Best Day Trips from Tokyo (Hakone, Nikko & Kamakura)
Tokyo's rail network puts mountains, temples, and a giant Buddha within easy reach. Here are the three best day trips for first-time visitors.
Where to Stay in Tokyo: Best Neighborhoods for First-Timers
Shinjuku, Asakusa, or Shibuya? Here's how Tokyo's best base neighborhoods compare for first-time American visitors, and who each one suits.
Kyoto Travel Guide for First-Timers
Everything a first-time visitor needs to know about Kyoto — its temples, neighborhoods, how to get around, and how long to stay.
Best Free Things to Do in Japan
Japan can be surprisingly affordable. Here are the best experiences — shrines, parks, markets, and views — that cost nothing.
Best Things to Do in Japan: Top Experiences for First-Timers
From bullet trains to onsen to temple towns, here are the top experiences every first-time visitor to Japan should have on their list.
Start here
~30 min of reading, in order- Visa & entryWhat a US passport actually needsRead the guide
- Visit Japan WebThe arrival admin, done before you flyRead the guide
- When to goSeasons, crowds, and what they cost youRead the guide
- The rail pass callThe one big money decisionRead the guide
- IC cardsHow you actually pay to moveRead the guide
- MoneyWhere cash still winsRead the guide
Japan at a glance
The classic first trip is a straight line down one rail corridor. Seeing it drawn is usually what makes the plan click.
Japan by month
Two narrow shoulder windows carry the best weather — and the heaviest crowds. The value is in the edges either side of them.
Japan, Worked Out.
Most first trips to Japan are two cities, one Shinkansen leg and a fortnight of day trips — which means a lot of the advice you have read, starting with "buy the rail pass", is priced for a trip you are not taking.
Latest guides
Green Car or Ordinary: Is the Rail Pass Upgrade Worth It?
The Green Car pass costs ¥20,000 more for seven days. What the upgrade actually buys, the arithmetic per journey, and why most first trips should not take it.
When Your IC Card Won't Open the Gate: Fare Adjustment
The gate closes, the buzzer sounds, and there is a queue behind you. What actually went wrong, where the fare adjustment machine is, and how to clear it in under a minute.
Cherry Blossom Season in Japan: When to Go and What It Costs
Japan's bloom window is roughly a week long and moves north across the country. Here's the regional timetable, what the season does to prices, and why no one can promise you a date.
Golden Week in Japan: What Closes and What It Costs
Golden Week is built from four public holidays at the turn of April into May. What actually shuts, what is merely crowded, and what to do if your dates cannot move.
Autumn Foliage in Japan: Timing Your Trip
Autumn colour moves from Hokkaido in October to Kyoto in late November. The regional timetable, why it is easier to plan than spring, and where to see it without the worst crowds.
Obon in Japan: What Changes in Mid-August
Obon is not a public holiday, yet it is one of Japan's heaviest travel weeks. What the observance is, what closes, and how to travel through it without being caught out.
Japan's Rainy Season and Typhoons: What They Mean
The rainy season moves north across Japan from May to July, and typhoon season peaks in late summer. What each actually does to a trip, and when they are worth planning around.
Winter in Japan: Snow, Onsen and the Quiet Season
Outside the New Year week, winter is Japan's quietest and cheapest season. Where the snow actually is, why Kyoto probably will not have any, and what the cities are like empty.
Regional JR Passes vs the National Japan Rail Pass
Since the 2023 price rise the national pass rarely pays for itself on a first trip. How the regional passes compare, and how to tell which — if either — is worth buying.
