Two Weeks in Japan
Tokyo · Hakone · Kyoto · Osaka · Hiroshima · Kanazawa — the route I'd give my own family.
The route, briefly
A loop south, then back through the inland sea
This is the route I send to friends who have one chance to see Japan: two weeks, the Tokaido spine, a quiet detour west. It pairs the obvious cities — Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka — with a Hakone night, a Hiroshima reflection, and a Kanazawa garden most first-timers never reach. Where the guidebooks send you to the famous spot, we'll send you next door.
Built around the JR Pass. Spring and autumn perform best; summer is hot, winter is gentle in the south. Rough total: ¥210,000 mid-range, before flights.
Route map · 7 cities
Before you go · Logistics
Six things to sort before you fly
Arrival · Skyliner · check-in
Narita → Tokyo
Land, ride into the city, eat one quiet bowl of soba near the hotel.
Asakusa & Yanaka · 9 km on foot · ~¥3,500
East Tokyo, at walking pace
Two of the few neighbourhoods left where the Tokyo of 80 years ago is still doing its quiet work.
Senso-ji at 7am is the same temple, with none of the queue and most of the dawn light. Walk west into Yanaka before the cafés open and let the day arrive on its own.
Yanaka, then back
Yanaka is a short train ride and a different city — old wood, narrow lanes, three temples per block. The route loops back to Ueno for one slow lunch.
Tokyo asks you to slow down. East Tokyo is where it actually means it. — Marij, April 2025
Asakura Museum
Yanaka · Taito
A sculptor's house, kept exactly. Tatami rooms, a green roof, the rare Tokyo view that is yours alone for half an hour.
Shibuya & Harajuku · the famous loop
West Tokyo · the famous loop
A short, photo-led day. Done by sunset.
Romance Car · ryokan · onsen night
Mountain pause
Trade the city for one slow night. Hot spring, kaiseki dinner, futon by 22:00.
Take the Romance Car from Shinjuku at 10:00. By noon you're among cedars, by evening in a yukata. Hakone is theatre — let it be that.
Open-Air Museum
Ninotaira · Hakone
Henry Moore in a forest, no queue. The torii line is 90 minutes for a photograph; this is two hours for a museum you'll remember.
Long Shinkansen · settle in by evening
Hakone → Kyoto
A travel afternoon. Pick up groceries, drop the bags, walk the river before dinner.
Higashiyama · 8 km on foot · ~¥3,200
Eastern Hills, slowly
A morning shrine, a long walk, an unmarked tea house your guidebook missed.
Start before the buses. Kiyomizu-dera at 7am has the same view, none of the queue, and a quietness that turns out to be the actual point.
Higashiyama on foot
By the time you reach Yasaka Shrine you'll have crossed half of Higashiyama at your own pace. Skip the rickshaws and the kimono rentals.
The crowds aren't the city. They're a queue around the city. — Marij, April 2025
Iwafune-dera, Yawata
Yawata · Kyoto Prefecture
Same vermilion gate corridors. Mountain setting. The same photograph everyone leaves Fushimi with — except yours has the path to itself.
Arashiyama half-day · Gion evening
Bamboo morning, lantern night
A west-Kyoto half-day. Back to Gion before the dinner crowd.
Round-trip · 45 min each way
Day-trip ↺ Nara
A deer park morning, a giant Buddha, back in Kyoto for dinner.
Short hop · check in by lunch
Kyoto → Osaka
14 minutes. Drop the bags. Eat at Kuromon before the rush.
Kuromon · castle · Shinsekai · 6 km
Osaka, without the influencers
Skip the Dotonbori queue. The actual food is two streets over and the actual city is in Shinsekai after dark.
Eat first. Osaka is a market city dressed up as a neon city — start at Kuromon when it opens, before the buses arrive.
Janjan Yokocho, Shinsekai
Naniwa · Osaka
Same kushikatsu, half the price, none of the queue. A 200m alley of standing-bars and old-school grills, locals only after 8pm.
Shinkansen mid-morning · arrive by lunch
Osaka → Hiroshima
A short transition. Okonomiyaki dinner before the early night.
Peace morning · ferry afternoon
A quiet day, well spent
Two stops. Both essential. No rush between them.
Mornings here are for the museum. Read every panel. Then ferry to Miyajima for the afternoon — the deer, the torii, the climb up Misen.
Misen on foot, not the ropeway
Miyajima · Hiroshima
The path through cedar is the actual experience. 90 minutes up. The ropeway is 5 and you'll arrive with nothing learned.
Long Shinkansen · arrive evening
Hiroshima → Kanazawa
A travel day. Plan nothing for the evening.
Today's stops
i.Higashi Chaya evening
Kenroku-en morning · Shinkansen home
One garden, then home
A perfect Japanese garden, a final lunch, the bullet back.
Stops along the way
Top stops today
Hidden gem · instead of Tokyo Skytree
Asakura Museum
Yanaka · Taito
Top stops today
Stops along the way
Hidden gem · instead of Hakone Shrine torii
Open-Air Museum
Ninotaira · Hakone
Stops along the way
Top stops today
Hidden gem · instead of Fushimi Inari
Iwafune-dera, Yawata
Yawata · Kyoto Prefecture
Top stops today
Top stops today
Stops along the way
Top stops today
Hidden gem · instead of Dotonbori
Janjan Yokocho, Shinsekai
Naniwa · Osaka
Stops along the way
Top stops today
Hidden gem · skip the obvious cable car
Misen on foot, not the ropeway
Miyajima · Hiroshima
Stops along the way
Top stops today
Build my trip from this route
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