Activities in Japan for your itinerary

Filter by city, type of experience and price range to find what fits your trip.

From free temples and legendary neighbourhoods to food tours, viewpoints and day experiences. We bring together the things to see and do in the main cities of Japan — Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and more — with their city, type and indicative price, so you can build your trip without getting lost among a thousand tabs.

Golden Gai bar hopping Shinjuku
Golden Gai bar hopping Shinjuku
Tokyo · Nightlife · An area of alleys full of tiny bars; reckon on 2.000-5.000 ¥ per bar between cover and drinks.
2.500 - 4.999 JPY
Gotoku-ji Temple
Gotoku-ji Temple
Tokyo · Temples & castles · A temple known for its hundreds of maneki-neko statues in Setagaya; very cheap admission.
Free
Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kotoku-in Daibutsu)
Great Buddha of Kamakura (Kotoku-in Daibutsu)
Kamakura · Temples & castles, Viewpoints · The second-largest Buddha statue in Japan, 13 metres of 13th-century bronze in the open air; admission 300 ¥.
300 ¥
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun (hot-spring theme park)
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun (hot-spring theme park)
Hakone · Onsen, Theme parks · Hot-spring theme park in Hakone with baths as curious as wine, green tea or coffee, plus a traditional onsen; from around 2.500 ¥.
2.500 - 4.999 JPY
Heian Jingu
Heian Jingu
Kyoto · Temples & castles · Great Shinto shrine with an imposing 24-metre orange torii and beautiful inner gardens; free access to the outer grounds.
600 ¥
Higashi Chaya, the tea-house district
Higashi Chaya, the tea-house district
Kanazawa · Tradition, Viewpoints · Kanazawa's best-preserved historic geisha district with 19th-century machiya; free stroll, tea houses with visits.
Free
Hokoku-ji (the bamboo temple of Kamakura)
Hokoku-ji (the bamboo temple of Kamakura)
Kamakura · Nature, Temples & castles · Zen temple with a bamboo grove of 2.000 stalks, one of the most serene images in Kamakura; bamboo admission 300 ¥.
400 ¥
Hondori, the great shopping street of Hiroshima
Hondori, the great shopping street of Hiroshima
Hiroshima · Shopping · A 600-metre covered pedestrian street with shops, food and souvenirs in the centre of Hiroshima; free access.
Free
Horyu-ji
Horyu-ji
Nara · Temples & castles · The oldest Buddhist temple in the world (607 AD), a World Heritage Site, 12 km from the centre; adult admission ~1.500 ¥.
1.500 ¥

How to choose your activities in Japan

Do not try to see everything. A typical two-week trip allows you to combine the essentials of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka with one or two day trips (Nara, Hakone, Miyajima). Mix registers: a morning of temples, an afternoon of neighbourhood and food, and leave gaps to improvise. Filter by city to see what fits each stop and by price if you want to balance free and paid.

Many of the best experiences — strolling Fushimi Inari at dawn, getting lost in Shinjuku at night, Nishiki market — cost nothing. Save the budget for what really deserves it: a teamLab, a food tour or a timed-entry ticket. Once you are clear on your favourites, put them into a route with real costs from the planner.

Ready to turn your list into a route? The planner distributes the nights by city and calculates the costs of your trip.
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Frequently asked questions

How much do activities in Japan cost?

There is everything. Many of the great must-dos are free: temples and shrines such as Fushimi Inari, parks, neighbourhoods such as Akihabara or the Arashiyama bamboo grove. Paid activities usually run between 500 and 3,000 ¥ (a museum, a viewpoint, a ticket), and premium experiences (teamLab, theme parks, guided tours) exceed 5,000 ¥. On each card you will see the price when we have it confirmed.

Do I need to book activities in advance?

Most do not: you enter temples, parks and neighbourhoods directly. It is worth booking days or weeks ahead for the ones with limited capacity — teamLab, the Ghibli Museum, some tours and workshops — especially in high season (sakura in spring and momiji in autumn). When an activity allows online booking, you will find the Book button on its card.

Do I need the JR Pass to reach the activities?

It depends on your route. The JR Pass is worth it if you are going to make several long journeys between cities (Tokyo–Kyoto–Hiroshima); for getting around within a single city, almost never. You can check it with our JR Pass calculator or read the JR Pass guide.

Can I add these activities to an itinerary?

Yes. Our trip planner distributes the nights between cities according to your budget and pace, and suggests activities per day with their estimated costs. It is the fastest way to go from "I want to see this" to a complete route with real numbers.