How much time do you need? Sample Itinieraries

[arancarlisle]

I think it would be good for people to put their experiences as far as how much time they spent travelling in Japan and what they were able to comfortably see in that time.

Due to our particular work related circumstances, both my girlfriend and I were able to spend some time in Tokyo before beginning our true itinerary. She had 4 weekends to see Tokyo, and I had 1 weekend and a work-week.

After our "head start" our itinerary was the following:

Day 1: Tokyo (even after our head start, we still had things we wanted to do!)
Day 2: Tokyo
Day 3: Train to Kyoto in morning, Kyoto
Day 4: Arashiyama, Kyoto
Day 5: Kyoto
Day 6: Kyoto (AM), Kinosaki-Onsen
Day 7: Kinosaki-Onsen (AM), Kyoto
Day 8: Nara, Osaka
Day 9: Osaka
Day 10: Himeji Castle, Osaka
Day 11: Fly home (from Osaka airport)

We are really into the cities, so that is why we spent time in Osaka. In reality, we could have easily skipped Osaka. It would have been quite easy for us in this itinerary to have gone to a mountain town like Takayama, or Matsumoto instead of Kinosaki. We both felt like the amount of time we spent in Kyoto and Nara was adequate to get a good taste of the two cities, but we were definately rushing Kyoto, and we know we missed quite a bit.

When you factor in the time we spent in Tokyo, I think you could say our trip was 3 weeks long, and for us that was long enough that we were ready to come home, but short enough that we were sad to be leaving.

[The Frankensteiner]

www.japan-guide.com has a section where they suggest itineraries after you input how long you are staying and which airport you are arriving at.

I think my stay will only be one week.
How much money do you think you'd have to save up on average for a 2 week stay?

[Jason]

According to a friend of mine who's been a few times, 3 weeks is pretty much the minimum if you can swing it. He says 1 week is really too short.

I personally haven't been. Yet.

[The Frankensteiner]

3 weeks!?!??
That'd cost a fortune wouldn't it?

I'm not sure I can manage it.

[arancarlisle]

I think if you ONLY went to Kyoto and did short side trips to other areas in the Kansai region, 1 week is probably OK. This is what the Lonely Planet book recommends and I kind of agree with the author.

I loved Tokyo and it was the highlight of my trip in many ways. However, it is one of the most intense cities I have ever been to and it took me a ton of energy and effort to scratch its surface. I am not sure it is even worth going to Tokyo, if you don't have more than 4 days to spend there.

If you spend your trip in the Kansai region, you can spend one afternoon/evening/night in Osaka's Dotonbori district, and you will get a really good taste of Japan's crazy city life.

[The Frankensteiner]

But I'm more interested in the rural areas. Or just regions that are more remote and reminiscent of classical Japan. Is a week enough time to explore places like that? I really could care less about Tokyo or other big cities.

[esp]

I'd like to go for 3 weeks but i'll probably be only to afford 2 weeks but that should probably be enough to get a good taste of Japanese culture. I'll probably try and go as many times as I can in my life and maybe even live there for a year or maybe many years.

[helen]

I can't afford to go on holiday there so when I go it will hopefully be for a year or two if I get on Jet, or get a job in an English school.

If I could go on holiday I'd like to take about a month and try to check out as many places as possible.

[Bruce]

We just got back from our first trip and we only had 10 days. It was just enough time to do eveything, but with no time to relax. It was rush rush, no sleeping in. Next time we return I want to try 16 days.

[Belton]

When I went last September I spent a little over 2 weeks.

I can no longer say exactly how the itinerary went

1 - 3 Nara
4 - 7 Isobe (Ise, Toba, Anori)
8 - 9 Kouyasan
10 - 13 Osaka (trips to Himeji, then Kyoto)
14 - 17 Kyoto

I think a week would be far too short.

My mistakes were allocating too much time to Osaka and not enough to Kyoto.
I didn't really like Osaka. Another crowded concrete city. So I just got the train to Kyoto each day and was much happier than trying to figure out Osaka. It was also a mistake to stop off in Osaka on the way to Kouyasan.

Although I stayed in Nara I think I could have gone there by train from Kyoto or Osaka. (even if you don't have a rail pass local trains are cheap and efficient)

I also overstayed Kouyasan slightly as well; spending two nights there when 1 would be enough. (bring bug repellant for the mosquitos)

The other thing I found that travel days between locations were more or less lost in an odd way with checking out and in and lugging bags about etc. When I go again I think I'll just try to base myself in one place.
What I did do in my side trip to Kouyasan was to leave most of my luggage at the hotel I was in and was coming back to and just bring a small overnight bag. (Boy you go through clothes in the sticky mushi-atsui weather. Next time I want to pack less and find a coin op laundry) The hotel seemed happy to store it and it was waiting in my room when I returned. (If they hadn't I'd have stored it in a coin locker at about 400yen per 24 hours)

You could easily spend a month in Kyoto. Although you might get a bit templed-out. It took me a while to realise that unlike European cities there wasn't a center as such and all the sights tended to be on the surrounding hills. (Check out Google Earth before you go to see where things are.)

I also went to Ise. I really enjoyed the more rural Japan. However I was visiting a friend and without their help (and car!) it would have been very difficult to get around and do things.

I booked ahead from the UK for accommodation. I could just see myself wasting so much time and energy otherwise but maybe it restricted me once I got there. (Still not sure if my Japanese would be up to the task of finding a place to stay each night. )

Cost wise. cheaper than London.
entry to Castles and museums was at most 400yen usually.

I could usually eat for about 2000 yen (usually with a beer or sake) maybe less seldom more. Breakfast around 650yen Beer is expensive however at about 600 per glass. And there's always the convini.

Hotels ranged from about 5500 a night in business-style hotels to 10000 a night in a syukubou (temple lodging) with 2 meals to 4000 a night in a hostel style guest house. I also stayed in a minshuku which I thought was great value but can't remember the price. fantastic breakfast. The smaller places only do cash and even the hotels wanted the tax in cash even if you used a credit card. (And one rural hotel although they had a credit card machine wanted cash up front)
Post office is the best place to find ATMs to get cash.

Trains. I didn't buy a JR train pass as I was only going to be in Kansai and for the main travel part wouldn't be on JR. Osaka to Himeji I think was about 600yen one way. to Kyoto about 350. In Kyoto I got a two day pass for 2000 I think. Even the longer distance Isobe to Osaka by limited express wasn't too bad.

Not the cheapest holiday I've had but one of the best and if you're learning Japanese you just *have* to go at least once.
I have pictures here with an essay (nihongo de)
http://www.shiawase.co.uk/pres/source/1.html

[Neo-Matrix]

I think 2 weeks is enough for Tokyo alone. The rest of Japan? I could spend months (someday)... Well, I won't go into detail of day-to-day, since a couple of days I had allergies or didn't do much, but I stayed at a friend's house and was in Tokyo for 2 weeks. It wasn't quite enough time, but if you're more active you can explore Tokyo in 2 weeks (I also took a day to visit Chiba-ken). I got round-trip tickets for $700, and spent another $400 on souvenniers and food and stuff. Expect to spend more if you're going to be buying more. I was borrowing for my trip, so I held back on the spending. I still had to buy a duffel bag to bring back the stuff I bought (lots of candy). You could have a nice trip for less than $2000. I don't know the price for hotels or weekly manshon (apartment), but add about $1200 for travel and souvenniers, depending how much you plan to buy. If you know anyone or have any connections, try to stay with them... and be very grateful and polite.

PS Check out my photobucket album of some picture from my trip!
http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j296/ ... ?start=all

Neo-Matrix

[Jason]

How/where did you get round trip tickets for $700? The lowest price I've seen out of Louisiana was for around $1300.

[lucasburns]

I live in Osaka, and I can completely understand tourists not enjoying/allocating too much time here. I love this city, but when I have had to show people around, I know that there isn't much to see that is particularly beautiful/historic/first-class (in terms of Japanese rankings). I asked some of my colleagues and friends where would they take someone in Osaka, and even they struggled to come up with a days worth of sights.

Re prices - Osaka to Himeji is 1450 yen one way, not 600 yen as mentioned before, but travel to Kyoto, Nara and Kobe is all pretty cheap.

THe best thing about is Osaka is being able to enjoy a busy city at a relaxed pace. If you are wanting a rest from your busy schedule travelling around Japan (but still want to get some Japanese experiences in your trip), then that is when perhaps Osaka can be attractive to you. Don't worry about trying to find sights - just find a nice food place (there are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of places to eat) and settle in for the evening. Often the locals can speak a little English (reluctantly at first, but after a few drinks they gain confidence!) and you can have some of the best times here. Even better if you know a few words of Japanese. Even a few makes for a conversation starter!

The highlight of Osaka, in my eyes, is diefinitely the food. It has been referred to as the 'Food Capital of Japan'. I have not yet been to a place in Osaka (and have been here a year, eating out weekly) where I have been dissapointed with the food. The only times I hvae had some 'dodgy' food is when travelling to other parts of the country (and usually because I am too lazy to seek out other places.

I am putting plans together now for a long term project of mine, which is to make a documentary/travel show/food show about Japanese regional foods and to make them a little less unapproachable for foreign travelers. Many times the hardest part is to pluck up enough courage to go into a small food establishment (not necessarily a restaurant) and order something. For example - you know what yakitori is, but you have no idea what the names of each type of yakitori.

I want to show how easy it is to do it (or not, but how to get around the difficult part without too many caualties!). Stay tuned over the coming months - this may start via a vlog, maybe from September.....

[DaiButsu]

I vote for three weeks or more. I'm looking at the original post simply as a time question, not a cost question. Keep in mind that the amount of time needed in Japan may also depend on where you are coming from. I spent a little over a year in Japan a few years ago. During that time I needed to take trips to various locations in the US, including the East Coast, the West Coast, and Hawaii. The time difference for each of these trips messed my sleep cycle in different ways. OK, I'll admit that I'm not as young as I used to be, but jet lag will have an effect. In some instances it took nearly two weeks for my body to fully adjust. Not that I was grounded for two weeks, but it certainly slowed me down.

Then again, you can take advantage of the jet lag, if you plan ahead. My wife would always plan to take visitors to the Tsukiji fish market on the first morning of the visit. To really see the place you have to be there around 4:30 in the morning. That is precisely when visitors would be wide awake on their first few days in Japan.

[Bueller_007]

How/where did you get round trip tickets for $700? The lowest price I've seen out of Louisiana was for around $1300.

I got a round-trip ticket on Northwest to Canada (Osaka->Halifax, Edmonton->Osaka) for $800 Canadian. So like $600 American at the time I bought it. Got it through a travel agent in Japan.