Travel to Japan in Spring 2025

Gosh, it seems like late planning to me for spring in Japan. I think that is a very popular and expensive time as cherry trees are blooming. Check out Japan-guide.com. Good luck!

Thanks, Tammy, for the tip - let’s hope it’s not too late to make this Spring!

I'm a total Ricknik and visited Tokyo for only two days and three nights in 2019. I wish I had had more time to stay longer and wish I had visited other cites in Japan.

My favorite site was the stunning Rikugien Garden: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3026.html). It was started by a warlord around 1710 and thus is older than the U.S.

I also loved the Senso Ji temple site in central Tokyo: https://www.senso-ji.jp/english/.

The Tokyo National Museum was excellent: https://www.tnm.jp/?lang=en. As you see from my name, I live in Chicago. Unbelievably, I found an artifact from the 1893 Columbian World's Exposition held in Chicago at the Tokyo National Museum.

Finally, I love the Tokyo subway. It's very complex, even for a frequent rider of transit, but the Lonely Planet guidebook has everything you need to know about it. Just riding the Tokyo Subway is a blast.

Take a look at this thread https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/japan-5af6c49f-5393-499f-b2aa-6cf6b4392ecb

Definitely read through the thread mentioned above.

Quick recs:

When to travel: You will want to avoid sakura (cherry blossom) season (varies by year), and Golden Week (around the 1st week of May). Both are extremely busy, and popular areas will be crowded and expensive. We traveled last year from about May 10-30, which had beautiful weather and fewer crowds.

Sumo: The national sumo tournament takes place 6 times a year in designated cities; the May tournament is in Tokyo, and you can get ticket info here:

https://www.sumo.or.jp/EnTicket/year_schedule/

We went last May and it was definitely a highlight of our Japan trip, though tickets can be hard to get.

If you're baseball fans, you might also be able to see a professional baseball game. Tokyo has 2 teams.

Good luck, and enjoy. We absolutely loved Japan.

1. Go here, and drink deeply from the firehose: Japan-Guide.com forum

2. Japan is easier than you think it will be, it's wonderfully set up for tourists, and anyone who can manage independent travel in Europe can probably handle Japan just as easily.

3. Spring is upon us, you are late, giddyup.

4. I agree about baseball - Japanese professional baseball is a hoot, and (I think) would be easier and more meaningful for most American tourists than sumo.

5. You will love it. Have fun.

Some visit Hiroshima as a day trip from Kyoto. Possible because of the bullet trains.

Hakone is a popular stop between Tokyo and Kyoto. Hiking, volcanic activity and exploration at Owakudani, art museums, history - Takaido Road. Mt Fuji views, although not "at the base".

Hakone is right on the main train line between Tokyo and Kyoto. I can recommend the Hyatt Hakone. Not your definition of "authentic", I suspect. If not to your liking, there are many onsen that you might be more interested in. I (female) have traveled with a male relative about your nephew's age. We stayed at the Hyatt which is why I thought of it. Comfortable for both of us.

I would start checking into accommodation immediately. I've had last minute business trips - if "authentic" places are booked, try Hilton, etc. Many hotels don't open booking earlier than 6 months out, but I would start checking - Kyoto will be very popular during May.

The "Golden Route" is popular with Japan travelers: https://www.japan.travel/en/in/itineraries/golden-route/

Osaka and Kyoto are commuting distance. If you wanted to visit both, choose one for hotel and day trip to the other (my opinion). Saves changing hotels. My 30 something traveling companion loved Osaka. I can take it or leave it....

I usually plan my trips to Japan on relatively short notice - currently looking at March - accommodations will be available for the Spring though may be harder to find in heavily touristed areas such as Kyoto.

End of April, beginning of May is Golden Week - three closely space holidays so a tough time to travel and find accommodations but outside of that finding hotels should be doable.

Consider using the Japan Digital Entry site to ease your entry into the country: https://services.digital.go.jp/en/visit-japan-web/
You will get a QR code for your phone and that will speed you through the process.

A Suica card - https://www.jreast.co.jp/multi/en/welcomesuica/with_ic_special_pass.html - is a handy way to pay - just tap and go. Can be used on trains, subways, convenience stores and many other locations. The Welcome Card expires so I now use the Suica app on my phone rather than the card. Easy to use and easy to reload. In one instance my wife realized her eSuica did not have enough money to pay for her train ride so she reloaded it on the spot. The hard cards can be reloaded as well but only at certain JR stations.
We purchase eSims for our phones and that makes things easy for travel for us.

HIroshima - Kyoto - Tokyo is a lot of ground to cover in that short a time. Doable but you will spend a lot of time traveling. Though transit is Japan is so good that will not be unpleasant.

And while credit cards are easy to use, we still found cash handy in some places and at odd times. The ferry from Shikoku to the art island of Naoshima was cash only when we traveled there this past November. Ran into a few other cash only spots though that is more likely if you are off the beaten path so to speak. Easy enough to get cash at an ATM if needed.

Have fun. Japan has become my favorite place to travel - clean, safe, easy to get around and generally very nice people. (When my wife dropped 20,000 (roughly $US150) on the ground pulling something out of her pocket we only discovered it when someone came running down the street after us to give it to her. And we seem to have gotten somewhat old and gray and so people constantly try to help us. In Osaka, one woman insisted on carrying my wife's bag up the stairs at the train station!)

Visited Japan some years ago as a delegate from our sister cities association visiting our Japanese Sister City. A friend and I Flew into Osaka and went straight to Kyoto for a few days. Found a nice traditional guest house (Ryokan) near the station and temples that worked for us. Enjoyed Kyoto, temples and gardens and the incredible Kyoto station a destination in itself with a department store, supermarket, restaurants, a roof garden, oh and trains, bullet trains and regular commuter trains. From Kyoto went to Okayama and then on to Nimmi where we were guests of the town and were treated royally. After the stay in Niimi we spent a couple of days in Kurashiki enjoyed.wandering the old town area along a canal Wherever we went in Japan people were friendly and helpful. There was good multi-lingual signage in hotels, airports and train stations and staff usually wore badges indicating language spoken.