Visions of Japan: Tokyo to Osaka, Hiroshima & Miyajima (Self-Launched)

Fly into Narita or Haneda, clear immigration, pick up a SIM/eSIM (or pocket wifi) and activate your Japan Rail Pass (exchange voucher at the airport JR office if you bought one). Take the airport train or limousine bus into central Tokyo — Keisei Skyliner from Narita is around £17, or the Narita Express £20; Haneda monorail/Keikyu line is around £4. Settle into a hostel or budget hotel in Asakusa or Shinjuku/Taito ward, grab konbini dinner or a cheap ramen, and orient yourself for the days ahead.

🚌Airport train (Keisei Skyliner ~£17 / Haneda monorail ~£4), metro top-ups

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Asakusa/Taito ward (dorm £15–22 or private twin £45–60 per room)

• →Airport transfer to central Tokyo
• →SIM/pocket wifi pickup
• →JR Pass exchange (if purchased)
• →Evening walk in Asakusa or Shinjuku

Start early at Meiji Jingu shrine in Shibuya — free entry, forest paths, best before 9am. Then book a short calligraphy lesson with a master calligrapher via GetYourGuide or Airbnb Experiences (roughly £25–35) and a traditional tea ceremony (roughly £20–30, many in Asakusa or Shinjuku). Afternoon: Asakusa Kannon Temple (Senso-ji) and the Nakamise shopping arcade for senbei, ningyo-yaki and souvenirs. Evening: yakitori or soba dinner in Asakusa backstreets — £8–12.

🚌Metro day of rides ~£5–7 (or use a Suica/Pasmo card)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Asakusa/Taito ward

• →Meiji Jingu shrine (free)
• →Calligraphy lesson with master calligrapher (~£25–35)
• →Tea ceremony (~£20–30)
• →Senso-ji (Asakusa Kannon Temple) and Nakamise arcade
• →Street-food snacking on Nakamise

A self-guided wander day. Morning in Ginza (department store food halls — depachika — are a cheap gourmet lunch), afternoon in Shibuya for the scramble crossing, Miyashita Park and Shibuya Sky observation deck (book ahead, ~£14). Hit a street food market or yokocho alley (Omoide Yokocho in Shinjuku, or Ebisu Yokocho) in the evening. Optional: a baseball game at Tokyo Dome if the Giants are home (~£20–40 for standing/cheap seats).

🚌Metro day pass ~£4–5

🛏Hostel or budget hotel in Asakusa/Taito ward

• →Ginza depachika food halls
• →Shibuya Crossing and Shibuya Sky (~£14)
• →Yokocho street food alley dinner
• →Optional Tokyo Dome baseball game (~£20–40)

Use the JR Pass or a cheap Odakyu/Hakone Tozan ticket to reach Odawara (about 35 min by shinkansen from Tokyo, covered by JR Pass; otherwise ~£18). From Odawara take the Hakone Tozan Railway and bus to Togendai, then ride the Hakone Ropeway (cable car) over Owakudani for Mount Fuji views, and take a sightseeing boat cruise on Lake Ashi (~£12 combined for ropeway + boat, or a Hakone Free Pass ~£35). Overnight in a Hakone or Gotemba budget guesthouse/hostel.

🚌Shinkansen Tokyo–Odawara (JR Pass) + Hakone Tozan rail/bus/ropeway/boat ~£12

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Hakone/Gotemba (dorm £20–28, private £50–70)

• →Shinkansen/express to Odawara
• →Hakone Ropeway for Mount Fuji views (~£12–15)
• →Lake Ashi sightseeing cruise (~£10)
• →Owakudani volcanic valley walk

Morning bus or train to Hotaka/Daio for the Daio Wasabi Farm — free entry, wander the water channels, sample wasabi ice cream (~£3) and a wasabi lunch. Then train to Matsumoto (JR Pass) to see the black-and-white Matsumoto Castle, one of Japan's few original keeps (~£4 entry). Late afternoon take the JR Limited Express Shinano to Nagoya, then the Hida Limited Express up to Takayama (all covered by the JR Pass; ~3.5–4 hrs total). Check into a Takayama guesthouse and eat a set Japanese dinner (~£12–15).

🚌Local train to Hotaka, JR Limited Express to Matsumoto/Nagoya/Takayama (JR Pass), local buses ~£5

🛏Takayama guesthouse or hostel (dorm £22–28, private £55–75)

• →Daio Wasabi Farm and wasabi ice cream (~£5)
• →Matsumoto Castle (~£4)
• →Scenic Hida Limited Express through the mountains

Get up for the Miyagawa morning market (free) along the river, then visit Takayama Jinya, the Edo-period government house (~£3–4). Wander the Sanmachi Suji historic merchant district and do a self-guided sake tasting — several breweries offer small tasting sets for £2–5, or buy a tasting package at a brewery museum (~£8–10). Optional upgrade: pre-book one night in a traditional ryokan with dinner and breakfast (from roughly £70–110 per person if booked direct and outside peak season — book well ahead).

🚌Walking day; local bus ~£1

🛏Takayama guesthouse or hostel

• →Miyagawa morning market
• →Takayama Jinya (~£4)
• →Sanmachi Suji historic district walk
• →Sake tasting at local breweries (~£5–10)
• →Optional ryokan night with kaiseki dinner + breakfast (~£70–110)

Take the Nohi bus from Takayama to Shirakawa-go (about 50 min, ~£12, reserve online or at the bus office) and spend the morning in the Gassho-Zukuri thatched farmhouses — free to wander the village, ~£5 for a house interior. Hop the same bus line onward to Kanazawa (~2 hrs, ~£16). Afternoon: Kenroku-en, one of Japan's great gardens (~£2 entry), and the Higashi Chaya geisha district. If you want the gold-leaf craft experience, book a workshop direct or via Klook in Higashi Chaya (~£12–20) — many shops take walk-ins.

🚌Nohi highway bus ~£28 combined, city bus ~£2

🛏Kanazawa hostel or budget business hotel (dorm £20–25, single £40–55)

• →Nohi bus Takayama–Shirakawa-go–Kanazawa
• →Gassho-Zukuri farmhouse village walk (~£5)
• →Kenroku-en Garden (~£2)
• →Gold leaf / bento craft workshop (~£15)
• →Higashi Chaya district stroll

Take the Thunderbird Limited Express from Kanazawa to Kyoto (~2.5 hrs, covered by JR Pass; otherwise ~£40). Drop bags at your hostel in central Kyoto, then bus to Kinkakuji (the Golden Pavilion, ~£3). Book a Yuzen dyeing workshop (small studios in Nishijin or central Kyoto, ~£20–30 — reserve ahead via their site or GetYourGuide) to make a scarf or postcard souvenir. Late afternoon visit Sanjusangendo with its 1,001 Kannon statues (~£3). Optional evening: free walking orientation through Gion's lantern-lit lanes (or a small guided Gion walk ~£15).

🚌Limited express (JR Pass) + Kyoto city buses ~£4

🛏Kyoto hostel or guesthouse (dorm £20–28, private £55–80)

• →Thunderbird Limited Express Kanazawa–Kyoto
• →Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion (~£3)
• →Yuzen dyeing workshop (~£25)
• →Sanjusangendo (~£3)
• →Evening Gion district walk

Start at 7am at Fushimi Inari shrine — free, and you'll have the torii gates almost to yourself. Mid-morning go to Kiyomizu-dera (~£3) and walk down through the Higashiyama lanes. Kimono rental in the Gion/Higashiyama area is around £18–25 for a half day — book via Klook or a local shop the day before. Afternoon: a Japanese cooking class making miso soup, teriyaki chicken and makizushi (~£35–50, book on GetYourGuide or direct with a Kyoto cooking school). Evening free in Pontocho alley.

🚌Train + bus ~£4

🛏Kyoto hostel or guesthouse

• →Fushimi Inari early-morning hike (free)
• →Kiyomizu-dera and Higashiyama (~£3)
• →Kimono rental (~£20)
• →Japanese cooking class (~£40)
• →Pontocho alley evening stroll

Kintetsu or JR train from Kyoto to Nara (~45 min, ~£5). Walk from the station through Nara Park with its free-roaming deer (deer crackers ~£1), then Todaiji Temple with the Giant Buddha (~£4) and up to Kasuga Taisha with its thousands of lanterns (free outside, ~£3 inner sanctuary). Lunch on kakinoha-zushi or Nara's famous mochi. Return to Kyoto in the evening for a cheap izakaya dinner.

🚌Kintetsu/JR return Kyoto–Nara ~£10, local buses ~£2

🛏Kyoto hostel or guesthouse

• →Nara Park and deer feeding (~£1)
• →Todaiji Temple and Giant Buddha (~£4)
• →Kasuga Taisha Shrine (~£3)
• →Naramachi old town walk

Ride the Sanyo Shinkansen from Kyoto to Hiroshima (~1 hr 40 min — fully covered by the JR Pass, otherwise ~£70). Settle into a hostel near the station or in the Nagarekawa/Nakanishi area, then visit Shukkei-en, a compact landscaped garden (~£3). Spend the late afternoon at Peace Memorial Park, the A-Bomb Dome and the cenotaph — free to walk. Evening: Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki at a counter in Okonomimura (~£8–10).

🚌Shinkansen (JR Pass) + tram ~£1.50

🛏Hiroshima hostel or budget hotel (dorm £18–25, private £45–65)

• →Sanyo Shinkansen Kyoto–Hiroshima (JR Pass)
• →Shukkei-en Garden (~£3)
• →Peace Memorial Park and A-Bomb Dome (free)
• →Okonomimura okonomiyaki dinner (~£9)

Book the Peace Memorial Museum ticket online (~£1.20) and go early — it's a sobering, essential visit (allow 1.5–2 hrs). Also see the Peace Memorial Hall for the victims' names. After lunch, take the JR Sanyo line to Miyajimaguchi (~25 min, JR Pass) and the JR ferry across to Miyajima (covered by the JR Pass / ~£2 without). Visit Itsukushima Shrine and its floating torii (~£2), walk the Omotesando shopping street for momiji manju, and if tides allow climb or stroll up to Mt Misen ropeway. Return to Hiroshima for dinner.

🚌JR local train + ferry (JR Pass), trams ~£3

🛏Hiroshima hostel or budget hotel

• →Peace Memorial Museum (~£1.20)
• →Peace Memorial Hall
• →JR ferry to Miyajima (JR Pass)
• →Itsukushima Shrine (~£2)
• →Omotesando street food and optional Mt Misen ropeway (~£10)

Sanyo Shinkansen from Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka (~1 hr 20, JR Pass), then loop line to your hostel in Namba or Shinsekai. Visit Osaka Castle and the surrounding park (~£4 castle, park free). Afternoon and evening in Minami — walk Shinsaibashi arcade, through Amerika-mura, and Dotonbori's neon canal, grazing takoyaki, kushikatsu and the famous okonomiyaki (~£12–15 total). Osaka is the cheapest big-city food scene in Japan.

🚌Shinkansen (JR Pass) + Osaka metro ~£4

🛏Osaka hostel in Namba/Shinsekai (dorm £15–22, private £40–60)

• →Sanyo Shinkansen Hiroshima–Osaka (JR Pass)
• →Osaka Castle and park (~£4)
• →Shinsaibashi and Amerika-mura
• →Dotonbori street eating (~£14)

A flexible final full day. Options: the Open-Air Museum of Japanese Farmhouses (Ryokuchi-koen, ~£3 plus metro), a day trip to Himeji Castle (~1 hr by JR Pass, ~£6 entry), the instant-ramen museum in Ikeda, or simply more Minami wandering, Kuromon Ichiba market grazing and a rooftop onsen. Book a sento or onsen evening (~£4–8) to finish.

🚌Local trains/metro ~£5–8

🛏Osaka hostel in Namba/Shinsekai

• →Kuromon Ichiba market grazing
• →Optional Himeji Castle day trip (~£6)
• →Optional Open-Air Museum of Farmhouses (~£3)
• →Public bath/sento evening (~£5)

Last morning for a konbini breakfast and any souvenir shopping around Namba or Tennoji, then transfer to Kansai International Airport. The Nankai Rapi:t express from Namba is around £9 (or the slower Nankai line ~£6); the Haruka limited express from Tennoji is often covered by the JR Pass. Fly home.

🚌Nankai Rapi:t or JR Haruka to KIX ~£9

🛏—

• →Souvenir shopping in Namba
• →Airport transfer to KIX