Best for · First-timers
Nick van der Blom
Seven days in Japan, honest
One week is too short. So we cut a city. Tokyo and Kyoto, done properly, instead of three cities done badly.
Nick van der Blom7Days
2Cities
0Day-trips
0Regrets
Why this route
We cut Osaka deliberately: seven days across Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima means four shinkansen legs and three hotel changes, and you land home exhausted. Instead, three nights Tokyo, three nights Kyoto, one transit day: two cities done properly. Avoid mid-July to August; humidity is punishing and this route offers no mountain escape.
Why Tokyo
Seven days means two cities, and Tokyo gets the first three nights. Asakusa is the base: an old-town neighbourhood with Sensō-ji at the end of the street, a direct airport train, and a counter for the first bowl of ramen. Day two is the west side in one long line, from the forest path at Meiji-jingū through Harajuku and Aoyama to Shibuya at sunset, ending in the smallest bars in Asia. Day three winds down in the shitamachi: the outer market at Tsukiji for breakfast, the Imperial Palace gardens, Yanaka's shopping street and the kitchenware shops of Kappabashi. Jet lag is a daylight problem. Walk it off.
17 things to see and do
Hidden gemAsakura MuseumA sculptor's former home with a courtyard pool, an upstairs library, and a roof terrace that frames the old shitamachi.
Hidden gemHie Shrine torii pathA miniature version of Kyoto's Senbon Torii, 90 steps through vermillion gates that climb a hill in the middle of Akasaka.
Hidden gemKITTE Rooftop GardenThe roof of the JP Tower, six floors above the Marunouchi-side entrance.
Must-seeSensō-ji at duskTokyo's oldest temple, founded 645 AD.
NeighbourhoodNakamise-dōri strollThe 250-metre covered approach to Sensō-ji, lined with around 90 stalls that have sold ningyo-yaki, pickled plums and lacquerware since the 18th century.
EatFuji RamenAsakusa · ~¥1,200
Must-seeMeiji-jingūA Shinto shrine to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken inside a 70-hectare forest planted from 100,000 donated trees in 1920.
NeighbourhoodCat StreetA pedestrian-friendly back street between Harajuku and Shibuya, lined with independent fashion boutiques and vintage shops.Show 9 more optionsShow fewer options
Must-seeShibuya CrossingThe scramble outside Shibuya Station's Hachikō exit, where six pedestrian crossings open at once and the junction floods with people from every direction until the next traffic cycle.
Must-seeShibuya Sky (sunset)A 230m open-air observation deck on top of the Shibuya Scramble Square.
EatOmoide YokochōA narrow alley of tiny yakitori stalls beneath the tracks at Shinjuku Station's west exit, its atmosphere unchanged since the early post-war era.
EatGolden GaiA six-alley grid of micro-bars in Shinjuku, 200 bars across the whole district, most seating five to eight people.
EatTsukiji Outer Market breakfastTokyo's working waterfront market, where the morning catch meets the city.
Must-seeImperial Palace East GardensA rare green sanctuary inside the Imperial Palace grounds, laid out over the ruins of Edo Castle, seat of the Tokugawa shoguns.
NeighbourhoodYanaka GinzaThe shopping street of Yanaka, a low-rise shitamachi neighbourhood whose wooden merchant houses and temples survived both the 1923 earthquake and the wartime bombing.
NeighbourhoodKappabashi kitchen streetAsakusa · variesNeighbourhoodMarunouchi + KITTE rooftopMarunouchi · FreeWhere to sleep in Tokyo
BUDGET · HostelBUNKA HOSTEL TOKYOAsakusaRenovated 80-year-old building, capsule rooms with curtains and lockable storage. Ten minutes from Sensō-ji. The café-bar downstairs is the bonus.¥4,500/nightSee rates ↗
MID · HotelHotel Tavinos AsakusaAsakusaRecommendedNick's own pick. Stayed in 2022 and 2024. Manga-themed but the rooms are clean and quiet, the staff are used to first-timers, and it's a five-minute walk to Fuji Ramen.¥11,000/nightSee rates ↗
LUXURY · HotelThe Gate Hotel Kaminarimon by HulicAsakusaBoutique stay with a rooftop terrace that frames Sensō-ji and Skytree. The deep bath in every room is part of the appeal. And rare in Tokyo at this price.¥45,000/nightSee rates ↗
Why Kyoto
Kyoto gets the other three nights because it is the opposite of Tokyo: low, wooden, and best on foot before the tour buses arrive. The eastern spine, from Kiyomizu-dera down Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka to Yasaka Shrine and Maruyama Park, is one slow morning if you start early and one long queue if you do not. Ginkaku-ji and the Philosopher's Path fill the afternoon; Gion and a Pontochō counter fill the evening. The last full day goes west to Arashiyama, where the bamboo grove is the start, not the point: Tenryū-ji's garden and the river at Togetsukyō are why you came.
16 things to see and do
Hidden gemIshibei-kōji alleyA 100-metre stone-paved alley with traditional wooden machiya on both sides.
Hidden gemHōnen-inA small Pure Land temple with a moss-covered thatched gate and two sand mounds raked into seasonal patterns.
Must-seeYasaka Pagoda at duskHigashiyama · Free
EatPontochō dinnerPontochō · ~¥4,000
Must-seeKiyomizu-dera at openingA wooden temple complex on the eastern Kyoto hillside, founded 778 AD.
NeighbourhoodSannen-zaka + Ninen-zakaHigashiyama · Free
Must-seeYasaka Shrine + MaruyamaGion's lantern-lit guardian shrine, dedicated to Susanoo and home of the Gion Matsuri, never closes and never charges.
EatHigashiyama lunchGion · ~¥2,500Show 8 more optionsShow fewer options
Must-seeGinkaku-ji + Philosopher's PathThe Silver Pavilion is a 15th-century Zen temple and UNESCO site, prized for its cone of white sand and raked garden above a pond.
NeighbourhoodGion evening walkKyoto's historic entertainment district along Hanamikōji and the Shirakawa canal, where wooden machiya teahouses still work as ochaya for geiko and maiko.
EatPontochō counter dinnerPontochō · ~¥4,000
Must-seeArashiyama bamboo grove · earlyA 500-metre path through 150-foot Moso bamboo, in north-west Kyoto.
Must-seeTenryū-ji + Sōgenchi gardenArashiyama's principal Rinzai Zen temple, founded in 1339 by Ashikaga Takauji.
EatTogetsukyō bridge + breakfastA 155-metre wooden bridge over the Ōi River at Arashiyama, framed by wooded hills.
Must-seeDaitoku-ji zen subtemplesNorthern Kyoto · ¥400 each
NeighbourhoodNishiki Market eveningKyoto's centuries-old kitchen lane, a covered market of food stalls, crafts and pickles.Where to sleep in Kyoto
BUDGET · Capsule9 Hours Kyoto TeramachiTeramachi · 5 min to PontochōNick stayed here in 2017. Capsule hotel, futuristic. Stark white pods, sleek bathroom block, lockers replace closets. <strong>If a capsule night belongs on the trip</strong>, this is the easiest place to try one: central, English-friendly, and the lights wake you with sunrise simulation. Not for two-person travel. Each pod is for one.¥4,200/nightSee rates ↗
MID · HotelHotel Kanra KyotoKarasuma · between Kyoto Station and downtownRecommendedTraditional-modern boutique with hinoki baths in every room and a tatami sleeping area. The right balance of "ryokan feel" without committing to a full kaiseki dinner.¥22,000/nightSee rates ↗
LUXURY · HotelThe Ritz-Carlton KyotoNijō · Kamogawa riversideRiverside on the Kamogawa, ten minutes from Pontochō. The garden bath suites are the editorial pick. But the standard rooms also face the river.¥90,000/nightSee rates ↗More routes like this
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