How To Spend Two Weeks in Japan - A Travel Itinerary 

You're right there is just so much to see in Japan

To be fair....many sights of Japan are copy/pasted from other areas of Japan. The temple architectures are very similar , the pagodas are virtually the same, Shrines are very similar. Japan has many seasonal events and local Matsuri during different times of the year.

I was excited to visit until I saw the ukai fishing - looks awful 🙁

Thanks Ramen, are you coming over to Japan soon?

@@InakaAdventure hopefully

Any place in particular youre looking forward to most?

@@InakaAdventure Tokyo for sure.

I agree

Thanks for the kind words! I hope you can visit Japan again soon, what part of Japan would you most like to see in a future video?

Dont give up on your dreams just because they were delayed a little! where in Japan are you looking forward to seeing the most?

It was the same for me - I had planned my first trip for beginning of 2020, had all my travel vaccinations and everything, and then Covid struck and Japan closed its borders. That dream had to lay dormant until only recently when Japan finally fully reopened for tourists again, far later than any other country, really. I've now got flights and airbnbs set and also a JR pass already, and am flying in beginning of April and will hopefully still see cherry blossoms! You can make your dream come true, also! :)

@@marsfuture Good luck, and have fun!

@@marsfuture how was it? did u go?

​@@Beamin439 Haha, yeah - I did! I went for almost a month in April... it's crazy for me to say, but I actually didn't fall in love just like I had assumed I would... Despite me loving the culture and language and everything about Japan so much from the distance, for so many years. Tokyo overwhelmed me. In a good way, I really loved it and it's a truly awe-inspiring beast of a city. But it's prohibitive and somewhat closed - like Japan and the Japanese. I stayed 2 weeks, I think I should've stayed longer. Then I took the JR rail across the country for 10 days and visited Shikoku, Kzyushu und Kyoto on the main island, saw Nagasaki and Fukuoka and places on Shikoku. Here's the thing: Japan's infrastructure outside of Tokyo is crumbling. The country is bled dry financially and you see the wealth of a couple or three decades ago and that it's not growing now. Almost all Japanese towns look the same. It'd be hard to know where you are just by being in the center of town, aside from the resident castle or famous spot or mountain etc. I want to return and give it a second chance. I think it's a guarded place. It doesn't give itself too easily, or perhaps not at all. I would stay longer in Tokyo and perhaps only see one other town, also for longer then. Like, 3 or 4 weeks in Tokyo and 2 weeks in Kyoto, or something like that. Yes, it is amazing, but it might also be different than you imagine, it isn't all a magical place, it is a real place, with real issues, also.

Thats a long time! It would be really interesting for you to go to Japan and tell people what its like after almost a decade

Glad to hear it my jigglypuff friend, any place in Japan in particular you are interested in seeing more of?

But what about the Vatican?

Awesome hope you have a great trip! one thing to know is the JR pass will increase in price in October, but if you buy before October you should be able to take advantage of the previous price. When all the details are confirmed ill put out a new video updating the Pass info

More is on the way soon! Thanks for watching Sandi

Glad to hear that, if you have any tips after your trip be sure to let me know!

Thanks Gabriel! Hope to see you over here soon

Glad you liked it Eddie, took a while to put it all together, what other topics would you like to see covered about Japan?

@@InakaAdventure I have had the opportunity to watch several of your videos and you have covered so much. I need to figure out now if I can fit in the Gifu region for this trip based off of your other YT videos on that area (or come back another time). I like to unpack and stay in places a bit if I can and IMO a place near historical Gion/Kyoto is now looking like 8 full nights. From that point experiencing the Japan train system for 5-6 days of journey's from 30 minutes to 3 hours away via train sounds fantastic to me. The problem is there seems to be dozens of journey's that fit into this category. This sounds magical compared to staying in the city of Osaka but since Osaka is so close by train we can go in and experience the world class restaurants/food of Osaka for lunch or dinner and get back to Kyoto to sleep. A video on staying in Kyoto and train traveling around might be awesome (but who knows it might be just because that is my preference for this trip) versus two days in Osaka, two days in Kurama, two days in Kanazawa, 2 days in Nara, etc the list goes on. Anyway back to watching more of your videos - HA.

Glad to hear it!

More people need to see Tomogashima!

Cheers! Hope you can make your Japan dream a reality soon!

海外から来られると、住むには退屈かもしれません、、

Maybe it is!

You're quite welcome! Any place in Japan in particular you are interested in seeing more?

Videos are likely purchased on Shutterstock or similar stock banks and compiled. The result is a typical boring travel agency bla-bla-bla.

@@mirthmagic6370 Could you please link me the better japan travel video you made?

Wow you have a wife,very nice!I think she will love it!

I really need to get down to Iwakuni, but ive only gone past it on the train so far.

The countryside of Japan is indeed beautiful, if youre starting off in Tokyo consider a short trip up to Matsushima

Cheers, I like to think most of my videos are very high quality even though not so many people see them

Its getting very close, you can now travel to japan without the tour guide thing if you arrange it through a tourist agency

Yep! Dont try to do everything or you might find you wont have enough time to relax, what are you most looking forward to seeing in Japan?

We are going this June for 16 days, Japan is on the top list my elder son want to go. Still working on plan.

Hey. How was your trip? I’m planning a December vacation too. Looking towards Japan. What do you say, worth it?

My and my wife and my son we want to go next year as well. Any idea how much money you need for 2 weeks?

Id apply the cost breakdown at the end of the video and times it by each person, there would be some savings based on who is sharing rooms but it should be pretty much the same

Hope you have a great trip! Anywhere in particular youre looking forward to visiting?

Glad to hear it! What part of Japan are you most interested in seeing more of?

Thats a great idea! Hope you have a good trip

Cheers! Glad people are enjoying this one

Always going to be there for the next trip!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you liked it, you might also enjoy my 1 week version of this trip! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LC0GYkdjG1w.html

I have been in November, it is wonderful. In addition to what is mentioned in the video, you should check out Nikko, Enoshima and Kamakura. Those can all be day trips from Tokyo. Enoshima has wonderful winter illumination and you can see the sunset above the ocean and get a glimpse of Mt Fuji. Nikko is filled with temples and definitely warrants a visit, especially if you are not making it to Kyoto

I am glad this video popped up too. I am planning to go to Japan in November too. It is going to be solo trip.

Cheers, my vids dont get that many views so im always glad to see people enjoy them

Glad to hear that! Whats your favorite place in Japan?

@@InakaAdventure im not sure! I’m planning on going next year, but I’m excited to see Kyoto!

Kyoto is always a great spot!

God damn thats some stamina, mad respect!

Thank you Raphael

Hope you have an amazing trip!

I would like to visit JP on my own Next year, spring .Is it any forum so you can meet people and travel together?Thanks

hello!! how was it? 😊

Yes, how did it go??

Also, thank you for the street food segment. Really enjoyed that one.

Cheers, I put so much into this one, hundreds of clips to get people interested in what you can see in Japan

The food is so good there too, dumplings galore

Glad you enjoyed it!

Awesome! May might be the tail end of the Sakura season, you can check the forecast for the Sakura front to see if any are blooming in the area youre visiting

You there now?

Wow wow 🎉👏

Japan is so close to returning to normal travel. They announced today you can travel to Japan solo, but only if you go through your travel agency. Its not perfect, but better than the group tours they were doing.

Japan fully opened 2 days ago

Cheers! Glad to hear so many people enjoyed this video

Youre quite welcome SM

Glad to hear it Anissa, hope you have a great trip!

How was it:)? Regards

Thanks! it took a long time to get them all

Hope you have a great trip! Let me know how it goes when you get back, what are you most excited to see in Japan?

Definitely takes more than 2 weeks to visit all those places. The only way to fit all that in and enjoy the visit if you have a helicopter and private limo on standby and there are no queue to get into all those places. Not to mention you won't be getting much sleep each day.

Everyone travels differently, dont stress about doing everything just do what you want to. I like to get up early and see as much as possible

Hope you have a great time! Where are you looking forward to the most?

@@InakaAdventure I am really looking forward to visit Kyoto. As this is our first time visiting Japan, I was planning to stay in Tokyo and visit neighbouring places for 6 days, 4 days in Kyoto and 2 in Osaka, 1 day to travel back to Tokyo from Osaka and do something we missed out on that day if possible. I do not wish to fill up our itinerary with places and not get a chance to relax and appreciate wherever we are. So I was trying to figure what makes more sense and fine tune my plan. I have a question for you if you don’t mind. If we travel to more rural side of Japan, e.g Himeji castle, would not knowing Japanese be a problem?

Himeji Castle isnt rural at all, its about a 30 minute walk down the main street from a rapid stop, you can see it all the way from the train station actually, pretty cool little road. For Himeji you wont need Japanese at all, but in more rural parts yeah it always helps (but dont worry youll be able to get around alright)

Glad you liked it!

Great to hear, hope you have an amazing trip!

Glad to hear you enjoyed it Jay

どうも 🙂

That sounds like a great trip! I never have been on the boats at Matsushima, since I was only briefly passing through when I did my train across Japan Video, this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ALW8Wp4dV58.html

Iv never been to Okinawa but making a trip this year, what season do you think is the best?

@@InakaAdventure Fall or winter. During the summer it is very hot. Still beautiful tho

Cheers mate, what topics are you interested in seeing more of from Japan?

Cheers Yifei! Any recommendations you have for other travelers?

I dont like driving inside cities in Japan, because parking and traffic is a nightmare and the subway systems are so good! But driving in the countryside is incredible and a unique way to experience Japan since most people that come over dont drive

Cheers mate! What part of Japan do you want to see the most?

Chers Andreas, Ill be updating soon with more Itineraries for different seasons and more locations! Let me know where in Japan you're interested in seeing?

Awesome, hope you have a great trip!

Awesome hope you have a great trip, one thing though is unfortunately the JR pass will increase in price from October. So you need to account for that, but I "think" if you buy one before October it will still be valid in Nov at the old price, but youd need to check their website to confirm that

No worries, glad you enjoyed it

Sound amazing, I traveled from Kyushu to Aomori by cheapest train so just about the opposite of that, but had fun all the same

@@InakaAdventure well, I had lived & studied in Japan for almost 6 yrs from the mid 1970’s. There was a lot of time spent on a very tight budget, but I had a great time even when I was broke. So this 2019/2020 trip was ME, REWARDING ME, for doing something COOL. My only regret is I should have used the opportunity to publicize the trip with one of the Japanese TV Programs that focus on this kind of stuff. Well, the next time I have $10,000 to blow I think I’ll talk it over with some experts.

Yep its confirmed! I havnt been to Sapporo just yet but looking forward to exploring more in Hokkaido and Okinawa this year and next.

Wow wow 🎉👏

Hope you have a great trip, what place are you most excited to see in Japan?

Getting more every day! Hopefully more people get to see this video :)

Its improving by the day and by the comment like this :)

Thanks for the kind words, maybe one day they will if we can get a bit more attention haha!

You're welcome Nate

Glad you liked it! if you like the lesser seen parts of Japan you should check out my Yakushima Video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NqZYOcrT1kw.html

It shouldnt be much longer! Obviously Japan is grieving right now so there hasnt been much conversation, but we are all looking forward to seeing visitors come to the country again!

Cheers! What season where you planning to visit?

@@InakaAdventure next week

It is! I have another video about Tomogashima, you can camp there actually and explore it at night ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZMY96b5KoB0.html

Cheers, hoping a lot of people find this useful!

Ill get around to one of those in future, but I havnt traveled that much in northern Japan yet

皆さん西日本に行きますが、東北も素晴らしいですよ❗秋をお勧めします❗

Working on it, but not really out just now. I have some other videos for specific places but not accommodation just yet. You could check out this one on Kyoto though ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IxGnOlyT3-o.html

Glad you enjoyed it John, what other topics from Japan would you like to see covered?

All year round there are things to do! The only time that might be bad in midsummer because the heat can be oppressive. Feb March is good if you like it a bit chill, can catch some snow in the mountains and maybe see some early Sakura in Southern Japan. Late March / April things get busy in Japan for the Hanami Season so it gets a little more expensive.

There are so many great little places to see across the country!

Cheers I put a lot of effort into those shots, glad when people notice

Glad to hear it!

People often remark on just how clean the streets are in Japan, after living here i rarely notice it unless I visit another country, but its definitely beautiful, the most beautiful streets ive seen were in Gujo-Hachiman, which you can check out in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QeinCek9nf0.html

Japan is overrated. I just came back from Japan 2 days ago. I expected every place that I go to being the best food I ever had. It wasn’t. All the good restaurants have a super long wait. There is a huge huge language barrier. Japanese aren’t as tourist friendly as media portrayed. They are very to themselves and very clique. A lot of the real Japanese activities are japanese only. I tried booking a private onsen but the ryoken said Japanese only. Japan are very conservative, the people aren’t as friendly as the stereotypes suggested. I took public transit everyday. You would see not always see young people offering their seats to the elderly or those in need. While Japan is clean for the most part, in the alley ways, you can find cigarette butts in the streets. Japan doesn’t have individualism, everyone is expected to go with the social norms. If you are a foreigner trying to date in Japan, lol good luck. Dating culture is just sad, Japan has a huge “host” problem, it is the only country that girls get into shady business to pay for male host. While japan is a beautiful place to visit, it is pretty overrated.

Cleanlyness is so boring!

I'm the kind of person that usually needs to take a break to relax after a holiday, but taking a long trip to appreciate and explore and immerse yourself in the country is also a great experience! The JR Pass has a maximum limit of 21 days for the longest option ( click.jrpass.com/SH5O ), but once inside the country there are also regional passes that can cover travel as well, such as the Tohoku and Kyushuu rail passes that are great value. I do have a patreon which can be found here: www.patreon.com/InakaAdventure

Plum Blossoms are everywhere, just planted beside or close to cherry trees. There are Plum Blossom groves in Osaka Castle Park I believe as well

Awesome! Hope you have a great trip to Japan

Good feedback and certainly wish I could devote more time and specifics to each area. The balance between getting all the info in, while leaving enough out so that people can enjoy it for themselves and also keep the video short enough that people dont get bored is a challenge for every creator. Ideally, I wish to make videos of each of these locations, then I can link those videos into this one so if there was one spot that people enjoy the most I they can see the video about that area.

Can I ask if this JR pass link sells authentic JR passes? There are a few websites selling JR passes and I worry about which ones are authentic (no offence meant, just to be sure).

This one is authentic, there are a lot of places you can buy them from though yes.

5 ppl for the train pass would be close to 2500? For 21 days ?

@@yancyjarquin4683 And you still have to get the metro card. JR Pass also does not cover all the Shinkansen lines. Sometime is actually cheaper and faster to just fly from one city to the next using smaller domestic airlines. For example, Hiroshima to Narita flight is less than $100 while shinkansen cost around $150 and takes 2 to 3 times longer to get there. For JR Pass, you may want to get the Green Class (reserved seating) otherwise all 5 of you may end up in different carts and rows during peak travel time. Believe me...I speak from personal experience. Also, you want to use the luggage delivery service from hotel to hotel as it is considered rude to be dragging your luggage on rail and taking up all those space (with the exception of N'EX: Narita Express train), just like eating, talking on your phone, and conversing loudly on train is frowned upon in Japan.

@@joyjoy534 I thought the luggage delivery services required about 2 days. How could you travel from one city to the next but not get your bags until 2 days later? Do the bags travel on the same train as you do? or are they delivered to your next hotel? Thanks for any info.

I do that quite a bit actually

@@InakaAdventure so no signs of spirits in all the forrests so far throughout your travels in Japan?

Awesome! Hope you have a great trip, any where in Japan you'd be interested in seeing more of?

A couple weeks ago I would have said that Japan would be open for sure at that time, in the recent weeks with abes assassination and a growing wave of infections Im not so confident of that day, Autumn / October seems like it could be open to non tour guided travel, but make sure any tickets you get are either refundable or flexible to move the date on since the country is going through a bit of drama in the last couple weeks

I've never been out there, but I want to do a video/ documentary about it in the not too distant future

Matsuyama. I can't put my finger on why exactly... Maybe it s the combination of castle, Onsen and city views.

The city that has the Super Nintendo World theme park.

I am in love with Osaka. Especially the south with the kofun graves :)

Osaka :D

Thanks Fernado! What do you like the most about Japan?

Cheers!

Thanks! Where in Japan would you like to see in a future video?

Awesome, thank you!

Hope you have a wonderful trip! I used to live in Wellington myself actually