Two days in Tokyo (old, then new) → a Hakone day trip for Mt. Fuji → bullet train to Kyoto for two days of temples, torii, and bamboo. Built around three big sunrises, two long dinners, and one onsen.
Designed for the traveler who'd rather see one shrine twice than rush past five. Use the comment threads below each day to push back on anything — pace, swaps, additions.
Begin in Asakusa, where Tokyo wears its oldest face. The Kaminarimon's red lantern is improbably large up close; the alleys behind it improbably small. Eat a melonpan in the street.
By late afternoon, slide thirty minutes west to Shibuya — same city, different century.
Approach through Kaminari-mon, walk Nakamise-dōri for senbei, end at the main hall. Arrive before 9 to photograph the gate without the crowd.
Twenty-minute walk from Sensō-ji. On a clear day, you can preview Day 3's Mt. Fuji from the Tembo Deck.
Yoroiya for a clear shoyu broth. The first bowl of ramen in Japan should not be eaten in a hurry.
Cross it twice. Watch it once from the Starbucks above, or Shibuya Sky for a panorama at sunset.
"Drunkard's Alley" — eight-seat yakitori counters beside the train tracks. Order omakase.
Asakusa → Skytree → Shibuya is a lot of zigzag across the city. I could simplify by moving Skytree to the evening of Day 2 (Shinjuku night views work too — Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is free and has the same Fuji-on-clear-days view). Would that be calmer?
Morning starts in a forest you won't believe is in Tokyo — 100,000 trees hiding Meiji Shrine. Then west to the absurd, beautiful chaos of Harajuku, and finally Shinjuku — Tokyo's high-watt heart.
The gravel paths are best when you can hear your own footsteps. Look for ema (wooden prayer plaques) in dozens of languages.
The opposite of the shrine you just left. Pastel chaos, rainbow cotton candy, hundred crêpe stands.
Architecture catwalk — Tadao Andō, Kengo Kuma, Herzog & de Meuron. Lunch at Maisen for tonkatsu in a converted bathhouse.
Book in advance. Two to three hours wandering rooms of light. (Alt: Nezu Museum garden for a slower afternoon.)
"Memory Lane." Smoky, narrow, perfect. Six seats to a stall, just outside Shinjuku Station.
200 tiny bars in six alleys. Look for an English sign in the window. Whisky highball.
teamLab vs Nezu Museum is a fork. teamLab is the photogenic, immersive option (great if you want phone-friendly memories). Nezu is quieter — a private collection of Asian art set in one of the city's best gardens. Roughly opposite vibes. Which mood do you want this afternoon?
A transit day, but a beautiful one. Leave Tokyo at sunrise for Hakone — volcanic valley, hot springs, pirate ships on Lake Ashi (yes, really), and on clear mornings a Fuji view that justifies the detour.
Then the Shinkansen south to Kyoto. Two hours, 285 km/h, a bento on your lap.
Direct from Shinjuku in ~85 min. Reserve a front-car seat. Buy the Hakone Free Pass — covers every train, bus, cable car, and ropeway in the valley.
Ropeway over the sulphurous volcanic valley. Buy black eggs (kuro-tamago) — folklore: each adds 7 years to your life.
The boats are pirate ships. You don't have to like it. View of Fuji is what you came for.
Board at Odawara (transfer from Hakone-Yumoto). ~2h 10m to Kyoto. Bento from the platform shop — try gyū-meshi or unagi.
Check in, then slow dinner along the lantern-lit alley between the Kamo River and Kiyamachi.
Fuji shows herself maybe 1 day in 3 outside of winter. If the forecast for this day is overcast, Hakone becomes mostly a hot-spring/sculpture-museum day, not a Fuji day. How much flexibility do you have to swap Day 3 with Day 2 or Day 5 last-minute based on weather?
Alternative if Fuji is fogged: skip Hakone entirely, take the morning Shinkansen straight to Kyoto, and use the saved time for a Nara day trip (deer park + Tōdai-ji Daibutsu) on Day 5 instead. Want me to draft that alternate Day 3?
Where's your luggage that day? Carrying it through Hakone is miserable. Strongly recommend takkyūbin — forward big bags from Tokyo hotel directly to Kyoto ryokan (~¥2,000, arrives that evening). Are you committed to a Tokyo ryokan / Kyoto ryokan split, or considering hotels?
Wake before sunrise. Fushimi Inari is open 24 hours and at 6 a.m. it is yours — a tunnel of vermillion gates climbing a holy mountain, kept company only by the occasional jogger and a few stone foxes.
Then a steady descent through Kyoto's eastern hills — Kiyomizu-dera, the Higashiyama lanes, and by evening, Gion.
JR Nara Line from Kyoto Station, 5 min to Inari Station. Be at the lower torii by 6:00. Hike to Yotsutsuji intersection (~30 min up) for the view back over Kyoto.
Coffee with a view of Yasaka Pagoda. Get the matcha latte; resist taking the same photo as everyone else, then take it anyway.
Wooden stage juts out over the hillside on 13m pillars — no nails. Drink from one of three Otowa waterfall streams (long life, success, love). Only one.
Preserved sloping streets. Yudofu (Kyoto-style tofu) at Okutan, or yatsuhashi from Shogoin. Look up — even the Starbucks is in a 100-year-old machiya.
Lanterns come on around six. Walk Hanami-kōji slowly. Please don't chase the geiko. Dinner at Gion Karyō for kaiseki.
That 5:45 wake-up is the cost of an empty Fushimi Inari. The alternative is sunset Fushimi (5pm in winter, 7pm in summer), but the gates lose their glow without sunlight on them. Pre-dawn version, or are we softer than that?
Kaiseki dinner in Gion is the trip's most expensive meal (¥15-30k pp at the good places). Worth it as a "one big night" experience, or do you want something more casual — a counter sushi place, or omakase yakitori? Set the spend tier here.
The last day belongs to western Kyoto. Wake early again — the bamboo grove is only a grove when there are fewer people in it than stalks. Light at 7 a.m. is famously good.
Afternoon: one perfectly photographed pavilion in gold leaf, then back to the center for a last warm bowl before the train.
JR Sagano Line to Saga-Arashiyama (15 min). Walk the bamboo path before 9 — afterwards it's a queue, not a walk.
14th-century Zen garden by Musō Soseki, largely unchanged since. The path ends at this temple.
Cross the Togetsukyō Bridge. Riverside tofu kaiseki in a cave-like setting. Reserve. Boiled tofu has been on the menu for 40 years.
The Golden Pavilion. Bus 11 or 28, ~40 min. One viewing angle works — you'll know it because thirty people are already in it.
"Kyoto's Kitchen" — 5 blocks of food stalls. Final dinner at Honke Owariya — soba since 1465.
Kinkaku-ji is gorgeous but truly a "look + leave" experience (~30 min). Could pair it with Ryōan-ji (the famous rock garden) which is 20 min walk away — same temple complex era. Add Ryōan-ji, or leave the afternoon loose?
For this exact itinerary (Tokyo ↔ Hakone ↔ Kyoto), a 7-day JR Pass is roughly break-even. Worth it if you might add a Hiroshima or Osaka day trip; not worth it if you're sticking strictly to this plan. Are you flexible on adding day trips?
One night of ryokan (with kaiseki + onsen, ideally in Hakone or Kyoto) is the iconic experience. Five nights is excessive and surprisingly tiring — futons are wonderful for 1-2 nights. My rec: ryokan in Hakone Day 3, hotels otherwise. Agreed?
Nara is 45 min from Kyoto. Tōdai-ji has the largest bronze Buddha in Japan; the deer in the park will bow to you for crackers. Adds ~half a day. Would replace Arashiyama or Kinkaku-ji. Skip, or shoehorn in?
This itinerary is on the dense side. Average tourist does 60% of what's listed. Do you want me to draft a "lazy version" with 1-2 stops cut per day?
Sakura (late March–early April) and koyo (mid–late November) change everything: which gardens to prioritize, what time to be where, whether to book months ahead. Date window?
I can lean into more reserved omakase / kaiseki / temple-hour planning (high-effort, high-payoff), or leave gaps for wandering. Which do you prefer?
Tokyo Skytree vs Tokyo Tower? Skytree is taller and newer (634m, glass observation), Tower is the iconic red-and-white Eiffel-of-Tokyo (333m, walking distance from Roppongi). Skytree fits the Asakusa morning better geographically. Stick with Skytree, or swap to Tower on Day 2?