7 day Japan Itinerary
The classic first trip to Japan at a workable pace: Tokyo, a mountain-and-onsen night at Hakone, the temples of Kyoto, and Osaka’s food on the way to the airport — all on the rails, with no backtracking. An open jaw: you arrive in Tokyo and fly home from Kansai, and never retrace a step.
Seven days, and where each one puts you
Every day, how far it moves you and where you sleep, in one screen. Tap any line to jump to that day.
- Day 1Arrive TokyoAirport transfer onlySleep Tokyo
- Day 2Tokyo — old town to neonAcross the citySleep Tokyo
- Day 3Tokyo, your wayOptional day tripSleep Tokyo
- Day 4Tokyo → HakoneRomancecar, ~85 minSleep Hakone
- Day 5Hakone → KyotoShinkansen, ~2 h 20Sleep Kyoto
- Day 6Kyoto — temples before the crowdsAcross the citySleep Kyoto
- Day 7Kyoto → Osaka → KIX~15 min, then the airportFly home
Three nights in Tokyo, one at Hakone, two in Kyoto. Days 1 and 7 are really half-days once flights and transfers are counted — do not schedule anything you would mind missing on either.
The shape of the route
Tokyo (3 nights) → Hakone (1) → Kyoto (2) → Osaka, flying out of Kansai. An open-jaw loop west along the Tōkaidō Shinkansen — arrive in Tokyo, fly home from Osaka, never retrace your steps. The whole route is one rail corridor, which is why a week is enough for it and would not be enough for anything wider.
The money, before you commit to the route
Indicative, mid-range, per person, excluding international flights and the roughly ¥12,000 of intercity Shinkansen this route needs. Business hotels and konbini meals cost less; the ryokan night and its kaiseki cost more, and are the single biggest swing in the week. A Japan Rail Pass is usually not worth it here — with only a few long hops, point-to-point tickets come out cheaper. The maths is on the rail-pass page.
The week, in order
Every day is open on the page. Nothing is behind a tab, because the shape of the week is the thing you came to judge.
Land, and settle
Half a day, really · Tokyo, on foot near your hotel
Afternoon — from about 2 pm
Check in and find your feet. Drop your bags and resist the urge to plan. Buy an IC card — Suica or PASMO — at the station on arrival; it pays for local trains, buses and konbini for the rest of the week and is the single best five minutes you will spend.
Airport → your base · From Narita, the Narita Express or the cheaper Keisei Skyliner, 40–90 minutes. From Haneda, the Keikyū line or the Monorail, 30–45 minutes.
Evening — a gentle first wander
The lantern-lit lanes of Asakusa, or the crossing and back-streets of Shinjuku. One good bowl of ramen and an early night.
Old town to neon
A full day, early start · Asakusa, Toyosu, Shibuya
Morning — be there before the coaches
Sensō-ji and Asakusa. The temple and the Nakamise approach take about an hour and a half. Free, and quite different at eight in the morning from eleven.
Asakusa → Toyosu · Ginza line to Shimbashi, then the Yurikamome. About 30 minutes.
Afternoon — book a timed slot
teamLab. Immersive walk-through digital art, two to three hours, ¥3,200–4,000. The timed tickets sell out — this is one of the three things to book before you fly.
Toyosu → Shibuya · Yurikamome to Shimbashi, then the JR Yamanote line. About 25 minutes.
Evening — at dusk, not before
Shibuya Crossing. The scramble as the neon comes up, then an izakaya crawl in the lanes off Center-gai.
Tokyo, your way — or a day trip
The day with a choice in it · city, or the coast
Morning — the forested approach
Meiji Shrine and Harajuku. The walk in through the trees takes about an hour and is the point of it. Then the boutiques of Harajuku and Omotesandō, a short walk from the shrine’s south exit.
Afternoon — city, or a day trip — pick one
Stay in town for the tower views and Shinjuku’s gardens, or day-trip to Kamakura’s Great Buddha. Other day trips.
Day-tripping · JR Yokosuka line from Tokyo Station to Kamakura, about an hour. Staying in town · the Yamanote line loops to Shinjuku or Shibuya in about ten minutes.
Evening — the one job tonight
Eat early, because you move tomorrow. Forward your main suitcase to your Kyoto hotel tonight — any konbini or hotel desk arranges takuhaibin — so you carry only an overnight bag to Hakone. This is the single tip that makes the week work.
Then stop here and fly home from Haneda or Narita, and do not feel short-changed. Three days in Tokyo is a real trip — a temple at dawn, the world’s busiest crossing at dusk, one day of your own choosing and a city you can get around on a single card. What follows is a different country: a mountain onsen, an old capital and a food city, and it needs the other four days rather than a squeezed two.
Tokyo → Hakone — mountains and onsen
The trip’s exhale · overnight bag only
Morning — reserve in peak
Reserve the Romancecar in peak season · it goes from Shinjuku direct to Hakone-Yumoto. The alternative, if it is full, is the Shinkansen to Odawara and the Hakone Tozan mountain line up.
Afternoon — three to four hours, as a loop
The Hakone loop. The Hakone Free Pass covers the whole circuit: mountain railway and cable car up to the Open-Air Museum, the ropeway over the sulphur vents of Ōwakudani — buy a black egg — then a cruise across Lake Ashi under the red torii. It is a loop, so you do not double back.
Evening — check in early, soak before dinner
Ryokan, onsen and kaiseki. A multi-course dinner in your yukata. Arrive by about four — ryokan dinner times are fixed and arriving late costs you the soak, not the meal.
Hakone → Kyoto — into the old capital
The long hop · and the only one that needs a reservation
Morning — down the mountain first
Get down to Odawara first · the Shinkansen station sits at the foot of Hakone, 15 minutes from Hakone-Yumoto but 40 from the higher resorts — budget for the one you are in. Reserve seats in spring and autumn.
Afternoon — about 1.5 hours with the approach
Kiyomizu-dera and the lanes. The hillside veranda and its views over Kyoto. ¥500.
Kyoto Station → Higashiyama · city bus 100 or 206 to Kiyomizu-michi, about 15 minutes, then a short uphill walk.
Evening — walk down as the lanterns light
Gion at dusk. Down the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka stone lanes on foot, about fifteen minutes. Hanamikoji and the Shirakawa canal are loveliest as the lanterns come on; dinner in Pontochō alley, a few minutes across the river. Where to eat in Kyoto.
Kyoto — temples before the crowds
The longest day of the week · start at half past seven
Morning — first light, then move
Fushimi Inari at 7:30. The vermilion torii before the crowds; the summit loop is two to three hours if you do all of it. Free.
Kyoto Station → Fushimi · JR Nara line, two stops, about five minutes.
Then straight on to Arashiyama for the bamboo grove — quietest before eleven — then Tenryū-ji’s garden and lunch on the main street.
Fushimi → Arashiyama · JR Nara line back to Kyoto Station, then the JR Sagano line. About 30 minutes in all.
Arashiyama → Kinkaku-ji · city bus 11 or a taxi, about 40 minutes.
Afternoon — a one-way circuit, about 45 minutes
Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion. Gold mirrored in its pond. ¥500. You walk one way round and out, so it is shorter than it looks on a map.
Kinkaku-ji → Pontochō · city bus 12 or 59 to the centre, about 35 minutes.
Evening — a last Kyoto dinner
Pontochō, or a tea ceremony. Prefer deer and a Great Buddha? Swap the morning for a Nara day trip, about 45 minutes from Kyoto.
Kyoto → Osaka → home
Half a day, and a feast · bags in a locker
Morning — store the bags first
Osaka Castle or Kuromon Market. The landmark keep and its park, or a market breakfast among the stalls. ¥600, or free.
Put your bags in a station locker on arrival · then take the Midōsuji subway into the centre. The Special Rapid is slower than the Shinkansen and much cheaper — on a hop this short the difference is not worth paying for.
Afternoon — a final feast, then go
Dōtonbori. Takoyaki, the Glico sign and the canal. Where to eat in Osaka points you at the best of it.
Or: add a final night in Osaka and fly out rested. Worth it if day 7 cannot reach your flight comfortably.
Allow about three hours before an international flight · the Nankai Rapi:t leaves from Namba, the JR Haruka from Ōsaka Station — whichever is nearer to where you finish eating.
One base per stop
The day panels link you to each base’s stay guide as you reach it. This is here to compare the four against each other — which one suits you, and what to watch for.
Pick: a business hotel around Shinjuku Station, or a quieter modern hotel in Asakusa. Suits: first-timers who want everything a short train away. Watch: rooms are small — pay up a category for space.
Where to stay in Tokyo →Pick: a ryokan with a private or in-room onsen and kaiseki dinner. Suits: couples and anyone wanting the traditional inn. Watch: book early; arrive mid-afternoon for the fixed dinner.
Where to stay in Hakone →Pick: a Higashiyama machiya townhouse for dawn temples on foot, or a hotel by Kyoto Station for easy hops. Suits: temple-first or logistics-first travellers. Watch: Higashiyama is hilly and quiet at night.
Where to stay in Kyoto →Pick: Namba for the food and Dōtonbori, or Umeda for a fast Haruka run to Kansai. Suits: anyone with an early flight. Watch: only needed if day 7 cannot reach your flight comfortably.
Where to stay in Osaka →Six ways to bend it
Slower
Add three days — extra Kyoto nights, and Hiroshima and Miyajima on the end. See the 10-day route.
Cheaper
Business hotels instead of the ryokan, IC-card local trains over reserved Shinkansen, and konbini or market meals.
Family-friendly
teamLab and Universal in Osaka, short temple days, forward the bags, and Nara’s deer.
Rainy day
Museums, depachika food halls, teamLab, and the covered arcades — Nishiki, and the Dōtonbori arcades.
By bike
Swap a Kyoto day for cycling in Kyoto, or add the Shimanami Kaidō.
Reverse it
Fly into Kansai and out of Tokyo if your flights suit. It works west to east just as well.
Five things to settle before you fly
Forward your luggage. Send the big bag hotel-to-hotel between cities using takuhaibin; carry an overnight bag to Hakone. You change hotels three times in a week — this is what makes that painless.
Reserve what sells out. Shinkansen seats in peak, teamLab timed tickets, and the Hakone ryokan. In that order of difficulty.
Get an IC card and data. Suica or PASMO for local trains and konbini, plus an eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi. See practical information.
Do the entry admin. Most visitors are visa-free; complete Visit Japan Web before you land.
Skip the rail pass, probably. Point-to-point beats the pass on this route. Check the maths.
Carry cash. ¥3,000–5,000 a day. Small temples, market stalls and older restaurants are often cash-only, and trains stop around midnight — check the last connection or budget for a taxi.
Where this route comes from
Check before you go: live Shinkansen times and fares on the operator sites, and Visit Japan Web for entry and customs.
Been recently? If fares, timings or the “beat the crowds” hours have moved, tell us what you found — we date every change and say what we altered.
A final word on the week
Seven days is enough for the Tōkaidō and nothing wider. Forward the bags, book the ryokan first, and give the last day to Osaka rather than to the airport.
Andrew + Margaret
- All Japan itineraries Compare 7, 10 and 14 days
- Getting around Japan Shinkansen, IC cards, luggage forwarding
- Is the rail pass worth it? The maths for this route
- Best time to visit Japan Blossom, autumn colour, crowds
- Visiting Japan The full country guide
- Japan National Tourism Organization Regions and current advice
- Visit Japan Web Entry and customs
Is 7 days enough for Japan?
Yes, for a first taste. A week covers Tokyo, a mountain-and-onsen night at Hakone, Kyoto and a little of Osaka. Keep it tight — seven days is not long enough to add the far north or south without it feeling rushed.
Should I start in Tokyo or Osaka?
Most people fly into Tokyo and out of Kansai, which is this open-jaw route with no backtracking. It works just as well in reverse if your flights are cheaper that way.
Do I need a Japan Rail Pass for this route?
Usually not. With only a few long hops, point-to-point tickets come out cheaper than a 7-day pass.
How much should I budget?
Beyond flights and rail, mid-range travel runs roughly ¥18,000–30,000 per person per day — less on business hotels and konbini meals, more with a ryokan night and kaiseki.
Is this route doable with kids?
Very. Forward the luggage, keep temple days short, and lean on teamLab, Nara’s deer and Osaka’s Universal Studios. Trains are pushchair-friendly and punctual.