Ultimate 8 Days in Japan Itinerary: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Mount Fuji

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From zen shrines and ancient pagodas to anime and the most delicious food, it is no wonder that Japan is a bucket list destination for a lot of people. You can easily spend a month or two in Japan and still not cover all this country has to offer, however, not a lot of people have that kind of time! This is an itinerary for 8 days in Japan. In 8 days, you will cover most of the highlights on Japan’s main island, Honshu. It’s a jam packed itinerary but one that is sure to give you a good taste of Japan and make you want to come back for more!

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Tips for this 8 Days in Japan Itinerary

• If you are flying into and out of the same city, then you can split the days for that city. For example, if you land is Osaka, you can visit Osaka on day 1 and day 8, instead of 2 back to back days.
• We visited Mount Fuji during this 8 days in Japan itinerary, if you want to skip this, you can spend that extra day in any one of the other cities. See more below on adjusting your itinerary for Fuji-san.
• You can switch Kyoto and Osaka as they are only 15 minutes away via a Shinkansen.
• Use Shinkansens as much as possible to travel between cities. They do cost more but with only 8 days in Japan, they are a time saver in my honest opinion.
• There are lots of early mornings on this trip and trust me it is worth it!
• If you are traveling during Cherry Blossom Season or Golden Week, book accommodations and attractions way in advance.
• Don’t go to Japan without reading my 25 tips for visiting the country!

How to Spend 8 Days in Japan

Now that we covered some helpful tips, let’s see how exactly you can spend 8 days in Japan.

Days 1-3 – Tokyo

There is so much to do in Japan’s capital city! There’s definitely enough things to see and do for more than 3 days but with only 8 days in all of Japan, you will have to prioritize your time in Tokyo a little. The list of things to do below is a general list that caters to a wide range of interests. However, if you have specific interests, like Ghibli for example, you would probably want to swap a place or two from below and visit the Ghibli museum instead.

Places Not to Miss/Things to Do in Tokyo

• Shibuya Sky
• Takeshita Street
• Meiji Shrine
• Shibuya Crossing
• Omide Yokocho
• Golden Gai
• Kabukicho
• Asakusa sites
• Akihabara
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
• TeamLab

If you come to Tokyo during Cherry Blossom Season, then don’t miss the following places:

• Shibuya Sakura Street
• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
• Yoyogi Park
• Ueno Park
• Meguro River Cherry Blossoms Promenade
• Sumida Park
• Chidorigafuchi Moat
• Imperial Palace Gardens

I cover all this, plus where to stay, tips just for Tokyo and a lot more in THIS post. Be sure to check it out!

Tours in Tokyo

From food tours to walking tours, you can check out some top rated tours in Tokyo below!

Day 4 – Mount Fuji

You can visit Mount Fuji as a day trip from Tokyo (essentially adding a 4th night in Tokyo) or you can stay overnight in Mount Fuji. I decided to stay overnight in a small town called Kawaguchi in the hopes of seeing Fuji-san on the following morning if in case, the mighty mountain was not visible the day I visited. However, we had a bad weather spell and Fuji-san was not visible for several days. One callout if you do stay overnight is that you will have to wake up early to get back to Tokyo to catch a Shinkansen to Kyoto. Tracking back to Tokyo is the easiest and most time saving way of getting to Kyoto from Kawaguchi.

Alternatively, Hakone is another popular place to mount Fuji. Hakone is a little further away from the mountain than Kawaguchi is so the views may be more at a distance. However, you can get to Kyoto a little faster from Hakone and you don’t also have to back track back to Tokyo.

Places not to Miss/Things to Do in Kawaguchi

• Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine and Chureito Pagoda
• Visit a park or two
• Drive Around the Kawaguchi Lake
• Take a Boat Ride
• Visit a Sake brewery
• Panoramic Ropeway Cable Car

Check out the options below, if you don’t want to visit Kawaguchi and would rather do a day trip from Tokyo!

Days 5-6

Kyoto was my favorite city on this itinerary for 8 days in Japan! This city was Japan’s capital for over a thousand years and is still considered to be one of Japan’s most important cultural cities. The biggest callout for Kyoto is that you need two early mornings in Kyoto. So, if you got to Kyoto from Tokyo mid morning on day 5, then you need the mornings of day 6 and day 7 in Kyoto. Day 7 of this 8 days in Japan itinerary is technically dedicated to Osaka but since you will wake up early on day 7, you can still get to Osaka by morning time as travel time between the 2 cities is 15 minutes or less on the Shinkansen.

Places not to Miss/Things to Do in Kyoto

• Kiyomizu-dera Temple and surroundings (early morning activity)
  • Sannensaka Path
  • Ninenzaka
  • Yasaka Pagoda (also called Hokanji Temple)
• Kodai ji Temple
• Hanami-koji Street
• Philosopher’s Path (especially during Cherry Blossom season)
• Fushimi Inari Taisha (early morning activity)
• Tea ceremony – see below for a link to a detailed guide
• Nishiki Market
• Kinkaku-ji
• Arashiyama bamboo forest – some people go to Arashiyama early morning but honestly I don’t think the grove is worth it to wake up early for. There are other bamboo forests (covered in my Kyoto post) that you can see instead. Whereas the other 2 places I have called out above are worth it to wake up early for.

See my very detailed post on Kyoto HERE

Kyoto is the best place to participate in a Japanese Tea Ceremony. Learn more HERE

Tours in Kyoto

Check out these highly rated tours in Kyoto!

Days 7-8 – Osaka

Osaka is considered the kitchen of Japan and is famous for some of the best food in the country! You can spend your 2 days in Osaka in 3 ways.

1. Take the 2 days slow and easy and wander through Osaka
2. Take in the sights of Osaka on one day and take a day trip to either Hiroshima OR Himeji
3. Take in the sights of Osaka on one day and take a day trip to both Hiroshima AND Himeji

I cover how to do 2 and 3 in-depth in THIS post.

If I had to pick an option, I would pick 3 (because that is also what we did) but, you will have to start your days early.

Places not to Miss in Himeji and Hiroshima

• Himeji Castle
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial
• The Cenotaph
• Children’s Peace Monument
• A-Bomb Dome
• Shukkei-en Garden
• Hiroshima Castle (skippable if you went to Himeji)

Places not to Miss/Things to Do in Osaka

• Osaka Castle
• Shiteno-ji Temple
• Dotonbori
• Shin Sekai “New World”

Check out THIS post on the top sights in the city of Osaka.

Tours in Osaka

Check out these top rated tours in Osaka that you may want to explore if you have time.

With More Time

You can visit some of the surrounding areas in these major cities if you have more time. See some suggestions below.

• Nara
• Kobe
• Kamakura

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