The shape of the trip
Four bases, so you unpack four times.
The trip moves east along the classic Japan line: Osaka, Kyoto, Hakone, Tokyo. Each base gets two to four nights, and everything on the list is in your base or an easy day out from it, so you spend your time at the places, not on the trains.
| Base | Nights | Dates | What’s in it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka | 2 | 26–28 Jun | Osaka Castle, the Museum of Housing and Living, Denden Town |
| Kyoto | 2 | 28–30 Jun | Arashiyama, a day in Nara, Kiyomizu-dera, Nijo Castle, the Philosopher’s Path |
| Hakone | 3 | 30 Jun – 3 Jul | Lake Ashi and Owakudani, then a day out to the Mount Fuji lakes |
| Tokyo | 4 | 3–7 Jul | Shibuya, a seaside stop near Kamakura, Tokyo Disneyland, Akihabara, one free day |
In the app
Each day as a bar.
OffYaGo draws every day on a clock from early morning to late evening: solid where you’re out and about, hatched where you’re travelling. Tap a day to jump to it.
From the app’s Trip screen. Day 11, the free day, has no bar.
Day by day
The twelve days.
No clock times here. They depend on when your trains run and how early you start, and that’s the part to work out for your own dates.
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Day 1Sat 26 Jun
Land in Osaka
The first day is the flight in, and nothing else. Settle in and get your bearings.
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Day 2Sun 27 Jun
Osaka: castle, museum and gadgets
Three very different looks at the city: the castle, a museum that rebuilds an old Osaka street indoors, and Denden Town, the electronics, anime and games district.
- Osaka Castle
- Osaka Museum of Housing and Living
- Denden Town
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Day 3Mon 28 Jun
Osaka to Kyoto, then Arashiyama and Nara
The train from Osaka to Kyoto takes about 37 minutes. Then the west of Kyoto for the river, the temple and the bamboo, and an afternoon in Nara among the lanterns and the old merchant streets. This is the busiest day of the trip. If you travel slowly, pick Arashiyama or Nara rather than both.
- Togetsukyo Bridge and Tenryu-ji
- Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
- Kasuga Taisha
- Naramachi
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Day 4Tue 29 Jun
Kyoto: temples, a castle and a canal walk
A hillside temple with a wooden terrace over the city, a shogun’s castle with floors that chirp underfoot, and a stone path along a canal to finish.
- Kiyomizu-dera
- Nijo Castle
- Philosopher’s Path
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Day 5Wed 30 Jun
Travel day: Kyoto to Hakone
About three hours by train. The rest of the day is open, which after four days of temples is the point.
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Day 6Thu 1 Jul
Hakone: the lake and the steaming valley
Out on the lake, then up to Owakudani, the volcanic valley where the ground steams.
- Lake Ashi
- Owakudani
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Day 7Fri 2 Jul
A day out to the Mount Fuji lakes
The classic pagoda-and-mountain view, then Lake Kawaguchi. It’s a long way out and back from Hakone, so plan the day around the travel, and it depends on the mountain showing itself.
- Arakurayama Sengen Park and Chureito Pagoda
- Lake Kawaguchi and Oishi Park
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Day 8Sat 3 Jul
Hakone to Tokyo, Shibuya and the coast
About an hour and a half by train into Tokyo, then the famous crossing and its loyal dog, and a seaside stop on the coast near Kamakura. A full day for a travel day, so move the beach if you’re tired.
- Shibuya Crossing and Hachiko Statue
- Shichirigahama Beach
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Day 9Sun 4 Jul
Tokyo Disneyland
A whole day, and nothing else on it. Tickets are for a set date, so buy before you fly.
- Tokyo Disneyland
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Day 10Mon 5 Jul
Akihabara and a view from above
Shops, arcades and collectibles, then a look down on the city from the government building.
- Akihabara Radio Kaikan
- Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
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Day 11Tue 6 Jul
A free day in Tokyo
Nothing scheduled. Go back to the place you liked best, buy the gifts, or sleep in. A trip this long wants one day with no plan.
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Day 12Wed 7 Jul
Fly home
Leave plenty of margin for getting to the airport, and check your flight time before you plan the morning.
Between the bases
Three moves, and none of them is a long one.
- Osaka to Kyoto: about 37 minutes by train.
- Kyoto to Hakone: about 3 hours, the longest move of the trip.
- Hakone to Tokyo: about 1 hour 30 minutes.
These are OffYaGo’s estimates for each move, not a timetable. Check the real trains for your day before you book.
Before you copy it
Five things to check for these dates.
- It’s the rainy season. Late June and early July is tsuyu in much of Japan: warm, humid and wet on many days. Keep an indoor option for each day.
- Fuji is shy in summer. A clear view isn’t guaranteed. If the forecast is poor on Day 7, swap it with Day 6.
- Owakudani can close. Access is restricted when volcanic gas levels rise, so look at the current status before you go.
- Book the fixed-date things early. Disneyland tickets and a bed in Hakone are the two to lock in first.
- Hours and timetables change. Opening days, last entries and train times all move. Check each one for your date.
About this plan
A real plan, with the personal bits taken out.
This is a trip planned in OffYaGo, with the traveller’s name and where they’re staying removed. We’ve shown it as it came out of the app: the places, the order and the moves between them.
OffYaGo is in limited testing, so this is an example of what it makes, not a guarantee of any hour, price or timetable. Where we make a recommendation, it’s a suggestion for you to check. Where our information comes from explains what we use.
Want a plan like this for your trip?
OffYaGo is in limited testing on iPhone and opening up to more people soon. Want to be among the first?
Limited testing means things will change, and we’d love to hear what you think.
OffYaGo is made by TourStruct.