Maximize 7 days in Japan while journeying through the cultural wonders of 3 of its most popular cities. This detailed itinerary is filled with landmarks, shopping, food, activities and nightlife we visited/experienced as well as helpful tips and personal feedback based on our experience to make sure your trip is as enjoyable and efficient as possible!

Tokyo, Japan

Kyoto, Japan

Osaka, Japan

Japan in 7 Days (Tokyo, Kyoto, & Osaka)

Please note the time difference between your starting location and Tokyo. We lost an entire day during our 11hr flight departing LAX Sunday morning and arriving in Tokyo Monday afternoon. We believe arriving at 1pm was a perfect time to arrive for us,

* Haneda International Airport (HND) is approx. 13 miles away (limited international flights but we took a direct flight from LAX to HND on Delta)

* Narita International Airport (NRT) is approx. 47 miles away

* Rideshare/Taxi- ~$100 from HND and ~$250 from NRT

* Public Transit (recommended) - ~$6 on the Yamanote line from HND and ~$25 on the Skyliner Express/Yamanote line from NRT.             

* Google maps for navigation + train transit times which were always accurate. We did not experince one delay.

** Purchase your Suica or Pasmo transit cards while at the airport and avoid one-way tickets. Big money saver! For our trip, the JR Pass was not necessary but if it is for you, get it in advance of your trip.

**Japan has the cleanest and most organized transportation system we have ever seen!           

*Papago for text, voice and even image translation. Truly a life saver!

For our stay in Shinjuku, Tokyo, we opted for a balance of luxury and budget and stayed at the JR Kyushu Hotel.

* Rent a pocket Wifi (one can be shared among 2+ people) or a sim card (if solo) from the kiosk at the airport after leaving baggage claim. We rented our pocket Wifi for 7 days from HND and returned it at the Osaka airport (KIX) when we departed Japan.

After checkin, we set out to explore Shinjuku and get some ramen!

There are quite a few areas to stay in Tokyo. We decided the best option for us was Shinjuku. Our first consideration was transportation. Shinjuku station is one of the largest stations in Tokyo; connecting to all areas of Tokyo that we wanted to visit. Secondly, Shinjuku is a vibrant area with a mix of landmarks, food options, shopping, and nightlife.

After eating, we walked around and explored the various shops, arcades, and cafes in Shinjuku. We decided to stop at Kabuki hall to enjoy their bars, live dj, dancing, and even an full arcade on the floor above where you could play while still enjoying the dj below.

First stop on our 2nd day was Tsukiji Outer Market. Open daily from 8am to 2pm everyday except Sundays, holidays and limited Wednesdays. We recommend getting there before 11am as vendors begin to close once they run out of food.

We then headed to Shibuya crossing to witness the largest pedestrian crossing in the world. As well as be a part of it! For free, the best view from above would be Starbucks. For an even higher view for a fee, check out Shibuya Sky.

Street cart Shibuya was such an exhilarating experience! 1.5hrs of navigating the Shibuya area while site seeing was a must. Be sure to get your international drivers license before arriving in Tokyo. You will not be able to do this without it. For us, it was a 30min trip to AAA and $20 where we showed our license, took a picture and filled out paperwork. 

Once we were done exploring Harajuku, we headed over to the senso-ji temple by train.

We took a nap after lunch as we knew we would be heading out for some late night/early morning nightlife. Grabbed some curry katsu at the 24hr location before heading out on the town

On the 6th day of our trip we decided to take a day trip to Osaka. This is a 15 minute trip on the Shinkansen ($10 USD). 

Relax. Before taking that flight to your next destination or home, we recommend visiting a Onsen which is a Japanese spa. Of course you can do this on any day of your trip as Onsens are located throughout Japan and 24hrs.

From Tokyo we took the Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto (about 2hrs). Be sure to book this ahead of time. 

Checked into our hotel near Kyoto station.

To walk off the ramen, we explored the streets until we reached the Pokémon center. Cool experience!

Once we were full, we headed to our reservation at the infamous teamLab Planets about 2 miles away. With our suica card, we were able to take a short bus ride straight there. The buses are just as clean and pleasant as the trains!

Once we checked into our hotel and got settled, we headed to our booked ramen making class at the Ramen Factory. Highly recommend taking this class! You naked the noodles, broth, and chicken. Once complete, you get to enjoy what you made, a certificate on completion of the class and a gift of your choice. 

For our 2nd day in Kyoto, we decided to check out the Inari shrine first as all of our research mentioned how busy it gets, the later it gets. Wear comfortable shoes. We will say the best advice we got was that the further you go, the less people there are and this is true. Most people are taking their photos at the start. About 30min into the walk/hike, your pictures will be people free! You can turn around after that or complete the full 2hr hike.

Day 3 we wanted to explore and shop in the Harajuku area. We started with some delicious soufflé pancakes, shopped along Takeshita street and even stopped in a puppy cafe to play with the cutest puppies.

Ninenzaka is an old/ traditional street located in the historical district of Higashiyama in eastern Kyoto. The cobbled pedestrian alleys connect the neighborhoods’ temples, and restaurants and souvenir shops along their large stone stairways. For us, this was an ideal place to rent kimonos and immerse ourselves in the culture with a tea ceremony. There are a few kimono rental location options but we chose the location below. After you pick out exactly what you want, they dress you and it was $40 for the day.

*Recommended: Flying out of Osaka airport, we flew to S. Korea for the 2nd half of our trip. It was a cheap ($90) 2hr flight from Osaka to Seoul.

During take off, be sure to look out your window as the airport team bows as each flight takes off,

JR Kyushu Hotel Blossom Shinjuku

BELLUSTAR TOKYO, A Pan Pacific Hotel

Kimpton Shinjuku Tokyo

Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku

Tokyu Stay Shinjuku

Ichiran Shinjuku Kabuki-cho

Kabuki hall

Tsukiji Outer Market

teamLab Planets

Japan in 7 Days (Tokyo, Kyoto, & Osaka)

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