\/strong> Ryokan Yoshimatsu<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our detailed blog article:<\/em> Hakone Travel Guide<\/a>
Recommended stay:<\/em> 1-2 nights (we stayed 1 night)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Hakone<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Hakone<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Osaka<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Modern Osaka<\/strong> is the next stop on our 2 week travel itinerary through Japan. Upon first impressions, the third largest city of Japan reminded us of Tokyo with its skyline. But in reality, they couldn\u2019t be more different. You\u2019ll find that Osaka is less organised, people are more relaxed and you don\u2019t run into as many business people wearing suits, as you would do in Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One place that you should absolutely visit is the lively district of D\u014dtonbori<\/strong>. At night, there are so many flashing neon lights and neon signs, that you don\u2019t even know where to look. The most important historical attraction in Osaka is the photogenic Osaka Castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our tip: We did a little day trip from Osaka to Nara<\/strong>, which fit perfectly with our travel plans. You will find our tips and highlights for Nara in the next section below!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our accommodation:<\/strong> Moxy Osaka<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our detailed blog article:<\/em> Osaka Travel Tips<\/a>
Recommended stay: <\/em>3 nights (same length of stay as us)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Osaka<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Osaka<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Osaka<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nara<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ever seen photos of those deers in front of a Japanese Temple, that just seem completely at ease being in front of cameras and people? Those photos will most likely have been taken in Nara, where there are more than 1,000 sika deer<\/strong> roaming around freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the deer are actually not the main nor the most important attraction in Nara. That title goes to the countless temples and shrines<\/strong> scattered around the city. Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century and is home to an abundance of cultural gems<\/strong>. The highlight of Nara is the gigantic T\u014ddai-ji Temple, which is the largest wooden building in the world. Our personal favourite out of all the attractions in Nara is the Shinto Shrine by the name of Kasuga-Taisha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nara is perfect for a day trip<\/strong> on your Japan itinerary and can be reached in about an hour from both Osaka or Kyoto. We ourselves decided to visited Nara as a day trip from Osaka and felt like we came way with a good feel for the place. Of course, there’s also nothing wrong with spending a night or two in Nara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our detailed blog article:<\/em> Day trip to Nara<\/a>
Recommended Stay:<\/em> Day trip from Osaka or Kyoto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nara<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Nara<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Nara<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kyoto<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The traditional and charming city of Kyoto is the highlight of a Japan itinerary<\/strong> for many people. The city is a temple hopping paradise: there are so many temples and shrines<\/strong>, it\u2019s hard to get around them all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyoto is unbelievably photogenic and many of the places are exactly how you\u2019d imagine Japan to look like. The district closest to that ideal sense would be Gion<\/strong>, also known as the Geisha<\/strong> Quarter. The name is no coincidence: the chances of seeing a real geisha is certainly up there. (We lucky people can confirm that such an encounter is truly so unique!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the absolute highlights and a place that nobody should miss when it comes to Kyoto is the Fushimi Inari-Taisha<\/strong>: the reward of hundreds, if not thousands, of Red Torii will make your hike up that mountain very worthwhile. We have never seen anything like it before. Kyoto also has the famous bamboo forest<\/strong>, which is very popular on Instagram – all in all, there is so much to discover in Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our accommodation:<\/strong> The General Kyoto Bukkouji Shinmachi<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our detailed blog article: <\/em>Kyoto Travel Tips<\/a>
Recommended stay:<\/em> <\/strong>4-5 nights (we stayed 4 nights)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kyotot<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Japan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Fushimi<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tokyo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the end of our trip<\/strong> to Japan we spent another 4 nights in the crazy city of Tokyo, which made it a total of 6 nights in Tokyo. As we mentioned before, we found this break worked really well for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to do some day trips<\/strong> from Tokyo, then the last few days of your travels would be the perfect time to do it. Some well known and popular places for day trips are Kamakura, Nikko or Yokohama. Originally, we had also considered doing a day trip somewhere, but decided to put all our energy and time in truly exploring what Tokyo had to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Our accommodation:<\/strong> OMO5 Tokyo Otsuka<\/a><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our detailed blog article:<\/em> Tokyo Travel Tips<\/a>
Recommended stay:<\/em> 5-6 nights in total (we stayed 2 at the beginning and 4 at the end of our trip to Japan)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Omoide<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Akihabara\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Map Overview: Our 2 Weeks Itinerary in Japan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To give you a better geographical sense of \u200b\u200ball our destinations in Japan, we have pinned the exact locations of our stops on the map below. If you\u2019re wondering now how long the distances actually are, you\u2019d be surprised to find that it\u2019s much shorter than you think! For example, Kyoto and Tokyo are just 2.5 hours apart by train – that\u2019s impressive! <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japan<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Flying with ANA: Direct to Tokyo, Japan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the flight from Vienna to Tokyo, we kicked back and let ourselves relax in the Dreamliner (Boeing 787-9) with All Nippon Airways<\/strong> (aka. ANA). Some of you will know how much we love non-stop flights! Especially when you have a long journey ahead of you there is nothing better than getting on a plane in your hometown and arriving directly at your final destination. Therefore, when All Nippon Airway reached out to us, we were thrilled to receive an invitation to test out their new Vienna-Tokyo direct flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of February this year, All Nippon Airways flies the Dreamliner (Boeing 787-9) direct from Vienna to Tokyo daily<\/strong>. One of the biggest advantages of flying with All Nippon Airways is arriving at the Haneda airport<\/strong>. It would be useful to note that there are two airports in Tokyo – Haneda and Narita. Since the Haneda airport is much closer to Tokyo, its location makes it the more favourable option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, the flight from Vienna to Tokyo takes about 11 hours. That sounds like a lot, but time passes much faster than you think. And for those of you who are coming from Germany, All Nippon Airways also flies to Japan from Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Tokyo<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Transport in Japan: The Japan Rail Pass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are several ways to get around Japan and this is something we cover more of in our other article here: Japan Travel Tips<\/a>. For us, we decided to travel by train, more specifically with the Japan Rail Pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Japan Rail Pass?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Japan Rail Pass<\/a> is a train ticket<\/strong> that allows unlimited use of Japan National Railway (JR) trains within a set period of time. One great thing about this pass is that you can literally travel across the entire country without having to fuss about further costs or buying last minute train tickets. The Rail Pass is available for 7, 14 or 21 days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does the Rail Pass mean I can travel with ANY train?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately no, there are a few restrictions<\/strong> as to the \u2018type\u2019 of trains you can take with the Rail Pass. It goes without saying that the world famous Shinkasen high-speed trains, such as the \u201cNozomi”<\/strong> (which operates between Tokyo and Osaka) and the \u201cMizuho\u201d<\/strong>, are excluded from the Rail Pass. (An extra fee is required when using those trains.) However, other (“normal”) Shinkansen trains also run along the same routes as the Nozomi and Mizuho – the slower trains simply make a few more stops, therefore extending the journey a little longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should perhaps also note that this Japan Rail Pass is a special deal offered by Japan Railways (JR) themselves. This means that the pass only entitles you to travel with trains operated by Japan Railways – we say this because there are also quite a few private rails in Japan. However, JR has a huge network and in addition to the Shinkansen trains (aka. \u201dBullet Trains”) you can also use the Express and Local Trains run by JR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can I also use the City Subways with this Rail Pass?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No. The city subways (or metro) are excluded, since they are not operated by Japan Railways. However, there does exist a few JR lines within the city of Tokyo, as well as in Kyoto and Osaka, which you can use. In Tokyo, there is something called the Yamanote Line<\/strong>, which does a loop around the city and passes by some important tourist highlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole thing sounds a little complicated at first, but don\u2019t worry –  <\/span>once you get there, you’ll find your way around rather quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much does the Japan Rail Pass cost?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the prices were increased in October 2023. Currently (as of November 2023) the prices for the Standard Japan Rail Pass (2nd class) are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n