First-timer's two weeks in Japan

The trick to beating jet-lag isn't sleep timing. It's daylight and walking. Drop bags in Asakusa, head to Sensō-ji as the lights come up, eat at a counter near the hotel, and try to make it to 22:00 before the body collapses. Resist the temptation to plan anything else.

Skyliner from Narita

The Skyliner is the fastest train from Narita to central Tokyo. 41 minutes, all-reserved, ¥2,520 one-way. Buy at the dedicated counter just before security after baggage claim. The JR Pass doesn't cover it. And don't activate the Pass on Day 01 anyway, you won't use it again for four days.

Drop bags, walk to Sensō-ji

Asakusa hotels won't take you until 15:00. Leave the bags at the desk and walk to Sensō-ji. Fifteen minutes from any Asakusa address. The temple lights come on around 18:00; that's the photograph. Nakamise-dōri closes its shutters at 19:00. Walk it first.

Fuji Ramen for the first bowl

Walk five minutes from the hotel to Fuji Ramen. Counter seating, ten seats, no English menu. The shōyu is the order on Day 01, light enough that the jet-lag stomach doesn't revolt. Save the heavier Hakata-style for later in the trip. The ¥1,200 bowl + a tea makes the whole first dinner about ¥1,500.

Jet-lag is a daylight problem, not a sleep problem. Day 01 · arrival

The day Tokyo earns its reputation. A forest shrine before the crowds, a long walk through Aoyama and Harajuku, the city seen from above at sunset, and the smallest bars in Asia after dark. In roughly that order, because the city peaks west-side and the body is still recovering.

Meiji-jingū at opening

Get to Harajuku Station for the 06:00–06:30 shrine opening (varies by month, sunrise-tied). The path through the forest takes ten minutes, and the inner shrine is empty until 08:30 when the office-worker route through Yoyogi starts. Worth doing once on Day 02 specifically. By Day 03 the body won't allow it.

Aoyama-Omotesandō, then Cat Street

Walk south through Aoyama. Nezu Museum has a garden that opens at 10:00, and the Watari-um art space sits a block off. Cat Street is the calmer Harajuku: vintage stores, coffee, the kind of stops that don't trend on social. Skip Takeshita-dōri unless the goal is the chaos.

Shibuya Sky at sunset

Book the slot online. About 30 minutes before sunset, exact time varies by month. Buy at the website, not at the door. The on-site queue can be 90 minutes. ¥2,500. The point is the transition: city in daylight, then the lights coming up. The 19:00 post-sunset slot misses it.

Shinjuku evening: Omoide → Golden Gai

Eat skewers in Omoide Yokochō before crowds peak (around 19:00 already; by 20:30 it's shoulder-to-shoulder). Then walk eight minutes east to Golden Gai for one drink in one bar. Most bars have a ¥500–1000 seating cover; pay it, drink one drink, move on. Golden Gai is touristic now. That's honest, and the architecture still earns the visit.

Tokyo from above costs ¥2,500 and an hour. Skip it only if the body's already done. Day 02 · Shibuya

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the spine of any first Japan trip, 555 km from Tokyo to Kyoto, with Mt Fuji passing on the right side of the train about forty minutes in. The trip-defining detail is which Shinkansen: the Nozomi is fastest (2h 15) but the JR Pass doesn't cover it. The Hikari does. Same train manufacturer, same Fuji, twenty-five minutes more.

JR Pass activation, Hikari over Nozomi

Activate the JR Pass at the JR Ticket Office on the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Opens 07:00, queue is shortest before 09:00. Reserve a Hikari, not a Nozomi. The Hikari takes 25 minutes longer and the Pass covers it; the Nozomi requires a separate ticket. Same Fuji, same comfort. Most first-timers don't realise the Hikari exists and pay twice.

Right side, Fuji at 40 minutes

Reserve seats D or E on the right side (in the direction of travel). Fuji appears between Mishima and Shin-Fuji, roughly 40 minutes after Tokyo Station, weather-dependent. Have the camera ready. The view lasts ninety seconds.

Drop bags in Kyoto, walk Higashiyama

Kyoto Station to most hotels is 10 minutes by Karasuma Line subway. Hotels won't check in until 15:00 but will hold bags from the moment of arrival. The right first walk is Higashiyama. Up the slope past Yasaka Pagoda, into the stone-paved Ishibei-kōji alley, then down through Gion before the dinner crowd builds.

The Hikari is the right Shinkansen. The Nozomi is the expensive one. Day 04 · Tōkaidō

Kyoto's east side rewards the morning walker. Kiyomizu-dera at the 06:30 opening is empty; the same deck at 11:00 is a queue. The whole eastern spine — from Kiyomizu down through Sannen-zaka, past Yasaka Pagoda, into Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park — is walkable in a slow morning if started before eight. Pace the afternoon down: lunch, the Philosopher's Path, a quiet temple, an early dinner in Pontochō.

Kiyomizu-dera at opening

Be at the Niōmon gate by 06:25. The deck opens at 06:30 (varies by month, earlier in summer). At 07:00 the first tour buses arrive; by 09:00 the place is shoulder-to-shoulder. ¥500 entry. Don't book the night-illumination tickets. They're only worth it in November during the maple peak.

Sannen-zaka, Ninen-zaka

Walk down the slope. The two cobbled streets are at their best between 07:30 and 09:00. The shops aren't open yet, which means no impulse stops, and the morning light catches the upper machiya facades. Skip the matcha soft-serve queue at the Sannen-zaka top. Same product is sold without a line at Kasagiya halfway down.

Yasaka Shrine + Maruyama Park

Yasaka Shrine is free, open 24/7, and a useful pivot between Higashiyama and the Gion grid. Maruyama Park behind it is the city's sakura-viewing centre in spring. Outside of those weeks, it's just a quiet park with a 200-year-old weeping cherry. Lunch in Gion or Higashiyama before pushing north.

Philosopher's Path + Ginkaku-ji

The Philosopher's Path is 2 km along a canal, ending at Ginkaku-ji. Walking it after lunch is exactly the right pace. Ginkaku-ji entry is ¥500. Modest compared to Kinkaku-ji's gold-leaf set piece, but the moss garden is the real reason to come. Worth detouring to Hōnen-in on the path. Free, almost always empty.

Pontochō for dinner

Pontochō is a 500-metre alley between Sanjō and Shijō, lit by red lanterns. Most of the high-end yakitori and kaiseki places require reservations. For first-timers: walk the alley once at 18:00 before crowds peak, then pick a place with a window menu and an empty counter seat. Around ¥4,000 covers a decent counter dinner with one drink.

Kyoto east rewards the morning walker. Eight is the new ten. Day 05 · Higashiyama

Hiroshima is 1h 25 from Shin-Osaka by Sakura Shinkansen, ¥10,420 each way (JR Pass covered). The day has weight. Peace Memorial Museum is the centre, not a sidebar. Plan around it: early train, museum before the crowds, lunch on Hiroshima okonomiyaki, ferry to Miyajima only if there's energy left. Back to Osaka by 19:00.

Sakura Shinkansen out, museum first

Book the 07:30 Sakura from Shin-Osaka. Reserved seat ¥10,420, JR Pass covers it. You arrive Hiroshima Station 08:55, then a 15-minute tram (line 2 or 6, ¥220) puts you at the Peace Memorial Park gates at 09:30. The Museum opens at 08:30; arriving by 09:30 is twenty minutes ahead of the school-group wave.

Hiroshima okonomiyaki, layered not mixed

Hiroshima okonomiyaki is different from Osaka's. Layered, not mixed. The base is a thin crêpe, then cabbage, noodles, egg, pork, sauce, all in stacked order on the teppan in front of you. Okonomi-mura is the famous four-floor okonomiyaki building near Peace Park. Touristy but every stall is honest. About ¥1,500 a plate.

Miyajima. Only if there's energy

Miyajima is iconic but it's a 90-minute round trip just to reach the ferry, plus 30 minutes by boat. If the museum took longer than planned, skip it without guilt. The day already worked. If you go: the Itsukushima Shrine torii is best at high tide, when it appears to float. Check the tide chart before you commit to the ferry.

Back by 19:00, Dotonbori is waiting

Last sensible Sakura is the 17:30 from Hiroshima Station, arriving Shin-Osaka 18:55. Walk back to the hotel, eat a real dinner in Dotonbori. The day was emotionally long; a takoyaki-and-beer evening is the right close.

You don't visit Hiroshima for the photo. You visit for the silence afterward. Day 08 · Hiroshima

Day 10 is when the route shifts. The cities are behind, the mountains begin. From Shin-Osaka you take a Hikari Shinkansen to Nagoya (50 min), change platforms (allow 15 min), and pick up the Wide-View Hida limited express, a slow, panoramic ride along the Hida River that climbs into the Japanese Alps. About 3h 30 total, all JR Pass covered.

Nagoya transfer · allow 15 minutes

Shin-Osaka to Nagoya is 50 minutes on the Hikari. The platform change at Nagoya is the only catch. The Wide-View Hida leaves from platforms 10 or 11, which is a five-minute walk plus the queue. Reserve both legs at any JR office before Day 10 (free with the Pass) so you can move directly across.

Right side after Mino-Ōta

The Wide-View Hida is well-named. Large picture windows on both sides. The editorial seats are D/E on the right side after Mino-Ōta (about 50 minutes in). That's where the Hida River appears, and the train follows the gorge for the next 90 minutes. Bring snacks; there's no buffet car.

Takayama on foot from the station

Takayama Station is 10 minutes' walk from the old town (Sanmachi-suji). Hotels are clustered between the station and the river. Drop bags, eat Hida beef for the first time, and walk Sanmachi at twilight before the day-trippers leave. The lanterns come up around 17:30 and the place empties out by 19:00.

The Wide-View Hida is the most editorial train ride in Japan after the Tōkaidō. Take a window seat. Day 10 · Hida Line

Takayama is what Kyoto looked like before the buses. The old town (Sanmachi-suji) is three preserved streets of merchant houses, sake breweries, and miso shops. Most of it has been the same since the 1700s. Pace the day around it: morning market on the riverbank, sake tasting after, a long afternoon at the Hida Folk Village.

Miyagawa morning market

Open 07:00 to noon along the river. Regional pickles, miso, dried persimmons, and seasonal flowers. Stallholders are mostly retired farmers from the surrounding valleys; expect Hida dialect rather than tourist-English. Around ¥1,500 buys a serious breakfast plus snacks for the train tomorrow.

Sanmachi sake breweries

Six sake breweries operate within five blocks. Funasaka and Hirata-Shuzō are the two with formal tasting flights, ¥500 for three or four small pours. The water table here is the reason: snowmelt from the Hida Range filters through the limestone for 60 years before reaching the wells.

Takayama Jinya. The only one left

The Jinya is the only surviving Edo-period regional government office in Japan. ¥440 entry, takes 45 minutes. Worth it for the kura (rice storehouse) and the original wooden floor plan; the audio guide is decent.

Hida Folk Village in the afternoon

Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato) is an open-air museum on the hill west of town, 14 traditional gasshō-zukuri farmhouses moved here from the surrounding valleys when they were threatened by dam projects. ¥700 entry, takes 90 minutes. Skip the bus and walk up from Takayama Station (30 min). The hillside path is part of the experience.

Takayama is what Kyoto looked like before the buses. Day 11 · Hida-Takayama

Day 12 is when the trip slows down. The Nōhi Bus from Takayama climbs 1,250 metres into the Okuhida valley in about an hour, dropping at Hirayu Onsen, a hot-spring village wedged between five thermal sources and the Northern Japanese Alps. Hirayunomori is the editorial ryokan moment of the trip: tatami floors, kaiseki dinner, three private and seven shared baths, and a 360-degree silence after sundown that's hard to find elsewhere in modern Japan.

Nōhi Bus from Takayama

Buses leave from Takayama Nōhi Bus Terminal, attached to JR Takayama Station, roughly every 90 minutes. ¥1,600 one-way, cash only. The JR Pass does NOT cover it. The 10:30 or 11:30 service times check-in at Hirayunomori perfectly. The route climbs over the Hirayu Pass; window seat on the right after the 30-minute mark for the Hida Range view.

Check-in + yukata

At a ryokan, the yukata isn't a souvenir. It's the signal that you're done arriving. Change into it immediately; you'll wear it for the next 18 hours including dinner. The order is: bath first (around 16:00, before the dinner crowd), then dinner in your room or the dining hall (around 18:00), then second bath, then sleep. Don't tip. It's an insult.

The village + free footbath

Hirayu village is walkable in 20 minutes. The free ashi-yu (footbath) at the bus terminal is fed by the same source as Hirayunomori's baths. It's the village's gathering spot for arrivals and locals. Five minutes' soak, even in transit clothes, is the right way to mark "I'm here now". The hot-spring egg cooking spot (¥50 per egg, soft-boiled in 12 min) is signposted from the terminal.

Kaiseki around 18:00

Kaiseki is the structured multi-course meal that comes with the ryokan stay. Typically 8 to 12 small courses, all regional Hida produce: sashimi from Toyama, mountain vegetables, Hida-gyū beef, river fish, miso soup, rice, pickles, dessert. About 90 minutes. You don't order. It arrives. If something is impossible (raw fish, dietary), tell the inn at check-in, not at the table.

A ryokan night isn't a hotel night. It's an event with three meals, two baths, and one yukata. Day 12 · Hirayunomori

The full day at Hirayunomori is a choice between activity and absolute stillness. The Shin-Hotaka Ropeway is a 30-minute bus from the village and a 2,156-metre climb to a panoramic deck across the Northern Alps. The only place in the route where snow-capped peaks are reliably in view, even in summer. Or skip it entirely: morning bath, breakfast, afternoon nap, evening bath, kaiseki, second nap. Both choices are correct.

Morning bath at 06:30

The Hirayunomori outdoor bath (rotenburo) is best between 06:00 and 07:30. Empty, the air is cold against the water, the mountains catch the first light. Don't stay in more than 15 minutes; the water is 42°C and the body doesn't know it yet. A glass of cold water in the dressing room is part of the ritual.

Shin-Hotaka Ropeway. Only if the day's clear

The Shin-Hotaka Ropeway is the only double-deck ropeway in Japan, 2,156m at the top deck. ¥3,300 round-trip, 30-minute bus from Hirayu (¥900 each way). The view requires clear weather; check the webcam at the lower station before committing. If clouds are sitting on the peaks, skip it. The ropeway emerges into white-out conditions and refunds are not given.

Or just stay at the ryokan

The Okuhida valley alternative to a ropeway is doing nothing on purpose. Hirayunomori has a reading room, a tea lounge, and seven different baths to rotate through. Lunch isn't included in the half-board package. The inn serves a simple noodle bowl on request (¥1,500) or you can walk to one of the village soba places.

Second kaiseki, second bath

The second-night kaiseki is often the better one. The chef knows the table's preferences from Day 12 and the courses align tighter. Hida-gyū is the centrepiece: grilled tableside on a hōba leaf or served as nabemono. Second bath after, lights out by 22:00. The whole rhythm is bath-meal-bath-meal-sleep, and it's the right close to two weeks of travel.

The schedule at Hirayunomori is bath-meal-bath-meal-sleep. Anything else is a bonus. Day 13 · Okuhida