For the longest time, I did not want to go to Japan.
It’s always been on my bucket list, mind. But I don’t like when things end and I did not want the sadness that would come with leaving Japan.
My husband eventually bullied me into booking the trip. Unfortunately, I was right. I was SO sad coming back to India from Japan and I’m already insisting we go back soon.
Here’s how we spent our two weeks in Japan. We went in late November/early December so it was peak fall foliage season! We also predominantly walked everywhere and did a lot of trails, so you’ll find that this is an itinerary that will let you maximize on time with maple leaves and gingko trees.
14 day Japan Itinerary: Overview
| Days | Details |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Land in Tokyo |
| Days 2 to 4 | Tokyo attractions + day trips |
| Days 5 and 6 | Fujikawaguchiko |
| Days 7 to 10 | Kyoto attractions + day trips |
| Days 11 to 14 | Osaka attractions + day trips |
| Day 15 | Fly back home |
Tokyo itinerary
Tokyo has a lot of attractions so you should really pick the ones that suit you best. For instance, we knew we weren’t too keen on nightlife and wanted to be closer to Asakusa and the Sumida River for mornings dedicated to riverside walking. We found a cozy Airbnb in Sumida City, in a calm and peaceful neighborhood. Surprisingly, it was only a 5-minute walk from Tokyo Skytree and we pretty much walked to most of our favorite attractions!
Day 1: Settling in, orienting yourself
Waking up on Day 1 was the hardest part for me, being from India where the clocks are behind Japan. But, I persevered, if only to maximize my 14 days in Japan as much as possible.
We’d landed the previous night and instead of going to bed at a respectable hour, wandered the streets of Asakusa. That’s how we stumbled across Keisuke Gyoza Bar, a place I would highly recommend checking out. It’s a tiny little restaurant that almost feels like someone’s home kitchen.
Keisuke-sama who runs the place had us making our own gyozas too and also sent us home with a bunch of reading material on where to find vegetarian and vegan food in Tokyo. Such a thoughtful gentleman and one of the best ways to start our trip, really!
Senso-ji Temple
Wake up bright and early on day 1 and head to Senso-ji temple. You’ll have to pass through Kaminarimon Gate, the famous red lantern at the entrance to the shrine. Beyond this lies Nakamise Dori, a pedestrian street lined with stalls selling ningyo-yaki, lucky charms, and every variety of regional snack imaginable. Remember to not eat any of the food you purchase on the main temple street. The stall-keepers have warning signs throughout about this and sometimes even point you towards side streets where it is okay to eat food.
Senso-ji temple is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple and it draws a huge crowd. Try to head early to avoid the crowd. Inside the shrine, we read our fortunes and we both got Bad Luck so that was a fun way to start the trip, heh.
Asakusa Culture Tourist Center
This was an interesting visit after we were done at the temple. Asakusa Culture Tourist Center has a free observation terrace that gives you a sweeping view over the temple roof and the Tokyo skyline. It’s a surprising view point with such a mesmerising view.
We took the stairs on the way down and stumbled upon a really fun puzzle-hunt of sorts to learn more about Asakusa. Every landing on the 8 flights of stairs had a puzzle we had to solve, with their answers leading to a final key we had to hand over to the reception. It got us some really cute stickers as presents.
With Senso-ji Temple being such a huge tourist destination, it’s very easy to find vegan food in the area. We wandered into a random vegan ramen place and ended up having such a fulfilling lunch. That did not stop us from wandering the alleyways around the area to munch on some more snacks along the way.
We ended up spending the entire afternoon in the Senso-ji area and I have no regrets.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Post lunch, we caught a train to Shinjuku and headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. An observation deck on the 45th floor gives you panoramic views of the city. And downstairs, you can see a stunning light show on the facade of the building once it gets darker.
Day 2: Tired pandas and Tokyo’s book town
This was perhaps our busiest day in Tokyo. We covered a bunch of diverse attractions and somehow decided to torture our legs by walking to most of them.
Ueno Zoo
On Day 2, my husband decided he had to see the pandas in Ueno Zoo even though we are not zoo people in general. My tip for this day would be to get to the zoo bright and early as it gets crowded.
Ueno Zoo has two pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, and both of them come with a huge wait time. We waited in line for close to two hours and were granted this great view of Lei Lei’s back. We then walked past an enclosure with a tired looking polar bear and it was a stark reminder of why we avoid zoos in the first place so we high-tailed it outta here pretty quickly after.
Vegan lunch place recommendation: T’s TanTan Ecute Ueno
Jimbocho book town
Jimbocho is Tokyo’s legendary book district that I’ve wanted to go to ever since I read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop. This neighbourhood is filled with bookshops that spill their paperbacks onto outdoor shelves along the street. You’ll find everything from vintage manga to coffee table books in Japanese (which I cannot read but somehow still wanted to buy).
I went in the evening which, in hindsight, was a mistake. A lot of the smaller shops had already shuttered for the day. But even with half the street closed, it was lovely to wander. I buy a book in every country I visit and my Japan book was supposed to be from Jimbocho but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any English book by a Japanese author in the limited stores that were open.
We also walked all the way from Ueno to Jimbocho, which in hindsight was bonkers but we loved all the sights we saw along the way.
On the way, we crossed what we later learned was the Hijiri-bashi Bridge where a bunch of people were waiting with cameras set up. Turns out this is a great spot to observe multiple trains on tracks at the same time. We saw two and it was mesmerizing!
This is yet another reason why we love walking across cities in new countries. We don’t get to do it a lot at home and you never know what beautiful sight you will stumble across!
Shibuya: Tsutaya the Famous Crossing
After Jimbocho, we headed to Shibuya (by train, thankfully) for what I had mentally categorized as a Sit Down And Do Nothing stint, which we absolutely needed at this point in the day.
Since I had decided to buy a book on this day and I was not ready to give up, I headed to Tsutaya Bookstore in Shibuya where I finally got my Japan book. It’s part bookshop, part cafe. We planted ourselves at the Starbucks inside and ordered over-customized coffees to rest our legs while drinking.
After, we headed a couple floors up to watch the crossing for free. Like I said before, we weren’t too keen on this but it was fun to observe nonetheless. We called it a day soon after.
Day 3: Day trip to Nikko
Nikko was the day trip I was most excited about, and it delivered completely. It’s a 2-hour train ride away so we caught the earliest train out to get maximum time at Nikko.
As soon as our train pulled into Nikko, I was hyped up. You can purchase bus passes at the station to head into the mountains. This is an unlimited ride ticket that you will need, especially if you’re exploring Nikko in a day trip and want to check off attractions soon. We took the Yumoto Onsen Bus Free Pass, as we wanted to start off with an underrated (ish) gem of a trail.
Senjogahara Marshland
This is a vast highland plateau with wooden boardwalk paths cutting through stunning scenery throughout. Since we went in autumn, there weren’t a lot of flowers here but the views were immaculate regardless.
Ryuzu Falls
There is a walking trail to Ryuzu Falls right from the marshland. It’s a bit of a trek so if you’d rather skip it, hop on to any of the buses to get to the waterfall instead.
Ryuzu Falls is also called the Dragon’s Head waterfall, named for the way the river splits around a boulder at the top into two streams that supposedly resemble a dragon’s horns. In peak koyo season, the maple trees around the falls go completely ablaze and the whole scene becomes almost aggressively beautiful.
There is a cafe and restaurant near the waterfalls. We grabbed some appetizers at the cafe and ice cream to eat while watching the falls from a view point nearby.
Walk along Lake Chuzenji
Because my husband and I are complete nuts, we continued ignoring the bus pass to walk along Lake Chuzenji and head to our next stop. I loved the crunch of all the fallen leaves and was essentially hopping down the walking paths while my long-suffering husband kept an eye out for pit vipers, apparently common in the area.
Kegon falls
This was perhaps the most crowded tourist spot we went to a Nikko. While I prefer peaceful spots more, I ended up liking this one as well because it is one of Japan’s 3 greatest waterfalls. It drops 97 metres in a single plunge (!!) and honestly stopped me in my tracks.
Since it was late November, the sun set early and day trippers from Tokyo similar to us headed back by 6-ish. Our Spacia X train from Tobu Nikko was even sold out. It’s a very comfortable limited express and I highly recommend booking seats in advance (both to and fro) if you’re going on this day trip.
Days 4 & 5: Fujikawaguchiko
On day 4, we woke up bright and early to take the Fuji Excursion train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko. It’s a lovely journey in itself. The train was quiet, clean, and it gets very scenic out the windows very fast. My anticipation was off the charts on this train ride. And anticipation was unfortunately all I was getting that day. Oops.
We arrived at Kawaguchiko to absolutely zero visibility. It was raining, it was cold, and there was mist everywhere. I did not even know which direction Fujisan was in.
If someone had pointed at a car park and told me that was Mount Fuji, I’d have believed them. Probably.
But all was not lost. There is apparently a lot to do even when your main attraction is AWOL. Armed with the best listicles Google could spit up, we started the day at the Fujisan World Heritage Center which helped us orient ourselves to the area and learn more about Fuji 5 Lakes.
Our day also ended here because the rains wouldn’t abate and the cold was unbearable, seeing as we had delightfully taken only light sweaters to this vacation. Which was poor planning in hindsight.
We retreated to the Airbnb where I obsessively checked the Mt. Fuji visibility site to reassure myself with its 10/10 for the next day.
I went to bed with all my fingers and toes crossed that the mountain would be more cooperative the next day.
Aanand, she was
We set an alarm for 4:30am, which is not something I do willingly, and stumbled outside into the dark.
We made it exactly two steps out of the Airbnb before we saw her.
I don’t have adequate words for what Fujisan looks like when she’s fully clear at dawn. She is enormous and perfect and completely unreal. My partner and I just stood there for a moment, completely stunned.
We’d planned to cycle the full Kawaguchiko loop but the cold had other ideas. Our hands were freezing on to the handle bars to the point where we stopped at a convenience store to pick up thicker biking gloves. It was still a bitingly cold morning so we abandoned our biking plans, but not before we made our first stop on the loop.
Momiji tunnel
This is a canopied corridor of maple trees and is such a sight with fall foliage. We clicked a bunch of pictures here before retreating to the Airbnb once again.
Kawaguchiko Circular Trail
Biking plans foiled, we decided to walk the trail instead. And it was the best decision ever!
We walked the entire loop and hit every viewpoint we could find. Oishi Park, Yagizaki Park, Oike Park,… we stopped at so many different spots along the way. Some, I don’t even know the names of, but the view was so good, we couldn’t resist getting more shots of Fujisan in all her glory. And yeah, I took approximately 400 photos that all look essentially the same and I regret nothing.
Lunch recommendation: Sansuien (山水縁) Japanese Restaurant
In all, this was one of my favorite days throughout the vacation. My one disappointment: We wanted to take out a swan boat or row a little boat on the lake. It looked so charming! However, all the rentals we went to only accepted cash and we were unfortunately cashless that one day. Poor planning struck once again. Buuuut, no regrets!
The day had been so good that even this couldn’t dent it. Plus, we still got to row a boat in a few short days anyway.
Day 6: Leaving for Kyoto and one very Instagrammable shrine
We had grand plans for Chureito Pagoda the next morning and Fujisan was still gracing us with visibility, albeit not as good as the previous day. However, our extraordinary previous day where we walked 18KMs (!!) had us bone tired and we could not summon the motivation to set another predawn alarm to avoid crowds.
We skipped the Pagoda altogether, slept in, and had a konbini picnic by the lake. Best possible last few hours at Kawaguchiko, if you asked me.
We then boarded a bus to Mishima to catch the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto.
This was our first experience on a bullet train and it did not disappoint! Like most experiences in life, the bullet train too was something I’d read about in a book (Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka) and it was thrilling to actually experience it in real life.
Don’t forget to grab a bento at the station to have the full experience. I bought this vegan bento box and it was as drool-worthy as it looks!
Fushimi Inari
We checked into our Kyoto Airbnb and then walked straight to Fushimi Inari. I know, I know. We’d just arrived. But we had a plan.
Fushimi Inari is Kyoto’s most visited shrine and it gets such dense crowds. This entire trip, we’d been going places with as few people as possible. If it was a crowded tourist spot, we went early or really late if it was still open to avoid the crowds.
So we did Fushimi Inari at 7pm instead.
There were maybe ten other people at the entire shrine. The gates looked just as pretty at night and the shrine was so quiet and still. The view from the top was also simply stunning, with the city spread out below and no one else around.
Ah, it was beautiful!
Day 7: Arashiyama
We took the first train to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and arrived right at opening time, which I will always recommend. The bamboo grove was peaceful and only a handful of people were around. We even had some stretches nearly to ourselves. But it only took a few minutes for the tour buses to start arriving and by the time we left in the afternoon, it was genuinely heaving.
Somewhere in Arashiyama we stumbled onto a trail we absolutely had not planned for and were significantly underprepared for footwear-wise. I was in Toms and the worst half was wearing tennis shoes. We had no business climbing up the mountain trail but we did anyway. Looking back, it was quite dangerous to do so, tbh.
Anyway, this trail involved a steep climb through a forest and ends at a summit with panoramic views of all of Kyoto. Only three or four other people were attempting it at the same time. And just when we were considering turning back, a Japanese uncle overtook us in crocs. Yeeeep. We said nothing, pulled ourselves together, and persevered.
We came back down to more fall foliage and then to Togetsukyo Bridge, where we rented a rowboat and spent over an hour on the river. This was one of the best decisions of the entire trip (I’ve said it many times in this article and I mean it each time. Welp.) and it well made up for not getting to row in Lake Kawaguchiko.
We then had ice cream by the river and headed back home for the day.
Day 8: Shrines and trails (again)
Even while planning this itinerary from back home, I knew I would have shrine fatigue. So there were very few shrines I had on my list in the first place. However, what I did not account for was trail fatigue. We were averaging 30,000 steps every single day and it was taking a toll on us. So Day 8 ended up being a milder walking day of sorts.
Ginkaku-ji
We started the day at Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion. By this point in the trip, we had been to a lot of shrines and our enthusiasm had started plateauing. But that’s just us. We are not temple people. Despite the fatigue, Ginkaku-ji is genuinely beautiful.
The street leading to the shrine is lined with shops selling souvenirs and snacks. I highly recommend checking out Matsubaya’s handmade cream puffs! We loved them so much, we went back another day for the treats.
Also, right behind the shrine, there was a trail we were looking forward to since before we left home but we skipped it anyway because our feet hurt. Don’t worry, we went back in just a couple of days because we weren’t going to leave any trail unwalked (is that even a word?!) before we left Japan.
Philosopher’s Path
Saving the Daimonjiyama trail for another day, we walked the Philosopher’s Path instead. This is a 2 KM canal-side walk named for the philosopher Nishida Kitaro who apparently used this exact route for his daily meditation. It was definitely meditative for us too and we kept stopping to rest on the park benches along the path.
Restaurant recommendation in the area: Omen Ginkakuji Honten
Keage incline
We then accidentally discovered the Keage Incline, a 582-metre stretch of disused cargo railway track from 1891 that runs along a slope. We had actually gone looking for a toilet. But there it was, this beautiful old track just sitting there open to the public, and we walked it and felt very pleased with ourselves for stumbling onto it. It was designated as a National Heritage Site in 1996 and we found it because we needed a loo. Heh.
Our luck with fall foliage continued here too and we got some stunning pictures at this location.
Nishiki market
We then caught a bus to Nishiki Market and had excellent vegan ramen at Kyoto Engine Ramen, then dessert at Koe Donuts. We also did some window shopping here but did not buy any souvenirs as we still had one last leg of our journey. We were saving all our shopping for Osaka.
Yasaka Pagoda
We then walked around the historic Higashiyama district. Since it was dark out, many shops were closed and the neighborhood was quiet and peaceful.
We stopped in front of the Yasaka Pagoda for quite a bit and fell in love with how it looked at night.
Our feet tired, we then headed back to our Airbnb.
Day 9: Kyoto Railway Museum
A chill day. The husband had been agitating for the Kyoto Railway Museum since we landed, so we went. It is a genuinely excellent museum if you like trains, which he does very much, and which I do not, and yet I had a good time. He behaved like a child in the best possible way. I ate a lot of snacks and felt content, haha.
Day 10: Daimonjiyama, finally
We did the trail we’d bailed on two days earlier. And it was a 12 out of 10.
The hike up from behind Ginkaku-ji took about a half hour and the view from the summit was everything we’d been promised. While this was an easier trail to go up, it did get steep occasionally but a seniors group kept us going by being faster than us up the stairs. An all-round humbling experience.
After lunch, we packed up and headed to the station to board a train to Osaka. We got one with Hello Kitty livery entirely by chance and I took that as a good sign for the remainder of the trip.
Days 11 to 14: Osaka
Osaka ended up being our favourite leg of the journey. Yes, even above Kawaguchiko. Which is very surprising because Osaka generally does not get a lot of positive reviews beyond its food and nightlife. I politely disagree and put forward the opinion that y’all just don’t know where to go in Osaka.
Day 11: Falls, shrines, and the fact that you can deep-fry anything
This was an action packed day and I would suggest doing it in the exact same order, especially if you’re okay with day trips from Osaka.
Minoh falls
We took a train out to Minoh Falls first thing in the morning. You can get on the trail through Minoo park as soon as you get off the train. And this trail was gorgeous! We kept stopping so much along the way to photograph the fall foliage, which Minoh has in abundance.
By the falls, there are also some benches where you can sit and observe the majestic waterfall. 10/10 will recommend.
There are a lot of shops along the trail where you can buy snacks. We held out as this was early in the morning and we were going to come back to the trail in the afternoon anyway.
Katsuoji temple
From Minoh, we walked about 3 KMs to Katsuoji Temple. This became my favourite shrine of the entire trip, which surprised me given that I’d declared myself a non-shrine person somewhere around Day 8 in Kyoto.
But Katsuoji is different. It is a mountain temple covered in Daruma dolls (wishing dolls) left by visitors over the years. There’s hundreds of them in every corner and on every ledge. I even found some slotted in the bars of a gate!
The concept is lovely, too. These are hollow round wishing dolls you buy and paint one eye as you make a wish. You then paint in the other eye only after your wish comes true, and when it does, you come back to Katsuoji to leave your doll there.
So now you can imagine how powerful it must feel to see signs of people’s realized wishes scattered all across the massive shrine. Thrills, thrills!
At Katsuoji, don’t miss out on the stamp rally that comes with your entrance ticket. There are 6 stamp stations throughout the temple and once you collect all 6 on the same postcard, you get a layered image of Daruma dolls.
I was honestly charmed by the entire temple and cannot recommend it enough!
Once done here, we walked back through Minoh and ate momiji tempura on the way out. Yes, actual autumn leaves, battered and fried because you really can deep-fry anything! It was crispy, slightly sweet, and genuinely delectable.
Dotonbori at night
This was our first night in Osaka so we made our way to the Dotonbori canal to take in the lights and energy of the area. There are canal cruises you can take. We just walked along the canal and stepped in and out of shops to plan what souvenirs we’re going to take back home.
Vegan restaurant recommendation: Pivot BASE cafe and bar
Day 12: Hoshi no Buranko
Another train, another trail. This time to Hoshi no Buranko, the Star Swing Bridge, a 280-metre suspension footbridge strung across a steep forested valley in Hoshida Park. The fall colours here were even better than Minoh, which I hadn’t thought possible.
The bridge honestly looked mildly terrifying in photos but it’s actually wonderful once you’re on it. It does sway slightly over the canopy below so don’t say I didn’t warn you. But it’s so, so worth stomaching, for the view is fantastic!
Pro tip: Don’t stop once you walk the bridge. There’s a viewpoint a little further along the trail from where you can see the city spread out below you. It’s completely worth the extra 15 minutes of walking uphill!
We’d planned on heading to Umeda for some in-city sightseeing but ended up eating our weight in ramen and too tired to do anything else. So we called it a day soon after.
Day 13: Abandoned Railways and Budgets
The next day, we once again did a short day trip.
Takedao Abandoned railway hike
We caught a train to Hyogo prefecture to do the Takedao abandoned railway hike. The hike goes through old railway tunnels from a line that shut down in the early 20th century. It’s pitch dark inside the tunnels so take a torch. iPhone flashlights are not enough and we learned it the hard way.
The trail also runs alongside a river through a gorge. It honestly felt straight out of a movie. The husband and I were singing Chaiyya Chaiyya (Thaiyya Thaiyya is superior. I said what I said.) throughout and it was truly a scenic and cinematic hike.
We finished the day in the city, at Uniqlo, where we spent more money than we had planned and felt no remorse.
Day 14: Last Day
We spent the entire day shopping and eating in equal parts.
Ironically, the last day was when we had both the best okonomiyaki and ramen we’d ever had the entire trip. We also tried some of the viral foods like Rikuro’s Cheesecake and the 10 yen coin, both of which were too eggy for my liking and I would not recommend if we have similar palates.
Our last ramen was at an Izakaya we stumbled into that somehow did a vegetarian ramen for us. We ate hella slowly because we knew what came next.
We did not want to go home.
I had been right about Japan all along: it was going to leave a mark, and it did, and I’m already working on convincing my husband we need to go back.
Soon.
Aaand, that’s all!
Planning a Japan vacation can be overwhelming but I hope this guide was a good start! Let me know if you have any questions about the itinerary in the comments below and I will try my best to answer them.
xx Shruti
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