Japan

A first journey between the great cities

Most travellers start with Tokyo and Kyoto.

Four nights in each, with Hakone or Nara in between, makes an outstanding first trip of around ten days to a fortnight. The rail connections are effortless, and the contrast between the two cities is what people remember most.

A journey beyond the cities

Others want the Japan that visitors miss.

Kanazawa, the mountain villages of the Japanese Alps, the onsen towns of Kyushu and the coastline of the Seto Inland Sea offer traditional inns, regional food and a far quieter rhythm. This suits returning travellers, or anyone happy to trade famous sights for atmosphere.

A journey built around a season

A good number plan the trip around a single moment in the year.

Cherry blossom, autumn colour and the deep snow of Hokkaido and the Alps each transform the country, and building an itinerary around one of them, with flexibility in the dates, is well worth doing.

The key is including at least one ryokan, wherever the route goes.

Japan has four genuinely distinct seasons, and each one offers a different version of the country.

Spring is the most celebrated, with cherry blossom moving north from late March into April, although the exact dates shift each year and the cities are busy. Autumn, from late October into November, is arguably better still, with maple colour, settled weather and slightly fewer visitors. Winter, from December to March, brings exceptional skiing in Hokkaido and the Alps, along with snow covered temples and steaming outdoor hot springs.

Summer is the one season to approach with care. June brings a rainy period, and July and August are hot and humid in the cities, which is when the mountains and Hokkaido are the sensible choice.

Japan is the easiest country in Asia to travel and one of the easiest to overfill.

The trains are so quick and so reliable that adding another city always looks reasonable, and that is exactly the trap. Tokyo and Kyoto each deserve at least three nights and reward four, because both are cities of neighbourhoods rather than single sights, and a day of temples in Kyoto is far better than three.

Two or three bases across a fortnight, with a night or two at a ryokan for a different rhythm entirely, is what makes a Japanese itinerary work. Leaving an evening unplanned for a small restaurant found on the way back to the hotel is often the part people talk about afterwards.