This is my family (husband and teen son) first trip to Japan coming from the US. Please see if this itinerary and number of days in each location make sense, or if some of the days should be relocated elsewhere. Also there is the possibility that I can add 2 more days to this itinerary. If so, should I add it to one of the already chosen locations or a new one like somewhere in the Alps? Here it is:
June 2-8 (6 nights) in Tokyo with one or two possible day trips?
June 8-9 (1 night) in Hakone
June 9-15 (6 nights) in Kyoto with day trip to Osaka and elsewhere?
June 15-17 (2 nights) in Hiroshima/Miyajima
June 17-25 (8 nights) in Hokkaido, locations TBD
Thanks!
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
1585 posts
A day trip from Kyoto to Himeji Castle can be very rewarding. Watch James Bond in "You Only Live Twice".
You can arrange for a free English tour guide: https://i-guide.jpn.org/
The guide will not accept money. A small gift will be appreciated (we gave a bottle of maple syrup and offered to buy lunch).
Posted by
Washington, DC USA
841 posts
I would add a second night in Hakone so that you would have one full day there.
Posted by
9793 posts
Consider a trip to Nikko north of Tokyo.
Also, Nara from Kyoto
Posted by
33 posts
I second the suggestion to do a day trip to Himeji (this was my favorite castle we saw). We did this as our first full day in Japan after spending the night in Kyoto, and it was very relaxing. We had planned to do lunch in town and then head back, but the restaurant we wanted to go to did not have A/C, and found this to be the case for many places in town. We took the train back to Kyoto and found a place that we enjoyed that also had A/C.
Kyoto - If your family is okay getting up early, you will find that you will have many of the "busy" tourist locations to yourself. However you may also miss out on goshuin stamps because you are there before that part of temple/shrines open. It was a good trade off for us.
Tokyo day trip suggestion - Mt. Fuji, we took a bus tour to Lake Kawaguchi area, where they offer a hop on hop off bus for local sights. The Itchiku Kubota Art Museum includes a collection of vintage Kimono's (you aren't allowed to take pictures) that are absolutely beautiful!!! Bonus content - take the bus in reverse order to do the tram to go up to see Mt. Fuji to beat the crowds.
Posted by
9793 posts
Himeji Castle was great, I strongly recommend it.
Posted by
below Canada / above Mexico
354 posts
Have lived in or visited all those locations, and they are worthy destinations. Most recent trip was a month ago in Dec 2025.
Your route is interesting: moving south from Tokyo, and then circling back to travel to northern Japan (Hokkaido). But I assume you have a reason for this flow.
Another possibility is Nagasaki farther south (on Kyushu). Our trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-japan-nagasaki-and-the-goto-islands-dec-2024
FYI here is a trip report for a portion of Tokyo: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-japan-tokyo
A few more ideas (I have experienced all items on the list):
In Hokkaido:
- in addition to Sapporo, a day trip to nearby Otaru can be interesting. If there is interest in whisky, the day trip could include continuing on the train along the coast to Yoichi for a tour of the home of Nikka Whisky (Yoichi Distillery).
- Visit the Sapporo Beer Museum, and perhaps have a Gengis Khan dinner (but be aware that your clothes will be infused with the smell of cooked meat and veggies. They will give you a plastic bag to protect your coat, etc. At least they used to.)
- Near Sapporo is the Kaitaku Mura (Historical pioneer Village) open air museum.
- Hakodate with its fort could be worth a night or two.
- The lavender fields in Furano area -- the "bellybutton (heso)" of Hokkaido -- bloom in June/July and are gorgeous.
From Tokyo you could do an easy day trip to Kamakura, visiting the Great Buddha and some of the many shrines and temples.