I traveled through Japan with my wife for 33 days in Mar 2025, just before the start of the ✿ sakura season. We hacked our way through cities, countryside, and onsen towns – without breaking the bank.
Here, I’m sharing our itinerary, which we planned serendipitously on the road, at a relaxed pace to soak in the culture and local experiences.
Days traveled: 33
Money spent: $4150 (excluding the flights in and out of Japan)
Travelers: 2
Places visited: 8 (excluding day trips)
We entered Japan through Tokyo and exited from Osaka, while making stopovers along the route. We chose these two airports for the convenience of international flight connections.
We set up a Suica card on our phones as soon as we landed in Tokyo. Suica & PASMO are the digital wallets that you can use throughout Japan in most public transportation and convenience shops. Unfortunately, these wallets only work on iPhone; sorry Android users.
Keep in mind that most public transportation in Japan doesn’t accept card payment. It’s either cash or these two digital wallets.
Next up, we activated our eSIMs on Saily. So far, I’ve found Saily to be the best alternative to local travel SIMs. It’s cheaper, convenient, and has a great network coverage. You can get a $5 credit to get started with Saily using my referral code DARSHA1267 at this link.
Tokyo [6 days]
We used Nomad List to find the best neighborhoods to stay in, which suggested Ikebukuro & Katsushika for the overall vibe, access to top attractions, and of course, pricing. Since we were staying for 6 days, we split it up into two stays to cover more ground.
We loved staying in Ikebukuro, but Katsushika was a bit underwhelming. It was a bit far from the center and didn’t have much to do. The overall vibe was also a bit industrial, not exciting for visitors.
➤ Our curated list of Tokyo‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
Fujikawaguchiko [2 days]
We took a 1:30 hr express bus from Tokyo to this marquee place to catch a glimpse of the majestic Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, there’s no single website to make express bus bookings throughout Japan, so we used Google Maps & Japan Travel by NAVITIME to figure out the routes, then searched on Google to find express bus service.
The weather on a given day would dictate whether you would be able to see Mt. Fuji or not. So factor that in when you plan your travel. Our weather was a mixed bag – mostly cloudy but sometimes with a clear sky that gave us the breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji.
There are plenty of places in Fujikawaguchiko advertised for the Mt. Fuji views, but we got the best views from the most boring places, like a parking lot and on a bus ride.
➤ Our curated list of Fujikawaguchiko‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
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Hakone [3 days]
Hakone is a picturesque town in the mountains, about 1:30 hr bus ride away from Fujikawaguchiko. It’s mostly known for onsens and hiking areas around it. But you can also get some decent views of Mt. Fuji from here.
It snowed heavily when we were here, and the entire town turned into a winter wonderland. It was quite a sight to behold.
We strongly recommend taking the 2-3 day Hakone pass that will give you free access on all the trains, buses, cable cars, ropeways, and ships for sightseeing.
➤ Our curated list of Hakone‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
Nagoya [3 days]
We didn’t originally plan to visit Nagoya, but ended up there as it was a convenient connection between Hakone and Gifu Prefecture. We wanted to take a break before heading to the countryside in Gifu.
Nagoya is relatively cheaper with decent restaurants and cafes, but nothing spectacular about it. It felt like a place where Japanese men come to drink and get laid.
➤ Our curated list of Nagoya‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
Takayama [3 days]
Takayama is a gorgeous town in the Gifu Prefecture. It has tons of temples, preserved cultural streets, and sake breweries.
Don’t miss the Higashiyama Walking Course when you’re here. It’s a picturesque trail through a constellation of temples looking over the town.
We also took a day trip to the UNESCO heritage town of Shirakawago. If you want to see what a fairytale town looks like, you must go here.
Here’s a walking video we made on our visit…
➤ Our curated list of Takayama‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
Kanazawa [3 days]
Kanazawa was easily my favorite city in Japan. I had a very good feeling about this place from the very moment we got here. It had everything you’d expect from a good city.
Beautiful landscapes, plenty to see and do, lovely cafes & restaurants, good energy – you name it. It was also the Samurai & Geisha city, so it holds significant importance in Japan’s cultural history.
Kanazawa was also the most reasonable city in our Japan travels. I could imagine digital nomading from here for a month or two.
➤ Our curated list of Kanazawa‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
Kyoto [10 days]
We took a 5 hr express bus from Kanazawa to Kyoto. You can also take the trains, they’re faster but expensive. We mostly preferred the express buses as they’re convenient and cheaper alternatives.
There’s plenty to see and do in Kyoto, so we reserved most days for this city. It’s a fascinating place with Japan’s quirkiness in full display. Kyoto also had some parts to it that felt similar to Berlin in the vibe it gave us. Maybe that’s also why we liked it here so much.
Apart from ample sightseeing in Kyoto, it also offers a lot to see around it. So we took a good number of day trips from here…
If you’re keen on taking a matcha workshop or visiting the farm, make your bookings in advance because they sell out pretty fast. I missed out on it.
Kyoto also has the best chicken ramen you’ll ever eat in your life. And this restaurant does it the best. So do your taste buds a favor and go eat here when in Kyoto. You can thank me later ; )
➤ Our curated list of Kyoto‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
Osaka [2 days]
Getting to Osaka from Kyoto is the easiest. Simply take a local train and arrive here within 90 minutes. I can imagine some people must be commuting between these two cities for work every day. It’s that convenient.
A friend of ours compared Kyoto to Berlin and Osaka to Frankfurt. Frankfurt is great for flight connections, but not very popular amongst tourists. So we naturally kept our stay to a minimum here. And it turned out to be a good decision : D
Osaka has big arcades and gambling parlors, a strong anime culture, but we got bored with it pretty quickly. Not our vibe.
➤ Our curated list of Osaka‘s best attractions, cafes, restaurants, and other offbeat things…
There you go, there’s our itinerary of traveling through Japan for a month. We did a ton of research and asked our friends for their best recommendations before traveling, which helped us develop an outline. We ran with this outline and changed our paths on the go as we saw fit. Because life is best enjoyed when you leave room for serendipity.
I share this to give you an outline, fly with it. Japan is a wonderful place with the most polite people – you’ll have a great time there. Yoki kokai wo!
Darshan Gajara 