Japan in 12 Days: Culture Route
Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto with early temple mornings, craft workshops and one night in a temple lodging.
Destination
Japan
Travel style
Culture
Duration
12 days, 11 nights
Approximate budget
Approx. 2,700 to 3,700 EUR per person, excluding flights
Best time to travel
Late March to May, October to early December
Route overview
Twelve days is enough to do Japan properly if you resist adding a fourth city. Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto gives you a modern capital, a preserved castle town with living crafts, and the old imperial city.
The single most useful habit on this trip is the early start. Kyoto's most photographed temples are calm at 07:30 and unpleasant by 10:00. Doing the famous sites at dawn and the quiet ones in the afternoon transforms the city.
One night at a temple lodging in Koyasan or at a ryokan with a kaiseki dinner is worth building the route around. It is the part people describe first when they get home.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive in Tokyo
Train from Narita or Haneda, IC card at the station, hotel around Shinjuku or Yanaka. Walk, eat, sleep early and let the jet lag do what it will.
Day 2
Eastern Tokyo
Senso-ji at 07:30 before the crowds, then Yanaka's back streets and the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, which is the best single collection in the country.
Day 3
Western Tokyo and Meiji
Meiji Shrine early, Harajuku and Shibuya after, then the Nezu Museum garden for a quiet hour. Evening in a Golden Gai alley bar or an izakaya in Ebisu.
Day 4
Day trip to Nikko or Kamakura
Nikko for lacquered shrines in cedar forest, two hours out. Kamakura for coastal temples and the great bronze Buddha, one hour out.
Day 5
Shinkansen to Kanazawa
Two and a half hours north. Kenrokuen garden in the late afternoon light, then the Higashi Chaya teahouse district.
Day 6
Crafts in Kanazawa
Gold leaf workshop, Kutani porcelain, and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, which is genuinely good rather than a filler. Omicho market for lunch.
Day 7
Train to Kyoto
Just over two hours. Check in, then an easy evening walk through Gion and along the Shirakawa canal.
Day 8
Eastern Kyoto at dawn
Kiyomizu-dera at opening, then the Higashiyama lanes down to Nanzen-ji and the Philosopher's Path. Afternoon rest, the morning starts early.
Day 9
Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari
Arashiyama bamboo grove first thing, then Tenryu-ji. Fushimi Inari in the late afternoon and up beyond the first gates, where almost nobody continues.
Day 10
Nara day trip
Forty-five minutes by train. Todai-ji, Kasuga Taisha and the deer park. Back to Kyoto for dinner in Pontocho.
Day 11
Temple lodging or ryokan night
Either a shukubo at Koyasan with a vegetarian temple dinner and morning prayers, or a Kyoto ryokan with kaiseki. Both need booking months ahead in spring and autumn.
Day 12
Departure
Shinkansen to Tokyo or fly out of Osaka Kansai, which is closer to Kyoto and often cheaper.
Accommodation approach
Business hotels in Tokyo, a traditional inn in Kanazawa, and a machiya townhouse or hotel in central Kyoto. One ryokan or temple lodging night, booked early.
Getting around
Shinkansen between cities, with a rail pass only if the sums work out, which they no longer always do. IC card for city travel. Luggage forwarding between hotels costs around 2,000 to 3,000 yen per bag and is worth every yen.
What to eat
- Standing sushi and a department store basement lunch in Tokyo
- Kaiseki once, as the meal of the trip
- Kanazawa seafood at Omicho market
- Temple vegetarian cuisine at Koyasan
- Convenience store breakfast, unironically good
Planning tips
- Carry cash. Shrines, small restaurants and some transport are cash only.
- Reserve Shinkansen seats in advance in cherry blossom and autumn leaf seasons.
- Temples usually open between 06:00 and 08:00. That hour is the difference between a good Kyoto trip and a frustrating one.
- Take a small bag for rubbish, public bins are rare.
Related routes
Other ways to travel
Italy in 10 Days: Culture Route
Rome, Naples and Florence built around great collections, archaeology and the context that ties them together.
- Duration
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Budget
- Approx. 1,900 to 2,700 EUR per person, excluding flights
Italy in 10 Days: Budget Route
Rome, Bologna and Venice by regional and intercity train, with apartments, market lunches and free viewpoints doing most of the work.
- Duration
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Budget
- Approx. 950 to 1,300 EUR per person, excluding flights
Italy in 10 Days: Comfort Route
The same three regions at half the pace: central hotels, pre-booked transfers, guided mornings and free afternoons.
- Duration
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Budget
- Approx. 2,400 to 3,400 EUR per person, excluding flights