Travel section
Honshu 本州
Japan's main island, from the snowy north of Tohoku to the temples of Kyoto and the shores of the Seto Inland Sea. Big enough for a lifetime of trips, so it's split into three parts.
North, central or south?
North Honshu 東北
TohokuTohoku: mountain onsen villages, gorges that turn red and gold in October, samurai towns and some of the best ryokans in the country. Few foreign visitors, endless backroads.
18 days · road tripBest: mid–late OctTohoku · Niigata
Steam, sake & scarlet maples: 18 autumn days through southern Tohoku and Niigata
Gas-lit Ginzan Onsen, 2,446 cedar-lined steps on Mount Haguro, crater lakes and a pagoda in the forest. Japan's best onsen region, in peak autumn colour.
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19 days · camper vanBest: early–mid OctTohoku · Aomori · Akita
Home is where the van parks: a camper loop to the top of Tohoku
A camper loop from Sendai up to Aomori and back via Akita: Oirase Gorge, Lake Towada, an apple-themed ryokan, samurai towns, then a milky-white onsen in the Fukushima mountains.
Read the guide →Central Honshu 関東・中部
Kanto & ChubuKanto & Chubu: Tokyo and its day trips, Mount Fuji and the Five Lakes, the Japan Alps, Kanazawa and Niigata's sake country.
South Honshu 関西・中国
Kansai & ChugokuKansai & Chugoku: Kyoto, Osaka and Nara, Hiroshima and Miyajima, the quiet San'in coast and the Seto Inland Sea shore.
14 or 21 days · by trainBest: late Mar–May · Oct–NovTokyo · Mount Fuji · Kyoto · Osaka · Himeji · Hiroshima
Start here: your first trip to Japan in 14 or 21 days
The classic first route, done properly: Tokyo, a night under Mount Fuji, Kyoto with Nara, and Osaka in two weeks, or add Himeji Castle, Hiroshima and Miyajima in three. Plus the basics: what the trip costs, whether the JR Pass is worth it, eSIM, cash and IC cards.
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18–21 days · by trainBest: late Mar–May · Oct–NovTokyo · Kanazawa · Shirakawa-go · Kyoto · Osaka
From gold leaf to neon: the Golden Route, rerouted through Kanazawa
The classic first trip to Japan, rearranged: Tokyo, then the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa and the thatched farmhouses of Shirakawa-go, Kyoto's temples, Osaka's food streets with Kobe and Arima Onsen, and an optional stop at Mount Fuji or Kamakura on the way back.
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17 days · train or carBest: Apr–May · Oct–NovOsaka · Onomichi · Hiroshima · Yamaguchi · Izumo · Kinosaki
Peace, pedals & a thousand torii: Hiroshima and the secret San'in coast
West along the Seto Inland Sea to Kurashiki, Onomichi and Hiroshima, with the Shimanami Kaido by bike as an option. Then back east along the quiet San'in coast: a torii path to the sea, a karst plateau, Japan's oldest shrine, an original castle, a temple on a cliff, the onsen town of Kinosaki and the boathouses of Ine.
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