Japan itinerary in 7 days: a week well spent

Yes, but with one condition: you have to choose. A week is enough to get to know the backbone of the country in depth —Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka— and little more. It is not the trip to add Hiroshima, Hakone or Mount Fuji; it is the trip to do the essentials well without ending up exhausted going from train to train.

The key to a 7-day itinerary is to minimise the transfers. With three bases (Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, all on the same Shinkansen line) you change hotel only twice and make the most of each full day. The first day is always partly lost to the flight and jet lag, so in practice you work with six useful days.

If you have room to extend the trip, it is almost always worth it: with 10 days Nara fits comfortably and you breathe better, and with two weeks Hiroshima and Hakone appear. You have it all compared in the guide to 10, 14 and 21-day itineraries. But if you only have a week, this route is designed to make the most of it.

Accepting what does not fit is the hardest part of planning seven days. These are the destinations most worth sacrificing so the trip does not turn into a train race, with the alternative of when to recover them:

• Hiroshima and Miyajima. The Peace Park and the floating torii are unforgettable, but they are 1h25 from Osaka on the Shinkansen (one way, on the Nozomi) and require a full day. In a week they force you to cut Tokyo or Kyoto, which is a worse deal. They fit comfortably in the 14-day itinerary.
• Hakone and Mount Fuji. Seeing Fuji up close and sleeping in a ryokan with an onsen is one of the great moments of Japan, but it requires at least an extra night and a detour from Tokyo. Save it for the 10-day itinerary or longer.
• Sleeping in Nara. As a half-day trip from Kyoto it does fit (we include it on day 6). What does not fit in a week is staying overnight to see the park empty at dawn; that needs a night that is not to spare here.
• Kanazawa, Takayama or the Alps. The cities of the centre and the Sea of Japan add a different face of the country, but they pile on long transfers. They are territory for the 21 days or a second visit.
• Day trips from Tokyo (Nikko, Kamakura). Each one eats a whole day of the capital. In seven days it is better to know Tokyo well than to split it with outings; leave them for when you have four or five nights there.

The underlying rule is the same as for any short trip: fewer kilometres and more depth. If you are left wanting more — which is normal — that is exactly the best reason to come back.

Estimate for one person in mid-season, with mid-range accommodation (a 3-star hotel or a quality hostel). In April and November prices rise by 30–40%. These are indicative figures, not a fixed budget.

For a 7-day route that only links Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, the JR Pass usually is not worth it: the 7-day pass costs 50,000 ¥ (about 270 €) and the two Shinkansen legs of this route are considerably cheaper bought individually. You have the prices and the full comparison in the JR Pass guide, and you can calculate your exact route with the JR Pass calculator before buying it. To know how much cash to bring, use the yen converter.

This route is a starting point, not a rule. A week is experienced very differently depending on the pace you want, the people you travel with and what interests you most.

• Travelling with children or prefer it calm? Remove one Tokyo area and spread the day with more breaks. You have ideas in Japan with kids.
• Have energy to spare? Add the day trip to Nara on day 6 or an extra early start in Kyoto to add Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji.
• Love food? Reserve more hours in Osaka and fewer in the Tokyo museums.
• Watching the budget? Stay in Osaka and visit Kyoto on a day trip, or adjust the hotel category.

The fastest way to adapt it is to say how many days you have, how many of you there are, your budget and your pace: from there the nights are distributed between cities, the costs are estimated and the hotel links are generated automatically.