Quick facts
Days 1-5: Tokyo
- Days 1-2: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakusa and a teamLab exhibition - the essential first-timer loop.
- Day 3: Day trip to Nikko (shrines and mountain scenery) or Kamakura (the Great Buddha and coastal temples).
- Day 4: Hakone overnight - Mt. Fuji views, Lake Ashi cruise, and an onsen ryokan for the night.
- Day 5: Back to Tokyo for Harajuku, Meiji Shrine, and a final izakaya dinner before heading south.
Days 6-9: Kyoto (with a Nara day trip)
- Day 6: Fushimi Inari at dawn, then Higashiyama's Kiyomizu-dera and Gion.
- Day 7: Arashiyama's bamboo grove and Tenryu-ji, plus the Sagano Scenic Railway if it's running.
- Day 8: Full day trip to Nara - Todai-ji, the deer park, and the old town of Naramachi.
- Day 9: A flexible day - Nijo Castle, Nishiki Market, or a hands-on tea ceremony or kimono experience.
Days 10-11: Hiroshima & Miyajima
- Travel day: Kyoto to Hiroshima by Shinkansen (about 1.5 hours).
- Day 10: Peace Memorial Park and Museum in the morning; ferry to Miyajima in the afternoon for the floating torii gate.
- Day 11: A slower Miyajima morning (the island empties out after the day-trippers leave the night before), then back to Hiroshima for the region's distinctive layered okonomiyaki.
Days 12-13: Osaka
- Travel day: Hiroshima to Osaka by Shinkansen (about 1.5 hours).
- Day 12: Osaka Castle, then Dotonbori for a full street-food evening.
- Day 13: Kuromon Ichiba Market, an optional Universal Studios Japan day, then fly home from Kansai International.
Is the JR Pass worth it for this route?
This is where the pass starts to pay off. Tokyo-Kyoto-Hiroshima-Osaka is exactly the kind of multi-city, long-distance routing the pass was designed for - add the Hakone and Nara side trips and you're well past the ¥50,000 break-even point for a 7-day pass, especially if you buy a 14-day pass to cover the whole trip. Run your exact dates through a JR Pass calculator before booking.
Alternative: swap Hiroshima for Hokkaido
If you'd rather trade history for snow and space, replace the Hiroshima/Miyajima leg with 2-3 nights in Sapporo (a roughly 1.5-hour flight from Osaka or Tokyo) - powder skiing in winter, seafood year-round, and noticeably fewer crowds than the golden route.
Frequently asked questions
Is two weeks too long for a first Japan trip?
Not at all - it's the length where you stop rushing. Two weeks lets you add a genuine second region (Hiroshima or Hokkaido) without cutting corners on Tokyo or Kyoto.
Should I do Hiroshima or Hokkaido as the second stop?
Hiroshima and Miyajima fit neatly into the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka train line with no extra flights. Hokkaido requires a flight but delivers a completely different landscape and far fewer crowds.
How many suitcases/bags should I bring for 2 weeks?
One bag per person you can lift onto a train luggage rack, ideally under 70L. Japan's convenience-store laundry and luggage-forwarding services (takkyubin) mean you rarely need to overpack.
Final thoughts
Fourteen days is enough time to see Japan properly without feeling like you're checking boxes - three or four regions, each given room to breathe, connected by one of the best train networks on earth. Book your JR Pass or individual tickets based on the real math for your dates, and leave at least one genuinely unplanned day somewhere in the middle.