CITY GUIDE
Tokyo
Best for a first arrival, varied neighborhoods and choosing your own mix of old and new.
Areas, bases & day routes →JAPAN / FIRST-TRIP PLANNING
Choose a city. Build a workable day.
Area-based routes, airport choices and practical guides for Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Kobe, Sendai, Hiroshima and Kawasaki.
11 cities · 33 daily routesArrival, walking and meal breaks included in the planning.
Choose your base
Compare the cities →
CITY GUIDE
Kyoto
Best for historic streets, religious places and a slower look at the relationship between landscape and city.
Areas, bases & day routes →
CITY GUIDE
Osaka
Best for food-led days, a contrasting Kansai base and a Kansai Airport arrival or departure.
Areas, bases & day routes →
CITY GUIDE
Yokohama
Best for a slower waterfront base, one easy arrival from Haneda and an evening that does not need a second city.
Areas, bases & day routes →
CITY GUIDE
Nagoya
Best for a stop between Tokyo and Kansai, castle and industrial museums, and food the locals queue for.
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CITY GUIDE
Fukuoka
Best for counter and stall dinners, the shortest airport-to-centre ride in the guide, and the eastern bookend of a longer route.
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CITY GUIDE
Sapporo
Best for a standalone winter trip, morning-market seafood breakfasts, and the best night views in the guide.
Areas, bases & day routes →
CITY GUIDE
Kobe
Best for a harbour day of western houses and Chinatown snacks, Japan's biggest sake district, and a hot-spring town in the hills.
Areas, bases & day routes →Have a week for three cities?
Allow for arrival, hotel changes and departure before filling the sightseeing days.
Open the seven-day outline →Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka
Find a day by area
All daily routes →Tokyo
- Eastern Tokyo: Asakusa, then an optional Ueno afternoonAsakusa / Ueno
- Western Tokyo: shrine woods to Shibuya streetsMeiji Jingu / Harajuku / Shibuya
- Central Tokyo: a market morning and a flexible city afternoonTsukiji / Ginza / Tokyo Station area
Kyoto
- Eastern Kyoto: Higashiyama without a raceHigashiyama / eastern streets
- Southern Kyoto: Fushimi Inari, then a central-city choiceFushimi Inari / central Kyoto
- Western Kyoto: Arashiyama beyond one photographSaga / Arashiyama
Osaka
- Osaka in daylight: castle park and a slower afternoonOsaka Castle Park / northern-central Osaka
- Southern Osaka: Namba, Dotonbori and an unhurried dinnerNamba / Dotonbori / Shinsaibashi
- Tennoji and Shinsekai: a smaller southern Osaka dayTennoji / Shinsekai
Yokohama
- Minato Mirai: a waterfront day that ends with the lightsSakuragicho / Minato Mirai 21
- Chinatown and Yamate: gates, lanes and a hillsideChinatown / Yamashita Park / Yamate
- Sankeien and the southern wards: a garden day with room to breatheSankeien / Honmoku / Kannai
Nagoya
- Nagoya Castle to Sakae: a castle morning and a downtown finishNagoya Castle / Sakae / Oasis 21
- Atsuta Jingu and Osu: shrine woods, arcades and a proper mealAtsuta / Osu / Kamimaezu
- Trains and the port: a museum-led day south of the stationKinjo-futo / Nagoya Port
Fukuoka
- Hakata old town and the yatai: shrines, arcades and a stall dinnerHakata / Canal City / Nakasu
- Ohori Park and the castle ruins: a lake loop and the museumOhori Park / Maizuru Park
- Tenjin to Nakasu: the food heart, the arcades and the riverTenjin / Daimyo / Imaizumi
Sapporo
- Odori to Susukino: a park, an arcade and the neon districtOdori / Tanukikoji / Susukino
- The markets and a morning bowl: seafood breakfast, then the centreCurb Market / Nijo Market
- Maruyama and Mt. Moiwa: a shrine, a park and the city lightsMaruyama / Mt. Moiwa
Kobe
- The harbor and the old quarter: Meriken Park, steam buns and the settlementMeriken Park / Nankinmachi
- Shin-Kobe to Kitano: a waterfall walk, western houses and a ropewayNunobiki / Kitano
- Nada and Arima: sake cellars, a ropeway over the mountain and golden springsNada-Gogo / Arima Onsen