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Japan for the First Time

Eleven days through Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka

Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka · 11 days · 325 mi

Eleven days give a first visit to Japan enough shape without turning it into a race: four full days in Tokyo, one ryokan night in Hakone, five nights in Kyoto, and a final day in Osaka. Skipping Hiroshima here leaves...

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Kyoto's skyline at sunset, with a tiered pagoda silhouetted against hazy mountains and autumn foliage in the foreground.
Photo: Su San Lee · Unsplash License

The route at a glance

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Follow each day through its numbered stops on Apple Maps.

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Day 1 · Old Tokyo, One Neighborhood at a Time

  1. Senso-ji and Asakusa
  2. Tokyo National Museum
  3. Yanaka and Nezu

Day 2 · Meiji Jingu to Shibuya

  1. Meiji Jingu
  2. Omotesando and Aoyama
  3. Shibuya

Day 3 · Market Morning and the Center of Tokyo

  1. Tsukiji Outer Market
  2. Hama-rikyu Gardens
  3. Tokyo Station, Marunouchi, and Nihonbashi

Day 4 · Kamakura: Temples, Sea Air, and the Shogunate

  1. Kamakura Hasedera
  2. Kotoku-in Great Buddha
  3. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu and Central Kamakura

Day 5 · Hakone Art, Volcano Country, and a Ryokan Night

  1. Hakone Open-Air Museum
  2. Owakudani — Lake Ashi Only by Substitution
  3. Hakone Ryokan and Onsen

Day 6 · To Kyoto, Then Nijo Castle

  1. Nijo-jo Castle
  2. Pontocho and the Kamo River

Day 7 · Higashiyama Before the Crowds

  1. Kiyomizu-dera
  2. Sannenzaka, Ninenzaka, and Yasaka
  3. Kennin-ji
  4. Nishiki Market

Day 8 · Arashiyama, Then Keep Walking

  1. Tenryu-ji
  2. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
  3. Okusaga and Otagi Nenbutsu-ji

Day 9 · Fushimi Inari Early, Uji Slowly

  1. Fushimi Inari Taisha
  2. Byodo-in
  3. Uji River and Tea Streets

Day 10 · Nara Beyond the Deer Photos

  1. Todai-ji
  2. Kasuga Taisha and Nara Park
  3. Naramachi

Day 11 · Osaka: History First, Neon Last

  1. Osaka Museum of History
  2. Osaka Castle Park and Museum
  3. Nakanoshima Waterfront
  4. Namba and Dotonbori