Japan planning thread

[Takoneko]

I’ve just booked the hotels for my third trip to Japan next year and about to start planning the itinerary in earnest.

Japan threads pop up here quite a bit and I think people spend a lot of time on planning for Japan trips. I thought it might be nice to have a shared thread where we can pool questions, tips and share research for anyone who has a trip coming up.

All budgets and styles of trip are welcome, whether you’re going hiking, temple-hopping, skiing or visiting theme parks, maid cafes and arcades and whether you’re going to hostels or 5 star hotels. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to enjoy Japan. It has something for everyone.

We’re a couple in our late 30s and our trip will be mid-budget, probably up to about £3.4k per person with food and spends. We’ve splashed out a bit on direct JAL flights and have upgraded all our hotel rooms to at least king size beds in hotels that are in really well connected locations. They are all mid-range Japanese business hotel chains rather than luxury hotels though. (Candeo, Daiwa Roynet and Sotetsu Fresa). We like Japanese food but we’re definitely more likely to be eating eat in mom and pop restaurants and mid-range Japanese chains than in fancy kaiseki places. Any recommendations for mid range restaurants with relaxed atmospheres would be very welcome.

We plan to use the Sanyo-San’in rail pass in the second half of our trip and would be really interested to share ideas for places to visit with anyone else who is planning on using that pass (or who has used it in the past). At the moment we are thinking Iwakuni, Miyajima, Kurashiki and Onomichi from Hiroshima and Himeji and Uji from Osaka, but we are open to other ideas. I speak passable tourist Japanese and we are ok with going to places that don’t cater to English speakers and muddling through with broken Japanese and Google translate.

What routes are you travelling on? On the main Shinkansen line (which connects Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka etc) there are up to 16 trains per hour running in each direction, so you’ll be fine. If the next train is fully booked it’s won’t be a long wait for the next one. The trains are insanely frequent for high-speed, long-distance rail. They are more frequent than some London Underground lines, which I find mind-blowing.

They announced on R4 yesterday that the tree which is used to gauge when the Tokyo cherry blossom season has started has now got blossom, so it's started!

Only 3 days now until I go!!!! I am ridiculously excited 🥳
im hoping ill get to see sakura in Tokyo but we don’t arrive there until 3rd April as we fly to Osaka first

We are leaving tomorrow! I am beyond excited as going to see our DD who has been living in Tokyo for 6 months with her bf. I am bouncing off the walls!

Have a fab time @princesspadam and @OldieButBaddie !!!

for the person asking about summer vs autumn/ spring. We went in autumn 2 years ago and had mostly fab weather. We’re going back this July and taking it as it comes!! From what I’ve read July is better in terms of crowds than August, we’ve decided to do Tokyo, Hakone, Osaka, and Japanese alps which look considerably less wet than further south.

When is the best time of year to travel to Japan?
DH and I are hoping to visit for the first time in 2026. Once we have recovered from our wedding costs 😬 🤞🏽

@princesspadam @OldieButBaddie Enjoy! Hope you have a fabulous time. Please update us to let us know how it goes.

Cherry blossom season (usually end of March to start of April) is beautiful and has pretty good weather but is very busy.
The height of Summer is generally considered to be a bad time to go. It’s very hot, very humid and often overcast and wet. It’s also less crowded though.
We went in late May to early June once and had OK weather then. It was long before the tourism boom, so crowds were just not an issue then.
Winter is when you’re most likely to get clear skies and dry weather but you don’t get as many hours of daylight and it can be chilly or even straight-up cold in some parts of the country.

The majority of people prefer spring (March/April) and autumn (Oct/Nov). Spring is Cherry Blossom season and autumn is popukar due to the foliage. Summer is experienced as too hot and humid by most. My personal preference is late spring/early summer, so second half of May to first half of June, as it's usually less busy than in April/Early May and already a bit warmer, albeit a bit more rainy (but it always rains in Japan yesr round). I'm not that much into serious sightseeing, and more into 'holiday' activities, like sitting by the pool, in a cafe, theme parks, beaches, going shopping (all air conditioned), so prefer the warmer months.

Thank you @NellyBarney & @Takoneko I appreciate your advice! I love cherry blossom. We even get it here in London. I have heard it’s wonderful in Japan come autumn as well.

@princesspadam and @NellyBarney exciting! Have a great time.

@PalmTreeAngel I went first week of December and it was perfect for me, up at 6am made the days longer. Clear sky and cold but that made it easy to walk everywhere. The last day was freezing and windy. I wouldn’t risk past mid November when I go again (if that helps narrow it down). Congratulations on your wedding!

Thank you @SunnyTimes3
Ah, I can see the appeal but I can’t stand cold weather, so I feel I’d prefer it when warmer. I’m thinking tail end of cherry blossom season April-May would be ideal for me. I am a May baby, so maybe that’s why I’m attracted to the spring?!

Anyone visit Mount Fuji and can give advice / tips on this? I hear it’s very foggy.

Don’t do the very end of April and start of May. I forgot to mention that. That’s Golden Week and it is the busiest week of the year for domestic tourism. It’s a week that you want to avoid as a foreign tourist due to crowds and higher hotel prices. If you want to catch the cherry blossom it’s also too late. The blossoms generally only last for about two weeks so unless you’re at altitude or in Hokkaido the bloom is mostly all over by the middle of April. We are arriving on 13th April this year and know we will almost certainly be too late for the blossoms.

@PalmTreeAngel what do you mean by 'visiting' Mount Fuji? If you want to climb it the season is restricted to July to September so it may affect when you go. We found it difficult to book the kan (accommodation) on the way up but a quick google says it is much easier now, which may be alongside the restictions on numbers that have been brought in since we were there in 2023. Mt Fuji is often in clouds but it was visible on our first day of walking. Overnight a typhoon came through and changed our second day plans but it was definitely covered in cloud (which was very wet)!

We were there Sep to Oct and in early to mid September between Tokyo and Nagasaki it was still summer and shorts weather. We were in Hokkaido in Oct as autumn arrived - simply stunning.

Have a fab trip @princesspadam and @OldieButBaddie !

@OldieButBaddie Hope you’ve had a safe journey and are having a wonderful time with your DD in Tokyo. How is the weather?

I’m guessing that @princesspadam is in the middle of a very long flight right now. Safe travels!

Great thread.. I'm planning my first trip with my DD13 in April Easter break 2026. For those travelling over the Easter what should I expect to pay for flights £3k person?

I'm going next weekend for the Easter holidays. Direct flights with Japan Airlines were around £1300 pp for adults.

Libertineagain thanks for that update, cheaper than expected, 😁

We are a couple in our mid 30s and we are hoping to go next year - can anyone advise us how much this is likely to cost? I’m struggling to budget. It’s good to get an idea of flight costs. As this is a trip like no other, it’s hard to know how to save for it. I am so used to all inclusive or short city breaks to Europe.

Id really appreciate anyone who has been and a similar age that could advise and welcome private messages too ☺️

@PalmTreeAngel We’re a late 30s couple, perhaps a few years older than you.

So far our trip has cost:

Flights: £3,300 JAL direct to Tokyo and returning from Hiroshima via Tokyo.
Hotels: £1,550 for 13 nights in business hotels upgraded to at least King rooms in very central locations. 3 to 4 star places, not luxury. We’ve also booked breakfast for 5 nights.
Setouchi area passes: £230
£160 loaded onto our suica cards for two weeks of metro transport, small purchases and vending machines.
The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka will probably be another £150.
Then I think we’ll spend somewhere in the region of £80-100 per day between us on food, drinks, attractions, souvenirs and miscellaneous spends. Rough estimate £1,200 for 13 days.

Add in £40 on ESIMs and £80 on lounge access at Heathrow and it brings the total for everything to about £6,700.

So, £3,350 per person all-in.

You could spend less if you’re going at a cheaper time of year, if you’re willing to fly with a Chinese airline and stay in APA hotels in their small double rooms. You could also spend a whole lot more if you stay in western hotel chains, eat kaiseki every night and fly business class or if you book with a tour operator. I do think it’s a fairly representative price for an average Easter holiday trip for a couple our sort of age.

In most cities the area around a train station seems to be a bit seedy/amusement heavy, so it's often a trade off between convenience and more quiet/salubrious surroundings. In Shinjuku, we'll be staying in a hotel right at and overlooking Central Park. It's a 15 min walk to Shinjuku station but the immediate neighbourhood is pretty green and includes a large children's playground etc, so hopefully a 15/20 min walk from the station/entertainment district will be acceptable to my not very keen walker for a bit more peace and quiet and child friendly surroundings. I have my Uber and Go-Taxi app ready, too.

Central Park is the place where Lost in Translation was filmed. The Park Hyatt, the hotel in the film, is closed but there are other skyscraper ones, like the Regency Hyatt and lower built boutique hotels.

@NellyBarney

In most cities the area around a train station seems to be a bit seedy/amusement heavy, so it's often a trade off between convenience and more quiet/salubrious surroundings.

I agree with this for many cities but don’t think this really holds true in most of Tokyo. It is true in Shinjuku, but I have stayed twice in the area surrounding Tokyo station (and will be doing so for a third time in a couple of weeks) and would not describe it as either seedy or amusement-heavy. There are options if you want the convenience of being really close to transport links in a less entertainment-heavy part of town.

The park area is lovely. There are also metro stations that will be closer to you than walking to Shinjuku station from there. I’d probably use those wherever you can to get the benefit of a smaller, less complex station to start the day at. We use the smaller metro stations over Tokyo station wherever we can.

Oh the area around Tokyo station is amazing! It's also opposite the best park in Tokyo, obviously. If I wouldn't be spending my money on theme parks I would be staying there at the Shangri-la or another lovely hotel

@NellyBarney We definitely aren’t staying at the Shangri-La. Maybe someday!
We just really like the neighbourhood.
I actually prefer the parks in and around Shinjuku and Shibuya though. I think you’re staying in a better part of Tokyo for green spaces. Hope you have a great time.