Planning a Trip to Japan

Planning a trip to Japan can definitely feel so overwhelming—there’s just so much to see, do, and know beforehand. I’m a detail-oriented planner, so I get the urge to organize every detail! What reservations do I need to think about before I go? How do I book the Shinkansen? What should I include in my Japan itinerary? Those were some of the same questions I had when I was starting to plan this trip.

Visiting Japan for the second time, I made sure to take lots of notes on all my experiences. Both the mistakes and the helpful tips to share them all with you. There’s so much to experience in Japan and never quite enough time to see it all, which is what makes the visit so magical in my opinion.

I had a chance to revisit Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. And each city felt just as inspiring as on my first visit. While I’m not local from Japan, I hope my personal experiences and insights can help you feel a bit more prepared when planning your first trip (or second) to Japan.

This guide is for those who, like me, want a structured approach to planning and don’t want to miss a single piece of information. I hope to answer all of your burning questions about Japan like, how to buy Shinkansen tickets or what to include in your 2 week Japan itinerary.

At the end of the day, take what you need, as not everything you see here or online will be applicable for your own unique trip. Consider the rest as background information to help you feel more prepared and informed. And of course, things will naturally change with time. But these are my best tips from my recent visit between September-October 2024.

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How to Plan a Trip to Japan

Hurray! You’re thinking of planning a trip to Japan! So where should you start in this process? I’ve structured this section in a logical way from start to finish. Your initial planning steps should begin with logistics like, how many days you want to spend in Japan? Or what time of year you plan to be be travelling. This will help you narrow down things to do, such that you can create your own personalized Japan itinerary. Lastly, I’ve shared all my insights on things to consider when building your travel itinerary to Japan. Happy trip planning!

Japan Trip Planning Tips

First, here are some general tips to keep in mind as you plan your trip to Japan.

Japan Planning Tip no. 1: Don’t try to read this entire guide all at once. You are going to get a lot of information about Japan when you’re in the initial planning stages, especially if it’s your first time. It can feel incredibly overwhelming to digest all the information that’s out there. So do little bits of research at a time.

Japan Planning Tip no. 2: When planning your trip to Japan, you’ll want to get into a good planning mode and mindset. Build out some uninterrupted time for you to do your research. Do you have an hour to sit down to read some articles, look at accommodations or watch a youtube video? I love getting in the planning mode by curling up with a warm blanket, some snacks and taking out my favourite notebook.

Japan Planning Tip no. 3: Plan as early as you can. I would suggest starting 6-8 months in advance. Japan is one of the most popular destinations to visit. If you’re not planning early, you risk tickets being sold out to places like the Studio Ghibli Museum or will have limited options on hotel accommodations. Don’t think you can plan Japan with 1 months notice. (Unless you are totally the spontaneous type of traveller, in which case I’d love to get your tips on how to wing it!).

Japan Planning Tip no. 4: When planning your trip, try to build in as much flexibility as possible. You’ll often find that you want to wander around each location just a little bit longer, as there is just so much to see. This means building in less scheduled events and allowing for unexpected finds along your travels.

Japan Planning Tip no. 5: Don’t schedule big events back to back. For example, consider how you’ll feel after spending a full day at Tokyo DisneySea. If you have to wake up at 6am the next day commute to Kyoto, it might be a struggle. Think about the balance of your trip. Give yourself time to have quiet days in-between. That way you can truly unwind in the city and not feel like you’re jumping from one place to another.

Japan Planning Tip no. 6: Be flexible. Things happen, trains will be missed, the restaurant you wanted to really go to might be closed. But you go into your trip with a flexible mindset, it’ll be easier to pivot. Theres so much to explore in Japan, if one thing doesn’t work out, you might find something better.

What is the Best Time to Travel to Japan?

The first step in planning your Japan trip is deciding when to visit. In general, you can visit Japan any time of the year and have a great trip. There are just a few things to keep in mind, and this will vary depending on the type of traveller you are and what kind of experience you’re looking for.

The time you visit will make a big difference on how crowded certain areas will be, your overall travel cost and the things to do will also vary based on the season. Other things to note is the type of weather you will experience, how the scenery looks and how much daylight hours to expect. These will all change based on the time you choose to go.

How Many Days are Enough for a Japan Trip?

For a first trip to Japan, I’d recommend staying no less than two weeks. The ideal length really depends on the kind of experience you’re after. Personally, if I could, I’d live in Japan for a whole year on a work visa—and even then, it would be impossible to see it all. Of course, most of us are working professionals with limited vacation time, so we want to make the most of our time off. But if you’re making the long journey, I think two weeks in Japan is completely reasonable.

My first visit was a two-week trip covering main spots like Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. It gave me a taste of everything, though my itinerary was jam-packed with little room to rest! And then on my most recent trip, I stayed for three weeks: three days in Osaka, five in Kyoto, and 14 in Tokyo. I loved this balance—the first part was busy with sights and reservations, but in Tokyo, I had more time to settle in and take things slow. Some days, I’d just sit in a cafe for hours, taking in the morning before heading out to explore.

Finding Things to Do in Japan

Now that you have a clearer idea of when you will be travelling, it’s time to dive into planning based on your interests. Are there specific prefectures like Tokyo that you’re drawn to?

Any special exhibits, museums, or events you want to experience? Perhaps you’re someone who loves to go cafe hopping in the city and will curate your itinerary based on this. Knowing how you like to travel and the sights you want to experience can help narrow down which prefectures to visit. Start with a broad search around your interests and let them guide your itinerary.

Japan Travel Itinerary Tips

Now, for the fun part: creating your itinerary! This is my favourite part of travel planning — creating your own unique itinerary that matches your interests.

How to Start Building your Itinerary

Building an itinerary might take months, but using guides like mine or others can give you a good starting point. You can follow a suggested itinerary exactly or pick and choose what would be the most meaningful to you.

You’re going to find a lot of recommendations online in blogs, reddit, youtube videos, instagram (and even here on my blog). But my advice is just to slowly create a document of all these places and think of it more like a wish list of places you want to go. Feel free to write down everything that interests you, because you’ll be refining this later.

An extra tip I would add is – don’t stress about trying to make it to all of the places on your list. As you are walking around in Japan, you’re going to stumble into so many unique places along the way that you likely would not see in guides, instagram or from a quick google search.

Sometimes I find following a rigid itinerary stops you from exploring. My intention for sharing travel guides on my blog are to give you ideas on where to go, but ultimately the real fun is in finding unique spots for yourself.

Organizing your Japan Itinerary by places you “must go”

There’s just too much to fit into one trip, and the one thing you don’t want to do is run around everywhere without a chance to soak in the culture or city.

Once you have your big wish list, I would further categorize these as either a “must-go” or “would be nice to see” to help you prioritize. For me, my “must-go’s” included Universal Studios, visiting cute Tokyo cafés, and finding the best stationery shops. So I prioritized these in my itinerary. This way, you’re clear on your top priorities, with optional extras ready if you have the time.

Plan to visit your top spots first or early in the day. That way you’re sure you will get to them and leave the rest as flexible options. You probably won’t get to everything, and that’s okay!

Organize your Japan Itinerary by location

Consider creating a list on Google maps. You can create personalized lists on Google maps and save everything from restaurants, sights, museums, bakeries to it. One reason is that it’s helpful to see where these places are on the map. It’ll help you plan your day based on what’s nearby. Naturally, grouping places to go by location will save you time on transportation and commuting.

I will use google maps to plot out how long it would realistically take to commute from one location to another. That way I know whether putting those two locations on that same day make sense.

Secondly, by having your saved pins on the map, you can easily see what’s in the area when you’re finally there. When you’re walking around in Japan, you can easily check for any saved spots that you pinned in the area that you might want to pop into.

Japan Travel Itinerary

Finally, here is what I did recently in Japan to help give you ideas on your trip. I’ve written these guides in a diary format, and it is exactly what I did in that day. I hope these itineraries help you curate your own trip to Japan! There will be a new blog post every Monday, so come back to the page weekly to get more trip planning tips to Japan.

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