Day-by-Day Japan Itineraries

5 days

Kansai

Balanced pace28 stops

Kansai in 5 Days — The Quiet Side of the Golden Route

Kyoto, Nara, Himeji and Osaka, sequenced to miss the crowds

Kyoto ×2 nights → Nara → Himeji & Kobe → Osaka

• Fushimi Inari's upper torii tunnels at first light, before the day's first coach arrives
• Daitoku-ji's Zen sub-temples during the hours when Kinkaku-ji is impassable
• Nara Park at 7am, when the deer outnumber the visitors

Late May–early June and late September–early NovemberRoughly ¥95,000–150,000 per person for five days excluding international flights

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6 days

Kyushu

Balanced pace32 stops

Kyushu in 6 Days — Volcano, Onsen and the Christian Coast

Fukuoka to Beppu the long way, through Nagasaki and the Aso caldera

Fukuoka ×2 → Nagasaki → Shimabara & Kumamoto → Aso & Kurokawa → Yufuin & Beppu

• Hakata's yatai — open-air food stalls set up on the pavement at dusk, a licensed tradition that has nearly died out everywhere else in Japan
• The Itoshima coast: a torii standing in the sea, a waterfall gorge, and cafés that exist because of the surf, not the tour buses
• Nagasaki read as one continuous story, from the Dutch trading island to the peace park

October–November and April–MayAbout ¥120,000–190,000 per person for six days excluding flights, assuming two ryokan nights and a rental car for days 4–6.

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5 days

Chubu & Hokuriku

Balanced pace23 stops

Japan Alps to the Sea of Japan — 5 Days

Matsumoto, Kamikochi, Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa in one line

Matsumoto → Kamikochi → Takayama ×2 → Shirakawa-go → Kanazawa ×2

• Matsumoto Castle — an original 16th-century keep in black lacquer, with the Alps behind it
• Kamikochi's Azusa river valley, where private cars have been banned since 1975
• Takayama's morning markets and the Sanmachi merchant streets before the day-trippers arrive

Late May–early June and early–mid OctoberAbout ¥110,000–170,000 per person for five days excluding flights. Buses are the major transport cost and they are all reservable.

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5 days

Tohoku

Relaxed pace20 stops

Tohoku in 5 Days — The Quiet North

Matsushima, the golden hall of Hiraizumi, Oirase gorge and Nyuto's baths

Sendai & Matsushima → Hiraizumi → Oirase & Lake Towada → Hirosaki & Aomori → Kakunodate & Nyuto Onsen

• Matsushima Bay's 260 pine-topped islands — one of the classic 'three views of Japan'
• Chusonji's Konjikido: a 12th-century hall covered inside and out in gold leaf, preserved under its own protective building
• The Oirase gorge — 8 km of moss, beech forest and waterfalls beside a stream you can see the bottom of

Late September to early November — the Oirase gorge peaks around October 20–28About ¥110,000–160,000 per person for five days excluding flights, including one night at a Nyuto Onsen inn with meals.

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Journey times, fares and opening hours are written from each spot's own access information and are typical rather than guaranteed. Timetables, seasonal closures and volcanic access levels change — confirm the legs that your day depends on before you travel.