How Long is a Good Amount of Time for a First Visit to Japan? Going 2x this year (please read!)

First trip (but hope to return)we went on a two week tour. We went two days ahead of tour and were independent travelers in Tokyo and stayed on in Kyoto four extra days. That seemed about perfect and we can ‘t wait to return. A big favorite
was Takayama.

10 days is definitely not enough to even skim the surface! We also did a 2 week tour that covered quite a few places on Honshu, followed by 3 days on our own. One of my favorite trips, but it left us with the knowledge that we had seen only the tiniest bit of what Japan has to offer. I hope you can coordinate your solo and group itineraries so that you won't have too much overlap.

I would do two weeks the first time, so that you have more time to find your feet! I would spend ~6 days in the Tokyo region and 7-8 days in Kansai where there is a lot to explore. You could also visit the Mount Fuji area or the Japanese Alps region (e.g. Takayama, mentioned above, which I also really liked and was a reasonably quick bus ride away from Tokyo) for a couple of days between Tokyo and Kyoto, but I am not sure about late March conditions. If there are direct flights from Seattle to Kansai Airport near Osaka, look into flying to Tokyo and back from Kansai airport: that way you avoid backtracking to Tokyo.

Japan is wonderful. Perhaps the cleanest country in the world with friendly helpful people.

We did 8 days in Japan on our own and then took a cruise from Tokyo that included 5 Japanese ports (one was Okinawa) that also visited Taiwan and ended in Hong Kong.

In the 8 days pre-cruise we stayed in Tokyo, near Tokyo Station and took local tours of the city, including a 3 day tour do Nara and Kyoto on the high speed train. Don't miss Kyoto and plan on spending at least two full days there. There is much to see and it is wonderful.

Our cruise took us to Kobe (we visited Osaka), Nagasaki, ( don't remember the other ports). One port was close to the city with the largest castle in Japan that was in a James Bond movie. That was a great one.

Do 2 weeks for sure.

I mean, if I had the time off and was already paying for the ticket, I would stay the longest possible.

If I were doing two trips like this, to be honest, I would probably do the longer trip on my own and the shorter trip with the friend, just because I find it a little easier to travel by myself and my introverted self would probably get more tired traveling with someone else . . . but you may be an extrovert who thrives on together time

My first trip to Japan was two weeks and I kick myself for not staying longer. My next trip, hopefully in September, will be for a month.

I, too, enjoyed Takayama. I may go back. I will also go back to Kyoto to see more. And, of course, a few more days in Tokyo.

Be prepared for massive crowds during cherry blossom time.

Do you already have an itinerary with your friends? If so then use that as your starting point for you private trip There will be things that you will see twice, but you can always go it alone for areas that will not be a part of your joint trip.

Appreciate the advice everyone! Definitely gonna do 2 weeks and not 10 days then

Do you already have an itinerary with your friends? If so then use that as your starting point for you private trip There will be things that you will see twice, but you can always go it alone for areas that will not be a part of your joint trip.

They are the type of people to not start planning until a month or two before the trip, so I don’t think they will have a plan until I’m done. But I do know they are trying to do the same thing I’m doing for the most part (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka), so maybe what I could do is do my 2 week trip and just spend half the time on the 2nd trip just to hang with them and the second half on my own seeing new places (ie go to the north).

For my first trip to Japan I definitely want to see Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.

Another option I was considering was just going for 8 days and on my solo trip just doing Tokyo (with maybe a day trip to the best cherry blossom viewing spot) and then completing the rest with them? Or combining Tokyo with Taiwan or Hong Kong (which just opened up) and stretch it to 2 weeks

Thoughts?

Be prepared for massive crowds during cherry blossom time.

Because of massive crowds I’m curious if it’s better to just not do my solo idea and just go in early to mid September instead when my friends are going? Or is cherry blossom season a “can’t miss”?

I am getting a bit of anxiety going alone for so long, so either just going with them or cutting down the trip length to just Tokyo (8 days) might be another alternative. Or maybe it’s just last minute cold feet.

If I did that I could replace Japan for this trip with something like South Korea or Thailand or Taiwan/Hong Kong. Curious to hear opinions. Or another option is to do my solo trip and then spend 1 week with them and then go to Hong Kong or Taiwan.

Not sure if it’s worth going 2 times. Since there are so many countries I want to see! But I’ve heard everyone rave about Japan so I’m having last minute cold feet on what to do.

Any advice is appreciated :)

Bumping the thread

The cherry blossoms are indeed beautiful, but whether they constitute a "must see" is a purely subjective call. I would guess that air fares to/from Tokyo around that time would be expensive and that you might save money by planning your trip outside of that particular travel window. Hotel prices will probably spike around that time as well - another cost saver if you book away from the first week in April.
I agree with the others who recommend staying as long as you can. It's an 11 hour flight - might as well make the most of it.
You might want to research flights into the Tokyo city airport (Haneda) rather than the international airport at Narita. It's about an hour from Narita into the city and can be something of a pain trying to organize the bus ride. It's way too expensive for a taxi.
Haneda on the other hand is only about 20 minutes from the city center so a taxi is a reasonably economical option, and trains into the city are frequent and economical. I always made it a point to fly into Haneda while traveling to Tokyo on business.

Also, since you expressed interest in Korea: there are direct flights from Haneda to the city airport in Seoul (Gimpo) that make it pretty easy to combine the two on a single trip. Could conceivably do an open jaw by flying into Haneda and then back to Seattle from Seoul (Inchon in this case).

From Narita there is an easy bus service that stops at many hotels or the Narita Express train to numerous stops in Tokyo and beyond.

The bus and the train are across from each other in the terminal.

But Hana is closer.

@Robert forgot to mention that my refundable flight that I have booked was $5 due to using airline miles. So time of year wasn’t a big deal and I anyways go to hostels so lodging costs aren’t a concern for me.

The flight is SFO -> HND (so that I can fly business on Japan Airlines)

Yeah perhaps I could do a combined Japan and Korea trip and then go to Japan again with my friends later in the year. Or Hong Kong + Japan.

If I went that route, what places in Japan are a must see during Sakura season? What can I save for when I go with friends?

Or do you recommend canceling and going elsewhere entirely instead of combining? Or avoiding Japan in September and just doing it solo?

Honestly costs aren’t a concern for me. It’s all about experience

The Things to Do menu on TripAdvisor is a good resource for seeing what's available at any of your proposed destinations, for narrowing down your choices according to your own particular interests, and generally crafting your itinerary. We used it extensively back when we were visiting the various SE Asia destinations while I was based in Singapore. It would be an excellent resource to get you started for Tokyo I think. Along with a listing of organized tours you can research destinations and attractions that you might be able to see independently using local public transportation - which itself can be a truly unforgettable travel adventure.
Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan or mainland China would all be possible destinations to split with your time in Japan - it's purely a subjective call. I'd recommend Singapore too but it's a rather long flight from Tokyo.
In the FWIW department, I always considered China to be the greatest culture shock destination if that sort of thing appeals to you - it'll be unlike anywhere else you've ever been.

If you combine Korea and Japan (why not!), you could perhaps skip Tokyo entirely and visit Tokyo with your friends in September instead. There are some direct flights from the West Coast to Kansai Int'l airport (or you could just head straight from Haneda airport to Kyoto by train from Shinagawa station) and you could spend a week in the Kansai region (which is great for Sakura viewing). Or you could visit the Kansai region plus Hiroshima maybe, or Naoshima / Teshima if interested in the art installations / museums there (they blew my mind!).

Then you could spend the second week in Korea - I have only been to Seoul which didn't need more than 3 days IMO.

@Robert where in China do you recommend? I didn’t know they were open! Now I’m considering it

@Balso that’s a great idea! I could combine Japan with South Korea. Another idea was taking Roberts idea of doing China or Singapore. So hard to decide! Maybe I’ll make another separate post

Beijing or Shanghai would be the obvious choices on the mainland, though jumping thru the hoops required to get there (visa, flights, COVID protocols,etc) may not be worth the hassle given the limited time you have available.
My suggestion would be Hong Kong - fascinating place, and you don't need a Chinese visa to enter the SAR (Special Administrative Area), plus there are direct flights from Haneda which would make it pretty easy to get there. Time and interest permitting you could day trip from there over to Macau by train or ferry. You can also visit Shenzhen just across the border on the mainland. Used to be that you didn't need a Chinese visa to visit either of those places but you'd want to confirm that's still the case.
The process of getting a Chinese visa from the US can be time consuming, expensive, and generally a royal pain, so going via HK would be much easier.
For info ... and maybe for future reference, you can get a same-day Visa on Arrival (VOA) for China at the airport in Hong Kong. It's not cheap but it is quicker that trying to do it in advance. Once you have the visa in hand it's pretty straightforward getting from HK to any city in mainland China.

@Robert curious what parts of Asia you’ve been to. Have you been to SK or Taiwan or Singapore?

I’m highly considering doing Hong Kong and maybe Shenzhen in addition to my Japan trip. Maybe 4 full days in Hong Kong?

I could also just do Japan fully this trip, go with my friends in September for only a couple days and do the rest of the trip in PRC/HK or Korea.

A very tough choice!

We lived in Singapore during a 3 year expat tour. My job required travel throughout Asia so I'm pretty familiar with all of the countries in the region.

What was your favorite country to visit out of all of them?

I also really love futuristic looking cities. How does Seoul compare to HK in that regard?

What I’m considering doing is spending my full 2 weeks in Japan and then in September visiting Hong Kong. But not sure if the weather is good that time of the year.

Sent you a PM.

Because of the extreme distance and expense of getting there, I'd suggest 10-14 days. It's a really, really easy country to travel and get around in. People are so patient and kind, and even in Tokyo and Kyoto, it's not crazy expensive like it's portrayed. I managed to go in February 2020 (really squeaked that in under the wire!) and stayed a week--that was all I could arrange for at the time. Next time I'll go for 2-3 weeks and see more.

We went to Japan in June 2017, for 2 weeks. Never had been, had a kid doing a study abroad and that was enough of an excuse lol. Much easier to get around than we expected! We covered Tokyo, Hakone, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nara, Kanazawa. Of those, we really needed more time in Kyoto. I would recommend Hakone if you are interested in getting out of the city - we stayed at a traditional ryokan (Mountain View Hakone), with hot springs, traditional meals, rooms with tatami mats, etc. Several unexpected museums, like a venetian glass museum, a Rene Lalique museum and an outdoor sculpture park, for example. Lake Ashinoko is nearby, with boat tours (including, for some reason, a pirate ship) and views of Mt Fuji. We used Japan Guide for ideas, which was helpful.

So OrangeCarp, how was your spring trip? I just saw this and thought I'd recommend 2 weeks. I lived in mainland Japan for 2 years and I've realized in the last few years there's a lot I missed!