What are the must see places in Japan?

[Glitterbiscuits]

I can only go for about a week, maybe 9 days ? I’m in education so limited to school holidays.
Im vegetarian, like history and nature, culture.
Not theme parks or adrenaline stuff.
Could be October next year as I’ve probably left it late for Cherry Blossom and the summer will be hot

Just dipping my toes in the water

Because the flights are so expensive and accommodation and food are relatively cheap, it works out far worse value for money to do shorter trips. I’d try to extend to closer to two weeks if at all possible.

I’m also in education and have been at Easter for the last three years in a row.

I don’t really believe in must sees. There’s lots of places that show up on must see lists that I haven’t been to. I have no regrets and find that Japan really does reward you if you go a bit off the usual tourist trail.

I could talk all day about places in Japan that I’ve been to and loved. What regions/cities are you thinking to visit?

If you're in Tokyo, the Shinjuku Gyoen park is absolutely beautiful at any time of year. Either the Tokyo Tower or Skytree give you fantastic views of the city.
It's a half hour or so train ride to Kamakura, a seaside town where you can also see the giant Buddha.
Outside Tokyo, the area around Mount Fuji is lovely. Aim for a small town such as Fujiyoshida.
Osaka and Hiroshima are my favourite cities. Kyoto is famous for its temples and is picturesque. Yokohama has a nice atmosphere and is not far on the train from Tokyo.
Autumn is a good place to go, as late as possible, as the leaves are changing colour. It's equally as beautiful as cherry blossom season.
Have a great time- it's a wonderful country, full of culture, beauty and fabulous people.

Gion in Kyoto - will stay with me always.

With that timescale I would split time between bases in Tokyo and Kyoto, and do a day trip from each. Nara from Kyoto and Hakone or Nikko from Tokyo, especially in autumn. Travel between the 2 cities takes aboit 3h by bullet train. October is a perfect time to visit. Fly to Haneda airport if you can, as it’s much closer to Tokyo than Narita, so you won’t waste a half day.

Thank you all! Are the trains as hard to navigate as I’ve been lead to believe?

The trains are much easier to navigate than you would expect as there is English signage, even on the live electronic boards.

No, not at all. My first trip to Japan was back in 2008, when it was way tricker (less English signage, no translation apps, no unified IC card system) and we still survived with no Japanese language skills. In today’s world of google maps and translate it’s really hard to go too far wrong.

My advice is not to stay by one of the huge stations in Tokyo or Osaka. I wouldn’t want to be navigating a station like Namba or Shinjuku every day. Choose a smaller and less hectic metro station for your home base.

Koya-san. For a week on my own.

I loved the gardens at Kanazawa and Himiji castle .

Agree with PP, 7-9 days is too short and I think you will regret it. Try and get to 12-14 days and I think you will be glad you did.

We went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakone, Kamaura so I agree they were all amazing (and different).

9 days I think you can pick 3 places
12 days plus I think you can pick 4-5 places depending on timing

Tokyo was one of my favourite places and I recommend the Kimono Tea Ceremony at Maikoya in Asakusa.

I think with 9 days you can only really see Tokyo and Kyoto with the odd side trip. My favourite place thought is Mount Koya (South of Osaka, need to take a cable car up and you can stay in a monastery). Close second favourites are the villages on the Nakasendo trail, Shirakawago, Kakonodate but these are more off the beaten track, probably not for a first visit.

I've been to Japan a couple of times.
For me the single most impressive sight was Todaji in Nara.

Other than that, Japan's charm for me was as much in the twittering noises while waiting on train platforms and at pedestrian crossing, or the vending machines down unlikely backstreets as in the big tourist attractions.

It is so different from my home I found interest everywhere!

You're likely to go to Kyoto, no matter what else you plan, so I can heartily recommend two tofu restaurants near the Nanzen-ji temple: Junsei (fancier but in the most stunning garden) and Goemon Chaya (more casual, cheaper, had aircon for the bakingly hot day in July we were there). Both had absolutely wonderful yudofu, the meals are seasonal kaiseki style, all tofu and vegetables.

Senso-ji Buddhist Temple in Asakusa Tokyo is a good one to visit in the evening especially. It gets very crowded during the day. It is near a bustling market area.
Kyoto has lots of interesting temples including the one with the multiple red archways Fushima Inari.

Check out a vegan ramen place in Tokyo station T’S TAN TAN, really good ramen at very reasonable price which we went to several times as couldn’t find any vegan places.

There isn’t English at every station - depends where you are! Generally easy with a Japan Rail pass. We did 12 nights and had 4 bases. Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, and Tsumago for the Nakasendo highway walk. This trip is easy to navigate and has a good variety of cities and countryside.

If you can go for longer, I would though.

The bonsai museum and gardens in Kyoto. I haven't been but friends have and they said it was marvellous.

There's also the Omiya bonsai museum in Saitama.

The Japan Rail Pass is no longer a good deal since the massive price hikes.

Anyone doing a trip now should use the JR pass calculator. For most itineraries the JR pass is more expensive than buying individual tickets. Some regional passes can be a pretty good deal, depending on your itinerary.

Matsushima Bay is a probably one of the more spectacular places that I’ve been in Japan. I also agree with a PP about Todaiji being pretty special.

Nothing is hard to navigate in Japan (except finding the exit to Shinjuku Station). It's a joyful country to get around!

If you can only go for a short time, I think you need to be realistic about what you will be able to see. Maybe just Tokyo and Kyoto? You probably don't have time for more than that.

I hope you have a great time!