7-Day Japan Travel Itinerary for First-Time Travelers
I, like many others, have heard of friends and family tell stories about their trips to Japan, and I wanted to get in on the action. So I went and planned my first trip in May of 2024. However I soon came to realize that making my itinerary was no small feat and actually required quite a few hours of research and planning, and it was a little nerve-racking as well because I had never been so I had no idea whether the hotels I was staying at or the cities I would be seeing would be remotely close to how they looked online. Luckily it turned out that I made some truly great decisions and had an absolute blast on my first trip, and now I’m here to tell you about how to spend a week in Japan.
First off I would highly recommend staying at least 1-2 weeks in Japan as there is so much to do and you can never truly do everything. To this day I still find myself going back to explore more areas in a city I’ve been in multiple times.
Where to Spend Your Week in Japan
Tokyo
Tokyo, one of the places that should be on your list of travel destinations no matter what.
If you’re only staying 1 week in Japan then I highly recommend visiting Tokyo. Honestly you could probably spend your entire week here, there is so much to do. From the insane amount of restaurants and themed cafes to the busy streets of Harajuku and Akihabara, you’ll have no issue with finding things to do.
Osaka
Osaka, there’s no better place to experience what the night life scene of Japan has to offer.
Osaka has multiple locations for good eats and historical sites. Whether you want to visit Osaka castle or walk down the Dotonbori River and try all the street food. Not to mention Universal Japan is located here as well with Super Nintendo World.
Kyoto
Kyoto, a window into Japan’s 1,000 year old imperial capital.
Kyoto one of the oldest cities in Japan has much to offer. Aside from their extremely well preserved historical sites, Kyoto also has a variety of amazing traditional food. If you fancy a walk down to the Kamo river you may get to see locals enjoying the sunset and some wonderful live music!
Average Cost of 1 Week in Japan
As the Japanese yen grows weaker there really has never been a better time to travel to Japan. Not including flights more frugal travelers could get by on around $100 USD per day. On the higher end, for at least one traveler, you probably aren’t spending more than $500 USD per day. Depending on where you stay your average amount spent for the entire week will generally be around $2500-$4500 USD. I always recommend to aim a little higher in case of emergencies and for if you stumble across an experience you want to do.
At the End of the Day
You won’t be able to “do everything” with only one week in Japan. However, that doesn’t mean you wont have an amazing time. With everything Japan has to offer regardless of how long you stay I guarantee you’ll have many stories to return home with. If you have visited Japan before then a one week trip can be the perfect opportunity to further explore places you have been previously, and get a deeper understanding of the country as a whole. Interested? Start planning your trip!