Self-Launched Japan: Tokyo to Osaka in 7 Days

Land at Narita or Haneda and make your own way into the city — the Keisei Skyliner from Narita to Ueno is around £14, or the limousine bus to Tokyo Station about £8; from Haneda the monorail or Keikyu line costs under £3. Check into a budget hotel or hostel in the Otemachi/Asakusa area (equivalent to the operator's 3-star picks). Spend the evening easing into jet lag: stroll the neon canyons of Shinjuku or grab a bowl of ramen near your bed. Pick up a Suica or Pasmo IC card at the airport or any station — you'll use it on every local train, metro and bus.

🚌Keisei Skyliner (Narita) £14 or Haneda monorail/Keikyu £3–4, plus local metro with Suica card

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in central Tokyo (Asakusa/Ueno/Otemachi), private room from about £40–55. Example: capsule or hostel dorm £18–25, 3-star private around £55.

• →Arrive and transfer to central Tokyo
• →Optional Shinjuku or Asakusa evening orientation walk
• →Buy Suica/Pasmo IC card

Do the operator's Tokyo day yourself, all on one cheap metro/IC-card day. Start early at Tsukiji Outer Market for tamagoyaki, fresh uni and street snacks (£8–12 grazing). Walk or metro to Meiji Jingu Shrine (free), then skirt the Imperial Palace East Gardens (free, closed Mon/Fri). Head to Asakusa for Nakamise-dori Street (free) and Senso-ji Temple (free), and catch a distant view of Tokyo Skytree — or pay £10–12 to ride up it. Book a small-group or self-guided walking tour via GetYourGuide if you want context (£15–25), otherwise the temples are free to explore solo.

🚌Tokyo Metro/local trains on IC card, roughly £4–6 for the day's hops

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in central Tokyo, private room from about £40–55

• →Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast grazing
• →Meiji Jingu Shrine (free)
• →Imperial Palace East Gardens (free)
• →Nakamise-dori Street and Senso-ji Temple (free)
• →Optional Tokyo Skytree deck (£10–12)

Recreate the tour's Hakone excursion independently. Take the JR/Shinkansen or Odakyu Romancecar to Odawara — the Shinkansen is about £25 each way, the Odakyu a bit less. Buy a Hakone Free Pass (about £35–40) covering the Hakone Tozan train, the cable car up to Owakudani, the ropeway to Togendai Port and the Lake Ashi cruise. On a clear day you get the classic Mt. Fuji view from Lake Ashi and the Owakudani valley overlook (try a black sulphur egg). Come back to Tokyo for the night. Book the Free Pass at Odawara station on arrival.

🚌Shinkansen or Odakyu Ltd Express Tokyo–Odawara (£15–25 each way) plus Hakone Free Pass for the loop (£35–40)

🛏Budget hotel or hostel in central Tokyo, private room from about £40–55

• →Hakone Tozan train ride
• →Cable car to Owakudani Valley
• →Ropeway to Togendai Port
• →Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise
• →Mt. Fuji viewpoint (weather dependent)

Ride the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto (about £80–95 reserved, or use a JR Pass if you're doing more legs). Drop bags at a Kyoto hostel or budget hotel near the station or in Gion. In the afternoon do the operator's Kyoto circuit on local buses: bus 205 to Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion (about £3), then across town to Kiyomizu-dera (£3), wander the Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka slopes, and finish with a walk through the Gion geisha district in the early evening. Buses are flat-fare, around £1.50 a ride, so a day pass (£4) pays off.

🚌Shinkansen Tokyo–Kyoto (£80–95) plus Kyoto city buses/day pass (£4)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Kyoto (near Kyoto Station or Gion), from about £40–55 private / £18–25 dorm

• →Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion (£3)
• →Kiyomizu-dera Temple (£3)
• →Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka lanes (free)
• →Gion district evening walk (free)

Start before dawn at Fushimi Inari Shrine (free, and gloriously empty early) to walk some of the 10,000 vermilion torii gates. Then take the JR Nara line from Kyoto to Nara (about £5–6, 45 min). Feed the roaming deer in Nara Park (free; deer crackers £1.50), see the Great Buddha at Todai-ji (about £4), and stroll the lantern-lined path to Kasuga Taisha Shrine (free). If time allows, dip into Goryo Shrine or the Naramachi Lattice House. Return to Kyoto by the same JR line in the evening.

🚌Kyoto local transit (£3) plus JR Nara line return (£10–12)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Kyoto, from about £40–55 private / £18–25 dorm

• →Fushimi Inari Shrine (free)
• →Nara Park and deer (free)
• →Todai-ji Temple (£4)
• →Kasuga Taisha shrine path (free)
• →Optional Goryo Shrine and Naramachi Lattice House (free/small fee)

Check out and take a local JR train to Osaka (about £4, 30–45 min). Store bags at your Osaka hostel or a station locker, then tick off the tour's Osaka day self-guided. See Nijo Castle in Kyoto before leaving if you didn't catch it (about £8), then in Osaka visit Osaka Castle and its park (castle entry about £4). Spend the late afternoon and evening in the Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori areas — free to wander, brilliant for street food like takoyaki and okonomiyaki — and duck into the tiny Hozen-ji Temple tucked in the lanes. Finish with a drink in the neon of Dotonbori.

🚌JR Kyoto–Osaka (£4) plus Osaka metro on IC card (£4–6)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Osaka (Shinsaibashi/Namba), from about £35–50 private / £17–24 dorm

• →Nijo Castle (£8, if done before leaving Kyoto)
• →Osaka Castle (£4)
• →Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi exploration (free)
• →Hozen-ji Temple (free)
• →Street-food dinner in Dotonbori (£8–12)

Enjoy a final breakfast and a last wander through Shinsaibashi or Kuromon Ichiba Market before heading out. If you're flying home or returning to Tokyo, budget roughly £80–95 for the Shinkansen back to Tokyo (about 2.5 hrs) or from £40–70 for a budget airfare, and £5–10 for the airport train. If you're continuing onward — say to Hiroshima, Kanazawa or a working holiday base — your IC card, Suica balance and any leftover JR Pass value carry over. Trip ends.

🚌Anticipated transfer: Shinkansen Osaka–Tokyo £80–95 or budget flight £40–70, plus airport/local transport £5–10

🛏None (departure day)

• →Final Shinsaibashi or Kuromon Market stroll
• →Departure transfer