The best 3 week itinerary for Japan

It’s easy to travel for 3 weeks in Japan without getting bored. 

You need three weeks in Japan just to visit the highlights.  We traveled around Japan for slightly over 3 weeks and when we were planning our Japan trip, we found it difficult to choose what to do. 

This is our 3 week Japan itinerary that we eventually came up with. 

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Japan travel tips

Going independent or joining an organized tour

We found it easy and straightforward to create our own travel itinerary.  It was also fairly easy to travel through Japan independently.

Despite the fact that the Japanese don’t always speak English very well, they are enormously helpful.

But if you want the company of a group, don’t have the time to create your own itinerary or just don’t want to go independent, you could also join an organized tour.

TourRadar is a trustworthy company where you can book an organized 3-week tour of Japan to make it easy on yourself.

Finding cheap flights to Japan

If you want to score cheap flights to Japan we advise you to have a look at Momondo and Skyscanner.  Both are flight aggregators that compare several hundreds of booking sites and give you an overview of the best flights and the cheapest sites to book them. 

Momondo and Skyscanner are both very good at finding good deals, of the two, Momondo is probably the one with the most intuitive user interface.

Read our full review about 10 booking sites here. 

Those who are always on the lookout for the best deals should join the Dollar Flight Club. 

Joining is free and once you’ve joined you will get alerts in your mailbox whenever cheap flights out of your home airport have been found. I recently joined the club and already saw some incredible deals. 

How much does a trip to Japan cost

Although Japan is not a cheap country to travel around, especially not during the Sakura season and the Golden Week, we still thought it was pretty affordable.

Here we share how much we paid for accommodation, food, and public transport. 

Accommodation

The most expensive aspect is your accommodation. We advise you to book your accommodation well in advance. 

On average, we paid €108 per night (for a 2-person room) in 2018. We stayed in Ryokans, a temple stay, and various 3- or 4-star hotels.

Food

Eating and drinking in Japan is cheaper than it is in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the US.

These are the budgets you must provide for food:

Low budget : € 18 (€ 5 bfast / € 5 lunch / € 10 dinner)
This budget should be sufficient for local fast-food restaurants that offer sushi, ramen, etc.

Middle-class: € 35 (€ 8 bfast / € 12 lunch / € 15 dinner)
There are many such restaurants. The staff usually speaks limited English but with a little help of Google translate you can order some delicious local food.

Luxury : € 92 (€ 16 bfast / € 16 lunch / € 60 – 80 dinner)
For this budget, you can have breakfast at a luxury hotel and enjoy dinner at Japanese fine dining restaurants. Think restaurants that offer French cuisine, delicious Kobe beef, and Kaiseki dinners.

Public transport

Public transportation will most likely take the second-biggest bite out of your travel budget.

Japan has an extensive railroad network that takes you to all major tourist sites. Although traveling by train isn’t cheap, it is still cheaper than renting a car.

The price for a Japan Rail Pass might seem rather high at first, but it can still save you lots of money. We explain how you can check how much you save here.

Do I need travel insurance for Japan

The quick answer to this question is yes.

Travel Insurance is something that can be overlooked when you prepare for your vacation.  Certainly when you’re traveling to a safe and civilized country such as Japan. 

Overall, chances are slim that you will encounter any problems while traveling through a civilized country such as Japan. But when things go wrong in civilized countries, the medical costs can be high. 

We learned it the hard way when we once had to visit the hospital in the United States. 

The medical care was excellent but we had high out-of-pocket expenses as it turned out the insurance that came without credit cards didn’t cover these costs.  It turned out we were underinsured.

Drawing up a travel insurance policy may seem expensive at first but it can potentially save you a significant sum, significantly more than the small insurance fee.  Good travel insurance covers things like medical expenses, trip cancellation, overseas medical costs, evacuation, baggage damage or loss, and theft. 

Therefore we love SafetyWing and World Nomads travel insurance. Both are good and trusted insurance companies.

Best way to pay in Japan

We took a little bit of cash with us but most things we paid with our credit card.

Expenses abroad can be seriously inflated by fees from your bank or credit card.  That’s why we’re a huge fan of our N26 account. 

The account is available to most EU residents.

The checking account is free as well as the associated Mastercard and there’s no exchange rate provision when you use to card for payments abroad. 

There’s a 1,7% exchange rate provision when you withdraw money abroad but even that is free with the premium Black Mastercard. 

The app is another great feature of the card, you can follow your expenses in real-time and instantly block your card if you see any signs of fraud.

Local Sim card or a pocket WiFI device

A local SIM card or pocket Wifi device comes in handy.

We have often used Google Maps to find our way around major cities.

How to travel around Japan

We traveled around Japan by train and could save a few bucks by buying a Japan Rail Pass in advance.

Or read this article in which we describe how you can find out whether you would also benefit from a Japan Rail Pass.

What to wear in Japan

Wondering what to wear in Japan? Take a look at our complete Japan packing list. 

Japan 3 week itinerary: Our 3 weeks in Japan

Day 1-4: Tokyo

Getting from the airport to Tokyo

When somebody is referring to Tokyo International Airport they refer to Haneda airport but in reality, Tokyo has 2 international airports: Haneda and Narita airport.

Haneda International Airport is located 14 kilometers south of Tokyo Station. It is the oldest of the two airports. 

It used to mainly handle domestic flights after Narita airport opened but with the addition of a new international terminal in 2010, it now handles most business routes while Narita focuses more on leisure routes.

The two main ways to reach central Tokyo from Haneda Airport are the Keikyu Line and the Tokyo Monorail. Both require a transfer to the JR Yamanote Line to reach major stations in central Tokyo.

Depending on the location of your hotel and the length of your flight (and the amount of sleep you could get) you might not be looking forward to train and subway rides in your first hours in Tokyo.

After a long flight, a direct transfer from the airport to your hotel will be a lot more comfortable.

Narita is the smallest of the 2 airports but does serve as the international hub of both major Japanese airlines, Japan Airlines, and ANA. 

It lies 60 km east of central Tokyo. Although it is located further from central Tokyo than Haneda it is actually better connected to the city. 

There are plenty of public transportation options to reach central Tokyo from the airport.

You could take the JR Narita Express, the Keisei Skyliner, buses and taxis.  Those who like to make a grand entrance can even choose for a helicopter transfer.

The JR Narita Express, abbreviated as N’EX, is covered by the Japan Rail Pass.  This makes N’EX your best option if you have a JR Pass. 

To use this train with your Japan Rail Pass you need to exchange your voucher for the actual pass at the airport.

Once exchanged you will also need to reserve seats as N’EX is one of the few trains that only has reserved cars.

Read also: Japan Rail Pass is it worth it?

The Keisei Skyliner is a good alternative to N’EX if you have no Japan Rail Pass.  The prices, the comfort and the train schedule of both trains are comparable.

The main difference is that N’EX will take you to Tokyo station, Shinagawa, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro & Yokohama.  The Keisei Skyliner heads to Nippori station and Keisei Ueno (close to Ueno station). 

Both trains offer easy transfer to the JR Yamanote line, the main loop line in Tokyo.

As with Haneda, you can also book private or shared transfers from Narita to Central Tokyo. After a long flight, a direct transfer from the airport to your hotel will be a lot more comfortable.

Getting around Tokyo

If you have a Japan Rail Pass you can use this pass on the JR trains that run on the inner-city network in Tokyo, a very extensive network that can be compared with a metro network.

If you don’t have a Japan rail pass or you choose to activate your Japan rail pass after your visit to Tokyo, a Tokyo subway pass might be a good alternative.

You can buy this pass at tourist information centers, BIC camera shops, and certain hotels.

There’s a list of selling points on the Tokyo Metro website. Be sure to bring cash as credit or debit cards are usually not accepted.

The pass can also be bought online which is even more convenient.

Things to do in Tokyo

Tokyo is a logical starting point for your 3 week Japan itinerary as there is a good chance that you will land on one of Tokyo’s two busy airports. What to see in Tokyo?

Our tips about the best places to see the cherry blossoms are in this separate article.

But you will have no problem to fill up these 4 days, even if you are not here during the cherry blossom season.

Here you will find more information about the best places in Tokyo to visit.

Organized tours in Tokyo 

Here is an overview of the best-organized tours in Tokyo  An organized tour saves you time and, moreover, the tour guide will enlighten you about the different sights you visit.

We partnered up with GetYourGuide or Klook for most of these activities.  We love GetYourGuide because they’re flexible.  Sometimes your plans change last minute and then you want to be able to cancel your tickets and get your money back.  It’s also good to know that GetYourGuide has your back when the local tour operator doesn’t show up or cancels your trip.

Klook is a trustworthy travel company headquartered in Hong Kong that teams up with local operators to offer all kinds of travel experiences.

We selected 3 excellent tours in Tokyo just for you.

Where to stay in Tokyo

Day 5: Matsumoto

Things to do in Matsumoto

During our 3 week itinerary in Japan, we also paid a quick visit to Matsumoto.  The main reason for this being the Samurai Castle. 

There are still a lot of Samurai castles everywhere throughout Japan and it’s a must-see but most of these are reconstructions.

In Matsumoto, you can visit one of the few remaining original castles. It’s a major landmark in Japan.

The reason for this: this castle was never under attack.

They can tell you more about how life used to be in the castle and the different wars that prevailed over Japan. 

The guides are located in a cabin right after the entrance of the castle.

Did you know that the inspiration for the helmet of Darth Vader comes from the Samurais?

Where to stay in Matsumoto

Day 6-7: Yudanaka

Things to do in Yudanaka

During our three week Japan itinerary we also went to Yudanaka to see the snow monkeys and, just like the monkeys, we also took some time ourselves to relax in one of the many local onsens.

We spend about half a day with the monkeys.

Not because the park was that big, but it was very cute to see the monkey’s doing their thing.

This is a village a few minutes’ walk from Yudanaka.

In the picturesque car-free high street you will find 9 public onsens that are supplied by the hot springs.

You can wander from one bathhouse to another in your Yukata and on your traditional wooden sandals.

Where to stay in Yudanaka

Day 8: Kanazawa

Things to do in Kanazawa

Kanazawa charmed us enormously and we had the impression that this city was less touristy than other places we visited during our 3 weeks Japan.

The garden is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Japan.

The weather was a bit disappointing during our visit so we couldn’t fully appreciate the park.

We certainly thought it was beautiful, but not better than what we already saw in Tokyo. Still, we could not get enough of the cherry blossoms.

Right next to the Kenrokuen garden is the reconstructed Kanazawa castle.  You can visit is for free and it can easily be combined with a visit to the Kenrokuen Garden.

The old town of Takayama is more often mentioned but we found the old city in Kanazawa to be much more charming. Besides, it was also a lot less crowded.

You could take a quiet stroll, look around, and enjoy the beautiful old houses.

We also went to take a look at Nagamachi, the old Samurai district. There’re some really spectacular villas in this district, but Higashi Chaya impressed us more.

You can enjoy a nice meal, both lunch or dinner, in the Omicho market.

Where to stay in Kanazawa

We stayed in the Holiday Inn ANA Kanazawa and loved our stay.

Day 9: Takayama

In the train on the way to Takayama, we witnessed some of the most spectacular sceneries of our trip to Japan.

As our train squeaked through the bends in the road and made its way from one tunnel to the other it reminded me of the train trips to the ski resorts in Switzerland I used to make when I was a child.

Things to do in Takayama

In Takayama, we visited the Hida Folk Village. The village consists of 24 traditional houses. They’re all very well preserved and at each house, you will find information panels. 

To take a look inside the houses you have to wear slippers. 

They’re provided at the entrance of the houses. 

It was extremely and uncomfortably busy in the old town of Takayama. We noticed that most of the crowd just visit the part of the old town situated to the right of Kajibasi Bridge. 

So luckily we could escape the crowd by crossing the main road and continuing our way towards the Yoshijima Heritage House. 

As you cross the main road you will notice that in this section historical houses alternate with restored or modern houses. 

It’s less authentic than the other section but at least you can enjoy the houses without the masses. 

But as we already said before, Kanazawa has our preference.

Where to stay in Takayama

Day 10: Ise

In Ise, you will find the Ise Shrines, the most sacred Shinto Shrines of Japan. According to Shinto tradition, these are completely rebuilt every 20 years.

We had imagined there would be something special about this place, but it let us down.

The Shrines here are not any different from any of the shrines we had seen before. In addition, the shrines in Ise can only be seen from the outside.

Day 11-14: Osaka

In Osaka, we are once again in a metropolis. We did not get bored here.

Things to do in Osaka

We took an evening stroll in the Namba district. The least you can say about this is that it is simply spectacular. Especially at night, it’s very impressive.

We also went to the Osaka Castle. This is a restored castle.  The castle is also a very good spot to witness the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

From here we took a walk along the river to the Kema Sakuranomiya Park, another beautiful park with lots of cherry trees.

Shinsekai is also a district you have to visit and we attended a cooking class in Osaka.

We also did a side trip to Nara from Osaka.

Here in the Todaiji Temple, you will find the largest wooden building in the world, the Daibutsuden (“big Buddha hall”).

As its name says inside the building you will find a gigantic Buddha.

Don’t limit yourself to this temple only. Venture up the mountain to “Nigatsu-do” for a breathtaking view. 

Nara was the original capital of Japan but once Buddhism became too powerful in the country the government decided to move the capital. 

You can still see traces of this as Nara is literally littered with temples. 

Lastly, a visit to Nara is also fun because of the deer that roam freely in the park and no doubt will come begging for cookies.

Where to stay in Osaka

Day 15: Koyasan (Mount Koya)

Koyasan is a remote place in the mountains. 

A trip to Koyasan is a true expedition during your three weeks in Japan.

After 2 train rides, we got onto a funicular and then a bus to finally reach our temple. The last 2 rides with the train were very nice, and once again reminded me of Switzerland. 

Koyasan is the center of Shingon Buddhism and we had booked a Temple stay of 1 night.

Things to do in Koyasan

At least 50 temples in Koyasan offer temple stays and probably there’re even more. You literally walk from temple to temple.  It rained that day and we got soaked very quickly so we just retired to our room.

The rooms are very much like a room in a Ryokan. At 5 p.m., it was time for dinner. A vegetarian dinner with a variety of different flavors, which showed that vegetarian food, can be just as delicious as regular food.

At the end of the day, we hadn’t seen any monks, not even in our temple.  Probably we didn’t recognize them as they were walking around in day-to-day clothing.

The next day, we got off to an early start for the morning prayers. I hoped this was going to change our experience and we would witness 1 of the daily rituals of the monks.

When entering the prayer room it turned out that the prayers were led by 3 monks and except for these only about 25 tourists were present.

After prayer and breakfast, we went to the enormous cemetery of Koyasan. It looks like this cemetery is as big or even bigger than the town itself.

With many of its Shrines, altars, and gravestones overgrown, this place radiates a special atmosphere.

It would be the perfect place for a Halloween walk.

After what felt like a never-ending walk, we reached the mausoleum of Kobo, the founder of Shingon Buddhism.

Where to stay in Koyasan 

Day 16-18: Kyoto

Kyoto is Japan’s cultural, as well as touristic capital. 

We spend two days in the city.  Below is a brief overview of what we did. 

Things to do in Kyoto

The first evening we went to explore the Gion neighborhood together with Guenda, from HihiGuide.

This is the oldest Geisha district and a pleasant neighborhood to explore at night.

In Kyoto, we also went to take a look at the Inari Shrines where you find thousands of Torii gates.

And of course, we also took a stroll along the philosopher’s path. You come across plenty of temples along the path.

Kinkakuji, or the Golden temple, is one temple that you should not miss when you’re in Kyoto. This is probably the most beautiful temple we saw in Japan. (Kinkakuji is not situated along the philosopher’s path.)

We also made a trip to Arashiyama, a district at the outskirts of Kyoto that is well known for its bamboo forests.

Expect a big crowd! Fortunately, it immediately becomes a lot quieter as soon as you make your way away from the center.

We discovered some charming quiet spots in Arashiyama.  You can go to the park around the Jojakkoji temple from where you have a stunning view.

From there, you can walk further north to the Saga-Toriimoto Street. This is a picturesque street lined with preserved, traditional houses.

Best of all, we had the street to ourselves while we were wandering through it. When you reach the end of the street, you will reach the Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple and adjacent you will find a bamboo forest that is just as beautiful as the one close to the center where all the tourists are.

The bus tours seem to limit their visit to the Togetsukyo bridge and the nearby Tenryuji temple and bamboo groves.  Other places were not nearly as crowded.

Read also: the best things to do in Kyoto at night. 

Where to stay in Kyoto

According to the statistics, Kyoto is the most touristic city in Japan. And by looking at the prices for a hotel room that might be right.

Day 19: Hiroshima

Things to do in Hiroshima

Hiroshima undoubtedly rings a bell with most of you.

We visited the peace park and made a small detour to take a peek at the castle.

In the peace park, you will find an interesting museum about the atomic bomb and touching stories about how the survivors had to rebuild their city and their lives.

Where to stay in Hiroshima

Day 20: Miyajima

We opted to spend the night in Miyajima but you could just as well make it a side trip from Hiroshima. 

You can get from Hiroshima to Miyajima in about half an hour both by tram or by  JR train. The latter is, of course, the cheapest option if you have a Japan Rail Pass.

Once you arrive at the train station in Miyajima, it is nothing more but a short 5-minute walk to the harbor where you then take the ferry to Miyajima island.

Things to do in Miyajima

On the island or rather just in front you will find the photogenic Torii gate which seems to float on the water during high tide.

The Torii gate is the tourist attraction of the island, but also the colorful Daisyoin Temple is worth a visit.

We took the time to wander around this temple and it seemed like we found a hidden gem on this island.

Where to stay in Miyajima

Below we list  2 hotels on Miyajima island and one hotel near the ferry pier on the mainland.  This is an area called Miyajimaguchi.

We stayed in this latest hotel as hotels on Miyajima island tend to be quite expensive.

Premium Comfortable hotel

Day 21-22: Nagasaki

Nagasaki is where the 2nd bomb fell in Japan. Just like in Hiroshima, you will find a peace park with a museum and many commemorative statues. The city treated us to some very pretty views.

Things to do in Nagasaki

First, we walked along the harbor and the cozy Dejima wharf where we waved at a cruise ship that just had left.

From there we continued our walk to the top of Mt. Inasa. It was quite a tough hike but the sunset we enjoyed from the top more than made up for it. We used the cable car on our way back.

The day after, we explored the other parts of Nagasaki.

We did find some Dutch history at the old trading post-Dejima and the Dutch Slope. The houses didn’t look very Dutch to us. They rather reminded us of houses you would find in Aruba or Curaçao.

We walked through China town and took the funicular and elevator to the Glover Garden from where you also have a nice view of the city and the harbor. From here we went down again to the Nagasaki Cathedral which brings you back close to the harbor.

We found Nagasaki to be a very pleasant city and moreover, it felt completely different than Kyoto or Osaka.

We didn’t visit Battleship Island but fans of old industrial places should definitely consider booking a cruise to this Island that was also featured in the James Bond movie Skyfall.

Where to stay in Nagasaki

Day 23-24: Tokyo

At the end of our trip, we end up in Tokyo again. This time we visit the Akihabara district as we’re here on a Sunday.

The main street that runs through the Akihabara district is closed for cars on Sundays. This makes a visit to Akihabara much more fun.

The last day we chose to have a relaxing day in Tokyo DisneySea. Next to Tokyo DisneySea is Tokyo Disneyland but we chose DisneySea because Disneyland is a sort of replica of all the other Disneyland Parks in the world.

And above all, DisneySea won an award for its design.

We loved the design of the park and there were some great attractions.  It was also fun to see how some Japanese completely dress-up in the Disney-magic. 

It was a nice way to end our trip around Japan.

Conclusion

We enjoyed every minute of our 3 weeks in Japan.  The major cities kept us busy exploring from early morning until late at night.

Japan certainly has more to offer than what we have described in this itinerary but this route will bring you passed all the highlights.

We missed some nature during our trip and would have preferred to do a side trip to Okinawa but this was not the right season.

If we would ever come back during another season we would certainly spend a week or more on this island.

We will share the good and bad things about our Japan trip itinerary along with the best travel tips, the best must-sees and some suggestions for nice hotels.  We hope this will help you to plan your own best itinerary for Japan.