Japan Travel Guide 2026

Japan is the rare destination that is both exhilarating and effortless: neon cities and quiet temple gardens, trains that leave to the second, and food that is excellent at every price point. The trick is not to try to see all of it. The trip that works picks a handful of bases along the main rail line, travels between them by Shinkansen, and leaves room for wandering. Here's how to plan that, plus the entry rules, the new taxes and the connectivity details worth sorting out before you fly.

Why visit

Few places reward curiosity as reliably. Tokyo alone is a dozen cities stitched together, from the scramble of Shibuya to the old wooden lanes of Yanaka. Kyoto has more than a thousand years of temples, gardens and shrines, and Osaka is the country's unofficial food capital, loud and cheerful in a way Tokyo isn't.

Beyond the big three, the variety is what surprises people: Mount Fuji over a mirror-still lake, Hiroshima's moving peace memorial, the deer of Nara, Kanazawa's gardens and samurai districts. Everything is linked by a rail network so good that moving between them becomes part of the trip. It suits first-timers as well as repeat visitors, food lovers, culture lovers and anyone who likes a city that works.

Best places to visit

For a first trip, Tokyo and Kyoto are the non-negotiables. The question is what to add: Osaka and Nara slot in with almost no extra travel, Hiroshima and Miyajima are the strongest addition for a two-week trip, and Fuji or Hakone break up the cities with a night in the mountains.

Getting there

Tokyo has two international airports. Haneda is close to the city; Narita is about an hour out, linked by express trains such as the Keisei Skyliner and the Narita Express. In the west, Kansai International serves Osaka and Kyoto, with the Haruka express running to Kyoto.

An open-jaw ticket, into Tokyo and out of Kansai or the other way round, saves a long backtrack and fits the natural east-to-west route. Before you fly, register on Visit Japan Web to get the QR code used at immigration and customs (see "Visa and entry" below).

When to go

Spring and autumn are the classic seasons, and everyone knows it: cherry-blossom weeks and Kyoto's autumn-leaf peak in late November bring the highest hotel prices of the year, so book early. Avoid Golden Week (the cluster of public holidays from late April into early May) and the Obon week in mid-August if you can, when much of Japan travels too.

Summer is underrated if you plan around the heat, with festivals almost every weekend, and typhoons can disrupt travel from late summer into autumn. Winter is the bargain: cold but often bright, with snow-capped Fuji at its sharpest.

How many days do you need?

How much does Japan cost?

Food is the good news: a convenience-store breakfast, a bowl of ramen and a set-menu dinner make a filling day for very little, and the quality rarely drops with the price. The room is what moves the total. Kyoto hotels can cost several times more in cherry-blossom week than in January, and Kyoto also charges a per-person, per-night accommodation tax that rose in March 2026 and now scales with your room rate. Long-distance trains are the other big line, so price them before deciding on a rail pass.

Itineraries

Both routes run east to west along the Shinkansen line and fly home from Kansai, so you never backtrack. Flip them if your flight lands in Osaka.

Getting around

The Shinkansen is the backbone of any first trip: fast, frequent and spotless, with reserved seats you can book online through smartEX or at station machines. Inside cities, load an IC card such as Suica, PASMO or ICOCA and tap through subway, train and bus gates without buying tickets. The same card pays in convenience stores and vending machines, and on iPhone you can carry Suica in your wallet app.

Big luggage is the one awkward part: Shinkansen trains have limited space for oversized bags, and some routes ask you to reserve it. The easy fix is takkyubin, the luggage-forwarding service hotels and convenience stores offer, which sends your suitcase on to your next hotel while you travel light.

Is the JR Pass worth it?

For years the Japan Rail Pass was an automatic purchase. Since the October 2023 price rise it is a calculation. A 7-day ordinary pass now costs ¥50,000, while a Tokyo–Kyoto return in single smartEX tickets costs about ¥28,000. Even the long loop from Tokyo to Kyoto, on to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo comes to about ¥45,000 in single tickets, still under the price of the pass, before you count the special ticket the pass needs for the fastest Nozomi trains.

So the pass pays off when you cover a lot of distance in a short time: several long Shinkansen legs inside seven days, or a route that adds the north or Kyushu. For the classic Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka trip, single tickets usually win, and regional passes from JR East or JR West can beat both for a focused route. Add up your actual legs first, then decide.

Where to stay

Things to know before you go

Visa and entry

What to eat

Culture and etiquette

Most of Japanese etiquette comes down to consideration for the people around you. Keep your voice down on trains and don't take phone calls on them, queue in the marked lines on platforms, and stand on one side of the escalator (the left in Tokyo, the right in Osaka). Eating while walking is frowned upon in many places, so finish your snack where you bought it.

Shoes come off at the entrance to homes, ryokan, many temples and some restaurants. Look for a step up or a row of slippers. At onsen, wash thoroughly before you get in, and check the rules on tattoos, which some baths still refuse.

There is no tipping. Leaving money on the table can cause confusion, and staff may chase you down the street to return it. Paying is done at the counter, often by placing cash or a card on the small tray rather than handing it over. A few words go a long way: "konnichiwa" (hello), "arigatou gozaimasu" (thank you) and "sumimasen" (excuse me, and a very useful sorry).