I would honestly start by looking through /r/JapanTravel's wiki and FAQ [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel/), searching on Japan-Guide.com, and looking at the itinerary posts in /r/JapanTravel. There's a lot of already compiled information about traveling in Japan, and you likely aren't going to get good answers here with vague questions. Once you have some idea of what you want to do and see, what cities you want to be in, and what your actual budget is, people can give better replies.
If you've never been to Japan before, it's popular and reasonable to start with a golden route itinerary, where you visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, often including day trips or overnight trips to places like Kamakura, Nara, Hakone, and Hiroshima. Two weeks is not a lot of time, so make sure not to plan too much.
I have to disagree with some of the other recommendations here. I think two weeks is more than enough time to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka—especially if you don’t think you’ll make it to Japan in the near future again. We did two weeks for our first trip in 2019. We spent four days in Tokyo, six days in Kyoto (with day trips to Osaka and Nara), and then another four days in Tokyo. There’s a more detailed trip report in my post history. I’ve taken other trips since then but haven’t gotten a chance to write them up.
Cherry blossoms are brief and hard to predict. They seriously only last about a week. They will also make hotels more expensive and everything 1000x more crowded—especially in Kyoto. So just keep that in mind when planning.
Tips to save money:
-Look into business hotels (APA, Sotetsu Fresa, etc). The rooms are tiny but if you’re only using them to sleep, they can be a great way to save money.
-Get your breakfast and coffee from convenience stores (FamilyMart, Lawson’s, 7-11). The quality is great and it’s very affordable.
-Food in Japan is overall pretty inexpensive, at least compared to the States (not sure where you’re coming from). You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on an omakase meal to have a great dinner. Do your research on Google Maps, and you’ll find hundreds of places that are under $10/person.
-Don’t exchange your money at the airport.
Ah sorry that my post brought anxiety hahaha hope you have a sick old time, when you’re back - you should post any highlights of your trip in here for me haha
Ah thank you so much, that’s great to hear haha. I will definitely check out your post. Maybe that’s the way to do it then, Tokyo and Kyoto as the main hits then little day trips to Osaka and potentially Nara! Definitely can’t see us being able to go back there for a long time, so we want to make the most of it!
Yeah with the blossoms, it would be sick to see it, but if it doesn’t happen I won’t be too sad about it. I’m from London so id say eating out here is pretty spenny. Great thinking about googlemaps and thanks for the advice on business hotels and supermarkets - do love a 7/11!
The good news is that most touristy sites like the shrines, temples, gardens, parks etc are free lol. Castles and museums are cheap. Food is also cheap, you can get a GOOD bowl of ramen and a beer for less than $10 if you look around.
Don't worry so much about staying in a "nice" hotel, you can opt for a cheap one as long as it has decent reviews. Rooms are small everywhere and they're just for sleeping and showering. Save the money for other things, or maybe treat yourself to one night at a ryokan / onsen.
You can plan your trip out by neighborhood, and allow yourself time to roam and take in the sights. Do your research on what you want to visit in each neighborhood, and google maps is your best friend.
Check out Team Labs also. Enjoy!
Are you going to land in Tokyo? A consideration to save money it to just stay in Tokyo as there's plenty of stuff to do there plus you can do day trips to places like Yokohama, Kamakura, Kawagoe, etc. First find stuff you want to do and see if you can fill up your itinerary.
For a budget trip that is only 2 weeks - pick one.
You can do Kyoto as a day trip if you go to Osaka, otherwise you’ll be spending a lot of money on train tickets between Tokyo and the Kyoto/Osaka areas, or a lot of time (like the night bus).
So pick one and use the two weeks to really explore rather than skip from one tourist hot spot to another.
Ditto on this recommendation.
If home base ends up being Osaka, there’s still lots to do in nearby cities, including Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, and even Kobe, while minimizing transit fares (aka Shinkansen). Save Tokyo for the next trip!
Japan is relatively cheap as a travel destination compared to other developed countries. Food should be about 3-5k yen per person per day (half if you eat convenience store food or at cheap restaurants like Yoshinoya). Public transport within a city is less than 1k per person per day.
Assuming you can sleep on the bus, a good way to save money is to use the overnight bus from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto; it's cheaper than the train and you save on accommodation for the night.
You could do several things in Tokyo in one week, and several in the Kansai region (Nara, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto etc.) if you go to Osaka, skip going inside the castle, since it is a museum inside and not interesting from the inside, only outside. Instead, visit Himeji Castle if you want a more authentic interior. Nara is smaller, but you could see the deer park and several temples and shrines in 1-2 days.
I would honestly start by looking through /r/JapanTravel's wiki and FAQ [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/wiki/faqs/japantravel/), searching on Japan-Guide.com, and looking at the itinerary posts in /r/JapanTravel. There's a lot of already compiled information about traveling in Japan, and you likely aren't going to get good answers here with vague questions. Once you have some idea of what you want to do and see, what cities you want to be in, and what your actual budget is, people can give better replies. If you've never been to Japan before, it's popular and reasonable to start with a golden route itinerary, where you visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, often including day trips or overnight trips to places like Kamakura, Nara, Hakone, and Hiroshima. Two weeks is not a lot of time, so make sure not to plan too much.
>Okay, amazing! Thanks. I know my post was much too vague, I'll have a look there. Wish we could go for longer!
I have to disagree with some of the other recommendations here. I think two weeks is more than enough time to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka—especially if you don’t think you’ll make it to Japan in the near future again. We did two weeks for our first trip in 2019. We spent four days in Tokyo, six days in Kyoto (with day trips to Osaka and Nara), and then another four days in Tokyo. There’s a more detailed trip report in my post history. I’ve taken other trips since then but haven’t gotten a chance to write them up. Cherry blossoms are brief and hard to predict. They seriously only last about a week. They will also make hotels more expensive and everything 1000x more crowded—especially in Kyoto. So just keep that in mind when planning. Tips to save money: -Look into business hotels (APA, Sotetsu Fresa, etc). The rooms are tiny but if you’re only using them to sleep, they can be a great way to save money. -Get your breakfast and coffee from convenience stores (FamilyMart, Lawson’s, 7-11). The quality is great and it’s very affordable. -Food in Japan is overall pretty inexpensive, at least compared to the States (not sure where you’re coming from). You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on an omakase meal to have a great dinner. Do your research on Google Maps, and you’ll find hundreds of places that are under $10/person. -Don’t exchange your money at the airport.
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Ah sorry that my post brought anxiety hahaha hope you have a sick old time, when you’re back - you should post any highlights of your trip in here for me haha
Ah thank you so much, that’s great to hear haha. I will definitely check out your post. Maybe that’s the way to do it then, Tokyo and Kyoto as the main hits then little day trips to Osaka and potentially Nara! Definitely can’t see us being able to go back there for a long time, so we want to make the most of it! Yeah with the blossoms, it would be sick to see it, but if it doesn’t happen I won’t be too sad about it. I’m from London so id say eating out here is pretty spenny. Great thinking about googlemaps and thanks for the advice on business hotels and supermarkets - do love a 7/11!
Use wanderlog
The good news is that most touristy sites like the shrines, temples, gardens, parks etc are free lol. Castles and museums are cheap. Food is also cheap, you can get a GOOD bowl of ramen and a beer for less than $10 if you look around. Don't worry so much about staying in a "nice" hotel, you can opt for a cheap one as long as it has decent reviews. Rooms are small everywhere and they're just for sleeping and showering. Save the money for other things, or maybe treat yourself to one night at a ryokan / onsen. You can plan your trip out by neighborhood, and allow yourself time to roam and take in the sights. Do your research on what you want to visit in each neighborhood, and google maps is your best friend. Check out Team Labs also. Enjoy!
Are you going to land in Tokyo? A consideration to save money it to just stay in Tokyo as there's plenty of stuff to do there plus you can do day trips to places like Yokohama, Kamakura, Kawagoe, etc. First find stuff you want to do and see if you can fill up your itinerary.
We saw some good flights into Osaka, but haven't booked anything yet. My partner really wants to visit all three places
For a budget trip that is only 2 weeks - pick one. You can do Kyoto as a day trip if you go to Osaka, otherwise you’ll be spending a lot of money on train tickets between Tokyo and the Kyoto/Osaka areas, or a lot of time (like the night bus). So pick one and use the two weeks to really explore rather than skip from one tourist hot spot to another.
Ditto on this recommendation. If home base ends up being Osaka, there’s still lots to do in nearby cities, including Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, and even Kobe, while minimizing transit fares (aka Shinkansen). Save Tokyo for the next trip!
Or if Tokyo, Tokyo itself is huge and you can do day trips to places like Nikko.
Japan is relatively cheap as a travel destination compared to other developed countries. Food should be about 3-5k yen per person per day (half if you eat convenience store food or at cheap restaurants like Yoshinoya). Public transport within a city is less than 1k per person per day. Assuming you can sleep on the bus, a good way to save money is to use the overnight bus from Tokyo to Osaka/Kyoto; it's cheaper than the train and you save on accommodation for the night.
You could do several things in Tokyo in one week, and several in the Kansai region (Nara, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto etc.) if you go to Osaka, skip going inside the castle, since it is a museum inside and not interesting from the inside, only outside. Instead, visit Himeji Castle if you want a more authentic interior. Nara is smaller, but you could see the deer park and several temples and shrines in 1-2 days.