Three weeks in Japan, what to see and do

There is so much to do in three weeks in Japan and a three week itinerary is a good amount of time for seeing the major cities and sights.

Japan may be small, but has a diverse landscape, intriguing history and fascinating culture. You can immerse yourself in an exotic journey where you can appreciate perfect views of the iconic Mount Fuji, see sumo wrestlers train, visit an imperial palace, or wear a traditional kimono and learn how to make sushi. We’ve been to Japan three times now and despite having done none of these things (though Steve already makes sushi at home) we have always had a fantastic trip as Japan is a tourist paradise.

Tokyo

On our journeys around Japan we have discovered a fascinating country of stunning landscapes, visited serene temples and walked through beautiful gardens. The people have a warmth that will make you fall in love with them and the breathtaking sights we’ve encountered revealed this is truly a country of contrasts.

You could easily spend your entire trip in Japan experiencing Tokyo like we did last year. There are hundreds of things to do and so many places to see like Meiji Jingu, Shibuya Crossing, Ginza, Shinjuku, Ueno Park and much more. But there is so much more elsewhere to see, and most people will want to at least include both Kyoto and Osaka. And we agree, they are two contrasting cities very much worth visiting. Osaka, the unique, energetic and modern culture as opposed to Kyoto, representing traditional, calm and historic culture. Osaka is not as traditional or picturesque, but well worth the visit if you love food, as Osaka has the best food scene in all of Japan.

Keep reading as we share our itinerary for three weeks in Japan to help you with planning and give you some idea of the contrasts you can experience in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Itinerary for three weeks in Japan

For this, our third trip, we wanted to see more of this beautiful country but only had three weeks in Japan. We had already visited Osaka, Kyoto and Yokohama very briefly on our first visit in 2017 and last year spent two weeks in Tokyo, based in Shinjuku. After making a wish list of things we both wanted to experience this time, we came up with a great itinerary that included many things without rushing or seeing places just for the sake of ticking them off.

2 nights in Tokyo (we chose Asakusa)

2 nights in Hirosaki

4 nights in Kyoto

1 night in Hiroshima

4 nights in Osaka (we chose the Namba area)

3 nights in Asakusa

You may want to plan for 2-3 days in each area and like us, spend at least 4 nights in both Kyoto and Osaka. The hotels we chose to stay at were APA Hotel Asakusa Tawaramachi Ekimae, Art Hotel Hirosaki, Kyoto Century Hotel, Sheraton Grand Hiroshima, Hotel Alps, Osaka and The Gate Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon by Hulic.

Asakusa

Our Jetstar flight landed at Narita airport and we headed straight for Asakusa, probably best known for Senso-ji Temple also known as Asakusa Kannon Temple and Kaminarimon and Nakamise Dori, Tokyo Skytree and Sumida River. Sensoji was having a festival, not sure what is was for as the Sanja Matsuri was in three weeks’ time and is the area’s largest festival. Near Sensoji is Japan’s oldest amusement park, Hanayashiki. Our hotel, APA Hotel Asakusa Tawaramachi Ekimae had it’s own Onsen on the 24^th floor and was directly across from Tawarimachi metro station making it a great location.

A few streets away was Kappabashi Street, a shopping mecca for home cooks and chefs where pottery, kitchen gadgets and knives can be purchased. You’ll know you’re in ‘Kitchen Town’ when you spot a large chef in a crisp white chef’s hat atop the Niimi shop, one of the oldest shops in the area.

Hirosaki

Travelling to the top of the main island of Honshu we visited Hirosaki on the last day of Cherry Blossom season to see an abundance of sakura blossoms that would have been amazing to see in their peak.

Kyoto

Arriving by train to Kyoto station is a destination in itself and is a perfect contrast to the tourist image of a traditional Japanese capital. It is a futuristic structure of exposed steel designed by the same designer as Umeda Sky Building in Osaka. Our hotel, Kyoto Century Hotel is directly across the road.

We saw some of the many shrines, temples and ornate spring time gardens in the ancient, cultural capital of Kyoto, considered the birth place of geisha culture. We walked the vermilion Tori Gate Path At Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, the 10,000 torii sanctuary in Kyoto mountain where some of the early structures were built in 711AD.

Gion

Spend time in the old town of Gion that maintains a traditional atmosphere and unique culture, where you’ll be able to spot an apprentice Geisha, known as a Maiko walking along a backstreet in Kyoto’s Shimbashi district. Or do as we did and book tickets to Kyoto Gion Yasaka Hall at Gion Corner to see a traditional kyo-mai dance performed by a Maiko.

We also saw the art of Ikebana (the art of flower arranging), a ryurei style tea ceremony and various other traditional Japanese theatre. We walked through their gallery displaying Okobo (traditional wooden footwear), Kanzashi, elaborate floral hair clips in ornamental black katsura wigs and fans, made by skillful artisans. The performance we saw was a first year Maiko as she only had her lower lip painted. She will undertake 5 years training before becoming a Geiko, a Geisha from Kyoto.

Arashiyama

Visit the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, a densely packed bamboo grove, particularly attractive when there is a light wind and the sunlight filters through the tall bamboo stalks as they swayback and forth in the gentle breeze. While in the area visit the Arashiyama’s most iconic landmark,Togetsu Bridge, the UNESCO World Heritage Tenryuji Temple or watch a kimono fashion show.

Hiroshima

We ventured south to explore Hiroshima, destroyed by an atomic bomb during WWII but is now a city devoted to peace. Hiroshima is much smaller than Kyoto and Osaka but a visit there is unforgettable. The Peace Park Memorial is a beautiful, yet somber reminder of the scale of the atrocity. Hiroshima Peace Park touches the hearts of visitors from all over the world with its compassionate, forgiving message of peace and remembrance and a powerful part of the culture.

Osaka

We then headed to Japan’s third largest city, Osaka, the soul of Japan. From the Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka we took the Midosuji line to Namba Station and a short walk to Hotel Alps. Not as traditional or picturesque as the other spots, this vibrant city is famous for its food, such as Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki and Kushikatsu.

We enjoyed Okonomiyaki several times. But just what is it? Okonomiyaki (pronounced “Oh-koh-no-mee-ya-kee”) is a batter mixture of flour, yam, egg, and cabbage, plus other ingredients such as shrimp, squid, pork and cheese, cooked on a flat-iron grill right in front of you. It’s topped with kewpie mayo, “okonomiyaki sauce, (a thick, sweet, brown sauce), ” dried bonito flakes, and aonori flakes (seaweed flakes). So it’s not a pancake, it’s not an omelette or a pizza. But I can tell you, it means ‘what you like’ and it’s delicious.

No Osaka trip is complete without a visit to Kuromon Ichiba Market. Known as Osaka’s kitchen it is a treasure trove of delicious food where you can feast on local delights. An average of 23000 people a day visit this market with 180 shops, mostly selling fish, (think raw oysters, sea urchins and seafood bowls), wagyu beef, luxurious fruit and pickled vegetables. Kuromon has been around for more than 190 years and one reason for its popularity is that many stalls prepare, cook and serve their food for you.

Dotonbori is one of Osaka’s top tourist destinations running from Dotonboribashi Bridge to Nipponbashi Bridge in the Namba district. Running along the canal it is lined with some of Osaka’s largest and most famous restaurants, and towering neon signs, the Glico running man the most well known of all. Standing on Ebisu-Bashi bridge taking it all in, watching Osaka life, it’s fascinating. This is the heart of Osaka.

60% of all fugu (puffer fish) is consumed in Osaka and the authentic taste of this regional dish can be found in many restaurants along Dotonbori and Kuromon Ichiba Market.

Miyajima

We utilised the Shinkansen yet again for a daytrip back to Hiroshima, this time to catch the ferry across to peaceful and beautiful island of Miyajima. Best known for Itsukushima, the World Heritage floating shrine, famous torii gate and the friendly and inquisitive Sika deer that freely roam around the island. Miyajima is considered to be the island of the Gods and is one of the top three scenic spots in Japan.

Asakusa

Finally we head back to one of the biggest and most technologically advanced cities in the world, Tokyo. We choose to again stay in Asakusa, this time right near the Kaminarimon Gate, the outer entrance leading to Sensoji temple at the aptly named Gate Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon. This hotel is so close to both the Ginza line and Toei Subway lines.

Kamakura

The day before we were due to fly out of Japan we took a trip to the seaside city of Kamakura to meet up again with our friends Corinne and Jim from ReflectionsEnroute. They showed us around the beautiful city, most recognized by it’s iconic 13 metre bronze Buddha. The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue at Kotokuin Temple and the second tallest in Japan. The statue is hollow and you can go inside to see how it was cast.

There also many shrines, great food and even a bamboo grove to see in the seaside city of Kamakura and being only an hour south of Tokyo makes an ideal day trip.

Odaiba

On our final day with time to spare before we board our last Shinkansen bound for Narita airport, we take the driverless Yurikamome train to Odaiba. This artificial island in Tokyo Bay has a Rainbow Bridge, Seaside Park, giant Ferris Wheel, Venus Fort, Unicorn Gundam and is hugely popular for people to visit TeamLab Borderless. They even have a Statue of Liberty, but we spent most of our time at Toyota Mega Web, an interactive car theme park where you can explore Toyota’s history, visit their car museum and learn of the newest developments and releases.

Three weeks in Japan will give you an enriched journey combining history and culture from visiting shrines, temples, gardens and attending a tea ceremony with the most scenic destinations and famous landmarks.

Japan has a population of over 125 million and is a land full of surprises, be it man made or natural disasters, breathtaking mountains and thousands of temples. Japan is truly beautiful and unique, it has it all, amazing culture, scrumptious food and a technological edge to inspire the world.

Convenience Stores

Throughout Japan convenience stores like Lawsons, 7-Eleven and FamilyMart known as Konbini’s, offer a huge variety of inexpensive, prepackaged food like onigiri, sushi, salads, bento boxes and fried chicken. Mmm crispy, juicy, tender honenashi (boneless chicken) Kara-age (deep fried nuggets) cooked on site are delicious.

Also hugely popular are the Sando (sandwiches) made from pillowy white bread with creamy egg, pork or chicken cutlet, even strawberries with whipped cream. Don’t judge me, they are crustless and they are delicious. Most have microwave ovens and electric kettles to warm your food and get boiling water for your noodles. They are truly convenient if you need an ATM, to reserve tickets and even to transport your luggage to your next destination.

Resources

We used a few resources to manage our travel for three weeks in Japan in partnership with Jetstar Australia as a JQ Culture Crew member. Offering daily flights transiting from Cairns into both Narita and Kansai makes it easy to fly into one airport and depart via the other. For the duration of our three weeks in Japan we stayed connected with the assistance of TravelSIM for all our data needs. Steve packed and carried his camera gear in a camera backpack by Thule in partnership with MW Direct. Finally we travelled using an unlimited 21 day JR pass and Pasmo card which was not sponsored but chosen by us as the most cost effective and convenient way to travel during our three weeks in Japan.

Navigate your way through the business city of Japan to the top attractions, including historical monuments, fashionable neighbourhoods and high end shopping districts.

Whether you learn about origami, calligraphy or see majestic vistas and meet gentle, warm people, you will see that peace and serenity can be found even in the middle of the most populous metropolis, Tokyo.

And regardless if you travel in the crisp and colourful autumn season or the warm, sunny spring you’ll be blessed with beautiful countryside as you visit the ‘must see’ sights.

Summary

Japan is one of the world’s most fascinating and enriching destinations. From experiencing a tranquil tea ceremony and the beauty of the spectacular cherry blossom season to the dazzling neon lights of Tokyo and the super-fast Shinkansen Bullet Trains.

 

Tips

Japan has a different way of life, where the people are quiet, polite and respectful and extremely proud of their country. The sights, the culture and food is very different, and well worth experiencing.

• Take good comfortable shoes as you will do a lot of walking in Japan
• Make sure your shoes are slip on as you will take them off a lot in Japan
• Take cash or get cash from the ATM at convenience stores. Credit cards and EFTPOS are still not widely accepted
• Speaking of cash, don’t place money in the shop assistant’s hand, there is a little tray on the counter where you place the money, and they will place your change
• Carry a plastic bag for rubbish as bins are very scarce
• Purchase a Tenugui (hand towel) as most public toilets do not have paper towel or a hand dryer
• Take a coin purse with you as a lot of money is coins
• Download these apps before travelling in Japan
• Finally, be prepared to be amazed by this beautiful country

As I said Japan may be small but it is a fascinating country with stunning scenery and beautifully manicured gardens. You could easily spend months there and not experience everything, so hopefully this itinerary for spending three weeks in Japan will both inspire and inform you in preparation for your trip.

Closing

Three weeks in Japan will have you exploring high paced cities where ancient and ultra modern sit side by side. Where Bullet trains are just prolific as rickshaws. Where serene gardens and temples sit alongside neon lit state of the art buildings.

Japan offers beautiful historical sights, where you can learn about the ancient traditions and colourful customs.

Golden Week

Our three weeks in Japan coincided with Golden Week, an extremely busy time of the year when four National holidays take place within a week. This makes trains, airports and sightseeing spots busier than usual. However in 2019, Japan also celebrated the Imperial succession and the start of a new era, with a new Emperor ascending the throne. This resulted in a once in a lifetime, 10 day Golden Week from April 29 to May 6. I say once in a lifetime as many Japanese do not get to see an Emperor ascend as typically an Emperor’s term does not end until they die.  2019 is the first time since 1817 when Emperor Kokaku abdicated, opting for a peaceful retirement. With Crown Prince Naruhito’s coronation brings the beginning of a new era and an unprecedented extra time off for Japanese people.

Add to mix that we were travelling to Hirosaki at the end of their Cherry Blossom Festival, we were expecting long delays, difficulties in securing hotel bookings and greater than usual crowds along our travels. In fact, we had a lot of recommendations not to travel at this time of the year as a lot of tourists find it all too difficult. One other consideration is cost. Generally due to shortage of bookings and being peak season, the costs increase in an already known to be expensive country.

Conclusion

I’m not sure if it’s luck or what you call it, as we did no real forward planning for our three weeks in Japan. We had no confirmed flights until March and no hotel bookings until the week before we arrived. We also secured reserved seats on eight of our nine rides on the Shinkansen, despite only making our bookings the day we planned to travel to Hirosaki and not on arrival to Japan when we validated our JR Pass. In fact there was also only one shinkansen when we could not secure our seats together.

We did avoid peak hour travel as much as possible during our three weeks in Japan so did not find the crowds any more daunting than any of our previous times in Japan. After struggling with luggage and crowds on both the Shinkansen and metro lines from Narita airport to Asakusa and then through to Hirosaki, we sent our luggage ahead for the remainder of our trip, which made the journeys so much easier.

Now I’m not for one minute suggesting this should be your travel style, but I do recommend forwarding your luggage if you can’t reduce it to carry on. Admittedly we do fly by the seat of our pants a lot and make spontaneous plans, that’s how we roll. We just chilled and went with the flow. Let’s face it, with those crowds it’s a bit hard to go against them.

What do you think makes Japan such a great place to visit? Are there any places you would include in our list of things to do in three weeks in Japan?

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The authors travelled courtesy of Jetstar Australia

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