Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on a 13-day Japan itinerary for late April.
Last summer I visited Japan with my (now ex) partner. In two weeks we did the classic route: Tokyo – Kyoto – Osaka, including a day trip to Nara and Universal Studios Japan. I feel like I’ve already seen most of the major highlights on that route.
Now I’ve been invited to go again for two weeks with a friend who hasn’t been before. Of course she wants to see some highlights, but I’m hesitant to spend a lot of money repeating exactly the same trip.
We’ve tried to compromise by adding places that are new to me, like Takayama and Hiroshima, while still keeping some must-see spots for her. Below is our current draft itinerary (13 effective days).
My main questions:
• Does this route make sense logistically?
• Are there swaps or alternatives that would make the trip feel more “different” while still covering key highlights?
• Are we trying to do too much, or repeating too much?
• Any suggestions for lesser-known areas that would fit well into this plan?
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Current draft itinerary (summary)
• Days 1–4: Tokyo (Asakusa, Shibuya, Harajuku, DisneySea, Shinjuku)
• Day 5: Day trip to Kawaguchiko / Mount Fuji area
• Days 6–7: Takayama + possible Shirakawa-go
• Days 8–10: Kyoto (+ half-day Nara)
• Day 11: Osaka
• Day 12: Hiroshima + Miyajima day trip
• Day 13: Osaka & departure
Thanks in advance, any insights are very welcome! 🙏🇯🇵
I agree with the other commenters regarding Osaka. You can easily do it as a daytrip from Kyoto. You can also combine it with Nara. We visited Nara from Kyoto in the morning (focus on Nara park) and went to Osaka in the afternoon. Then returned to Kyoto in the evening.
Also agree with going to Miyajima first and then exploring Hiroshima in the afternoon. I did the same thing last October.
Personally I’d advice not to go on this trip with your friend. For many people a Japan trip costs a lot of money. And seeing the same places again feels kinda „wasted“, just my personal opinion though.
It's entirely possible to do the golden route twice and do different stuff each time.
We went 2024 on a 19 day and then went 2025 with our kids and did entirely different things than our first trip.
We did add more kid friendly things though like Osaka Aquarium and Tokyo Disney/Sea.
The only things we duplicated is Arashiyama Monkey Park and Sensoji Temple.
Day 12 go first to Miyajima as early as possible because there is lots to see on the way to the top of Mt Misen. Specially if you don't go up by the cable car you need to make sure you have enough time to get back in time. All the Hiroshima "daytrip" stuff can be seen in the afternoon.
Also keep it flexible if you decide to skip Osaka and go from Kyoto, again check the weather report, the inland sea views from the top of the mountain are something else when it's not cloudy.
"Day5" keep it flexible and pick on the spot when you look at sunny prediction and you know it will be a good weather and you can see mt Fuji.
I wouldn't bother too much with Osaka unless she wants to take a pic with the Glico sign :)
I would rather stay in Kyoto day 8-13 and do the Hiroshima day trip from there, it's only 30m extra. 5 days is not much since 3 days you will do daytrips to Hiroshima/Himeji/Nara. The other two days you can do Gion, Kyomizudera and other temples in the eastern side and Arashiyama with the monkey park on the other day.
Then pick one day trip for Himeji because you didn't picked any castle and Himeji is THE castle to see, imo it is a quintessential experience to see in Japan. And you can see it in a morning, then spend the evening in Dotonbori in Osaka and get back with the last train to Kyoto.
Seems fine, tho I wouldn't move to Osaka. You can easily reach both Osaka and Hiroshima from Kyoto.
Also, if at all possible, I'd turn it around - start in the Kansai area, then finish in Tokyo. This guarantees you end your trip on a high note and you can delay your shopping till your final destination, so you don't have to lug the extra crap around.
Looks fine to me. For first timers it's a solid itinery, but if I were to travel to Japan for the second time I'd definitely wander off the beaten path and explore further down south, like Wakayama (a historical coastal town with a history of religious pilgrimages). Himeji castle if you like castles too.
Shirakawa-go is extremely popular, to the point where buses are booked out as soon as they are available. Bookings open a month in advance https://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/
For Osaka why not go to Minoh? It's traditionally been more of a minor spot more popular with repeat visitors, but now katsuoji has become more accessible, people are realising it's one of the best places in Osaka. You can do a bike tour now aswell, which is a lot of fun and super time efficient.
We were in Minoh Thanksgiving week. The falls were closed due to recent fire, so you couldn't "go to the falls". So you could only do the walking path down from the parking area, to the walled off area to see the waterfall from a very far distance. Worth it to see the leaves but it wasn't more than a 2 hour visit tops.
Yep, if you only do the waterfall, and skip the insect museum and other little temples along the way itl be about 2 hours. But to be honest katsuoji is probably the hilight of that area so if you go to Minoh and only do the waterfall you're missing out a little. Also theyve opened a new path that goes around the bit where the fire was now, so you can get to the waterfall again
Have you considered staying in Osaka on your Kyoto day? It's a short commute (less than half an hour even without taking the Shinkansen), and accommodations might be quite a bit cheaper. Saves you from checking into the hotel for two nights.
Don't forget the Meji shrine while in Tokyo. If you are staying in Shinjuku, you can probably walk there, and the area in-between has a lot of restaurants that are frequented by the locals. Cheap and good, but not as flashy as the ones aimed at tourists.
Itinerary looks alright. We did a day trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima from Osaka on our first trip. Miyajima is very beautiful but you should visit early to beat the crowd as suggested by others. We took the 6:30am shinkansen for this. But I wish I spent another day in Hiroshima as it was very different from Osaka and Tokyo and had its own charm. This could become a highlight of your second trip. So if possible, stay overnight bringing along a small backpack.
I would just stay in Osaka and commute to Kyoto for sightseeing (or vice versa). I would ship luggage on the 6th day (before going to Takayama) and retrieve it in Osaka or Kyoto after the Takayama trip. A lesser-known area would be Nagoya. You can skip Takayama and go to Nagoya instead. Nagoya is between Tokyo and Osaka; you can make a day trip (not staying over night) on the way to Osaka or Kyoto from Tokyo so you can spend more days in Kyoto, Osaka and Nara. I would just stick to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with a stopover tip in Nagoya to be simple and make it more affordable.