Halfway through the trip you step out of your shoes at the entrance of a ryokan in Hakone, slide your feet into house slippers and walk over tatami in your socks. The route runs from the capital to hot spring country, then to Kyoto and Nara, and ends in Osaka, built for a first visit to Japan.
Is 10 Days enough for Japan?
Ten days is enough for a first trip if you accept that Japan will be sampled, not finished: one long stay in Tokyo, a night in the mountains, a stay in Kyoto with a day in Nara, and a last stop in Osaka. That is a single arc along the Tokaido Shinkansen corridor, with a hot spring break in the middle. It suits travelers who want temples, food, city streets and a ryokan without changing hotels every night.
What the route covers is the Japan people picture. Tokyo gives you the districts, from the luxury shops of Ginza to the nightlife of Roppongi. Hakone gives you the hot springs and the views of Mount Fuji that the area is known for. Kyoto gives you the temples, the machiya townhouses and the hanamachi districts where geisha live and work. Nara adds its tame deer, and Osaka closes things with its appetite.
What it leaves for another trip is just as real. Hiroshima and Miyajima, with the Peace Memorial Park and the red torii standing in the sea, sit outside this loop. So does Kanazawa, with its garden and its Edo-period arts.
The northern island of Hokkaido, Okinawa and the ski towns are not in this plan at all. They suit a second visit, or a longer first one, and the section on adapting the route shows where they could slot in.
The pace is the other thing to decide. Four nights in Tokyo can feel generous or tight, depending on whether you like a city in layers or in highlights.
If you prefer to see more, the extra stops below can replace a Tokyo day. If you prefer less, Osaka can be dropped from the end and its time given back to Kyoto.
Rail ties the whole plan together. Japanese trains are known for being always on time, so a day can be planned to the minute once you know your train. Because the bases are close in kind, with one major hotel area in each city, you unpack rarely and spend your energy on the places themselves.
The itinerary stage by stage
Days 1 to 4: Tokyo
Tokyo sits on Tokyo Bay in the Kanto region and is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, which you feel as soon as you step into a station. Arrive at Haneda or Narita, drop your bags and use the first afternoon to get your bearings in a single district. Ginza is the natural choice for a first walk, an upscale downtown area of high-end restaurants and luxury shops, good for a first dinner and a look at the department store windows.
Days two and three can be split between the old and the new. Spend one on shrines and temples such as Meiji Jingu and Senso-ji, and the other on the districts built for evenings, Roppongi and Akasaka among them.
Those two reach each other and Shibuya by train, and a ride from Shibuya takes about ten minutes. Between sights, JR trains, Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines will carry you, and an IC card works on many trains, buses and boats.
Keep the fourth day loose. It can become a market morning, a department store food hall, a neighborhood you spotted from the train or the bathhouse-style rest you earned. Sleep in a hotel near a major station, since you will be using the rails every day. The next stage is Hakone, reached by rail and set in the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Day 5: Hakone
Hakone lies in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture and is world-renowned for its natural hot springs and for views of Mount Fuji when the sky lets you see it. The day starts in Hakone-Yumoto, known for its many restaurants and gift shops, a good place for a late breakfast and a browse before heading up into the hills.
From there the Hakone Freepass gives unlimited rides on eight different means of transportation in Hakone, among them the Hakone Tozan Train, the Hakone Ropeway and the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise. You can string them into a loop of train, cable and lake, stopping where a view or a museum catches you. Most of the day belongs to the landscape and the slow switch from train to boat.
Sleep in a ryokan, a Japanese inn, if you can. Shoes come off at the entrance, slippers cover the corridor, and tatami floors call for bare feet or socks, with a separate pair of slippers for the bathroom. An evening in the onsen, the hot spring bath, is the reason to stop here at all, and a long dinner follows. Tomorrow you ride on to Kyoto.
Days 6 to 8: Kyoto and Nara
Kyoto Station is served by the Tokaido Shinkansen line and houses a full floor of ramen restaurants, an Isetan department store, a theater and a Granvia hotel. That makes it a convenient first meal and a base for the whole stay.
Kyoto’s cultural heritage has developed over the past 1,200 years, and the city served as the capital and the emperor’s residence for over a thousand. Day six is for settling in and for walking through the central districts at an easy pace.
Nijo Castle in central Kyoto was built in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo period, and gives a sense of how the shoguns lived. The city’s traditions fill the rest of the day, from machiya townhouses to the hanamachi districts where geisha live and work, and the Gion Matsuri festival that Kyoto is known for. Add a temple or a garden in the afternoon, and finish with dinner in a lantern-lit street.
Day seven goes to Nara, in Nara Prefecture, south of Kyoto and east of Osaka and reached by train from both cities. The city has two main stations, JR Nara Station and Kintetsu Nara Station.
Nara Park lies at the foot of Mount Wakakusa, and its tame deer will approach visitors, who can feed them crackers sold along the roadside. Plan a slow circuit of the park and return to Kyoto for dinner, with day eight left free for whichever temple or district you liked best.
Days 9 and 10: Osaka and departure
Osaka is a relaxed city known for its food, entertainment and nightlife, with some history and culture to discover. Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi are the districts to spend your last evening in. From Osaka or Umeda Station, the Midosuji Line takes you to Shinsaibashi Station and from there you can walk into Dotonbori, with its signs, street food counters and restaurants in every direction. Think takoyaki, okonomiyaki and a long dinner.
If you have the morning, Osaka Bay can be reached from Osaka or Umeda stations via the JR Loop Line and the Chuo subway line. It gives the port side of a major port city, a change of scene from the neon. On the last day, head to Kansai International Airport for your flight home.
Getting between stops
| Leg | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo to Osaka (Shin-Osaka Station) | Tokaido-Sanyo shinkansen | About two and a half hours |
| Tokyo to Kanazawa | Hokuriku Shinkansen | Around 2 1/2 hours |
| Shibuya Station to Roppongi and Akasaka | Train | About 10 minutes |
| Kansai International or Osaka International (Itami) airport to Nara | Bus and train | About one hour and fifteen minutes |
For exact routes and times between the five bases, consult current operator schedules before travel.
Osaka is reached from Kyoto by rail, and the Midosuji Line, the JR Loop Line and the Chuo subway line then carry you around the city. Schedules can change, so confirm each leg shortly before travel.
A few things help on the platform. Local trains stop at every station and suit short distances, rapid trains skip the smaller stations and carry no supplement, and express trains serve fewer stops, where a supplement may apply.
Tokyo has JR, Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines, and Osaka has JR, Hankyu, Hanshin and Keihan, so the names on the map change from city to city. An IC card works across them, on trains, buses and boats.
Driving is another way to cover ground, and the conditions are worth knowing. Traffic moves on the left side of the road, road signs are hard to follow if you do not read Japanese, highway tolls can be very high and city traffic is often very congested. Public transport in Japan, including the shinkansen and regional trains, is extremely punctual, to the point that you could set your watch by it.
What to book before your 10 Days in Japan
The Hakone Freepass covers eight means of transportation in the area, including the Hakone Tozan Train, Hakone Ropeway and Hakone Sightseeing Cruise.
A version called the Hako Ticket Plus combines the Digital Hakone Freepass with the Hako Ticket, which grants unlimited use of applicable art museums, hot springs and activity facilities. It is valid for two days or three days.
An IC card is the other piece to have in hand. Most regions have their own IC cards with different names and characters, but the cards can be used throughout Japan, so one is enough for the whole route. Most require a 500 yen deposit at the time of purchase. They work on trains, buses and boats, and also in vending machines, convenience stores and some taxis.
Lodging comes last and is the one booking that shapes the route. The plan asks for a hotel near a station in Tokyo, a ryokan in Hakone, a base in Kyoto and a bed in Osaka for the final night. The rest can stay loose, with Nara, the Osaka evening and the Tokyo days left to whatever the weather and your energy decide.
Adapting the route
The season changes how this route feels, and the figures for Tokyo show the range. Winter is cold and dry with a little snow, spring is mild with more showers, July is warm and humid, and October is mild but often wet. Pack and plan by what the table says about the month you travel.
| Tokyo | Average high (°F) | Average low (°F) | Days with rain | Precipitation (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49.6 | 34.2 | 4.5 | 2.35 |
| April | 66.9 | 49.6 | 9.5 | 5.26 |
| July | 85.8 | 72.3 | 10.5 | 6.15 |
| October | 71.6 | 58.6 | 10.5 | 9.24 |
In July, humidity is high, so the day is best arranged around indoor stops such as a department store, a museum or a long lunch, with outdoor visits in between. In October, the rain comes often and the sunshine hours are fewer, so a gray day suits the covered corridors of a station or a castle interior. In January there is a little snow and sleet, which makes a ryokan evening in Hakone especially appealing.
A shorter trip
With fewer days, drop Osaka from the end and keep Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto. The Tokaido Shinkansen serves Kyoto Station, so the departure from the Kansai side can happen from Kansai International or Itami without any extra stop. Nara stays as a day trip from Kyoto, and your last evening can be spent around the station, with its floor of ramen restaurants.
If you want to shorten further, cut Hakone, which is the stop the plan could most easily lose. You lose the hot spring night but gain a day for Kyoto. The reverse also works, keeping Hakone for its ryokan and onsen and trimming one Tokyo day.
A longer trip: Hiroshima, Miyajima or Kanazawa
Extra days open up two destinations. Hiroshima has the Peace Memorial Park, the Atomic Bomb Dome, which visitors cannot enter and can only view from the outside, and its own version of okonomiyaki.
Miyajima Island is an excursion for its deer and the Itsukushima Shrine, whose red torii gate stands in the sea and which was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1996. On August 6, thousands of people write peace messages on lanterns lit at sunset and floated along the river in front of the Dome.
Kanazawa is the other choice. It is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, on a narrow strip of land along the Sea of Japan, and was one of Japan’s most important cultural and artistic centers during the Edo period. The Hokuriku Shinkansen has served it since March 14, 2015. Kenrokuen Garden has free admission, and Kanazawa Castle Park and the garden are illuminated at night.
For families and a slower pace
A slower version keeps the same bases and removes the extras. Choose one sight a day instead of three, and let the deer in Nara Park be the highlight of a day, since visitors can approach and feed them with crackers sold along the roadside. A ryokan stay in Hakone gives children the novelty of tatami rooms and slippers, and the Hakone Freepass lets you hop on a ropeway or a cruise.
Spread the Kyoto days between a castle, a garden and a long, unplanned wander in the city’s traditional districts. Leave Osaka for the last evening only, with food stalls and signs for everyone to enjoy.
Good to know before you go
Yen is the currency you will spend, and the IC card covers many small purchases, from vending machines to convenience stores. Manners are habits more than rules: shoes come off at the entrance of a building or a ryokan, slippers are changed for the tatami and for the bathroom, and smokers look for a designated outdoor smoking area. Trains run to the minute, so build the day around the platform, and treat the rainy days as a reason to head indoors.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Japan travel information, travel and transportation (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Japan.html), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, trains and buses (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/how-to-travel-by-train-and-bus-in-japan/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, traveling by rail (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/traveling-by-rail/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, manners, etiquette, shoes, bowing, chopsticks, public behavior (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/understanding-and-mastering-japanese-manners-and-etiquette/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, getting around Japan: trains, subways, buses, taxis (https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/getting-around/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, IC cards, Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA, how to use (https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/ic-card/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Tokyo (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kanto/tokyo/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Kyoto (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/kyoto/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Osaka (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/osaka/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Hiroshima (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/chugoku/hiroshima/), checked October 11, 2026
- Visit Hiroshima, the official guide (https://visithiroshima.net/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Nara (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kansai/nara/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Hakone (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/kanto/kanagawa/hakone-and-around/), checked October 11, 2026
- Hakone Tourist Information (https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Kanazawa (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/hokuriku-shinetsu/ishikawa/kanazawa-and-around/), checked October 11, 2026
- Kanazawa Tourist Information Guide (https://www.kanazawa-tourism.com/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Kanazawa, Ishikawa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanazawa,_Ishikawa), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Normal values 1991-2020, monthly (https://www.data.jma.go.jp/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47662), station Tokyo, elevation 25 m, checked October 11, 2026
- Plan de the (duree choisie by the redaction)
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit Japan: Cherry Blossoms, Autumn Colors, Weather and Festivals
- Where to Stay in Japan: Ryokan, Temple Stays, Capsule Hotels and the Best Cities to Base In
- Sending Luggage from the Airport in Japan: Hands-Free Travel, Hotel Delivery and Coin Lockers
- Know Before You Go to Japan: Entry, Money, Etiquette and Getting Around