I went on my first international trip this year to Japan and it was nothing short of amazing. I figured when the memory starts to fade away, I want to have something to remember it by so I decided to do a (very late) recap of my Japan 10 Day Itinerary for first time visitors.

I did a ton of research before I went so I wanted to share my itinerary not only for me to remember but also for other first timers as I’ve had inquiries from friends to share my itinerary with them.

For reference, I went during the Cherry Blossom season during the spring time.

For preparations before your trip see: JAPAN TRIP PART 1: HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR TRIP.

I sketched out a day by day breakdown, but as most things in life, sometimes plans will go awry so always make room for error. I will be the first to admit that my itinerary is not perfect. In fact, I had to adjust my itinerary because I was meeting up with some friends who were going to be in a certain city on a particular day that I hadn’t planned to be at until later.

So I figured, I would write out my 10-day itinerary how I had originally planned it from the start. This is a 10-day itinerary covering Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hakone.

*Note: I left out many restaurants from my itinerary so if the itinerary looks slightly empty, make sure you don’t jam pack it without regards to food! After all, one of the best things about Japan is their food.

My friends and I booked some reservations and tried fancy Michelin star restaurants that took up to hours of standing. I’m a foodie but honestly some of the best food I tasted were street foods and off-the street restaurants that caught my eye so I will not bother listing most of the food places. It’s personal preference after all. I’ll only mention a few of my absolute favorites.

In order to maximize time and minimize travel, we grouped our visits by region so that’s how I approached my day-by-day itinerary. Here it is!

10-Day Japan Itinerary

Day 0

Arrive at Narita Airport. Head to Tokyo. You may use your JR pass (which I highly recommend getting in Part 1 of this recap) to get on the Narita Express (N’EX) for free.

**If you are following my itinerary do not activate your JR Pass yet since you’ll want to time it in close proximity to when you take your trip to Osaka/Kyoto if you only have the 7-day JR Pass.

For other transportation options see Part 1: Preparing for Your Japan Trip.

Day 1

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden – we saw some of the most beautiful cherry blossoms at this park. While it was crowded, I was still able to take some individual pictures without a crowd in the background (unlike at Ueno Park – more on that).

What to skip: I also went to Yoyogi Park but felt it was a bit underwhelming. We were in search of the cherry blossom as Yoyogi Park was actually our first destination in Japan but did not find any so that added to the disappointment.

While the park was serene and provided some quiet solace, we found ourselves spending a long time walking around this huge park with not much to see. So in a do-over, I’d skip Yoyogi Park and it’s nearby Meiji Shrine (there will be more shrines to see later).

Shinjuku Gyoen provided a better alternative if cherry blossoms is your target. If you are looking for a serene walk through a massive park, then definitely still consider Yoyogi Park.

I wish I took it easy on my first day which is why this revised first day itinerary doesn’t have much. We waited hours chasing down food with long lines so if you have any places you want to try out feel free to add it to this day.

Some of my must tries are: Ichiran Ramen and Pepper Lunch.

I don’t know if we were just super hungry after a whole day of traveling, but Pepper Lunch was so so delicious. Basically they give you a sizzlingly hot dish and you have to mix the meat yourself to cook it.

It’s oddly satisfying to see the meat cook right in front of you, ready to be devoured into your stomach.

Don’t underestimate how time consuming it is to travel and wait in line for food.

Day 2

Tsuta Ramen – out of the 3 Michelin star ramens I tried in Japan, this is the one I loved the most. Tsuta is popular for their truffle Ramen. The queuing system is such that you have to get a ticket in the morning (tickets start being given out at 8am first come, all party must be present).

After you give 1000 yen deposit (refundable when you come back in to que), they will give you a designated time to come back. You just come back after that time, stay in the small line of people queing at the same time as you and get in.

Ueno Park – After getting a ticket to que for Ramen, head straight to Ueno Park. It is absolutely iconic for cherry blossom viewing but very crowded. But be sure to keep track and head back at the designated time to que back at Tsuta Ramen if that’s part of your itinerary.

Asakusa – We next headed to Asakusa to see Sensoji Temple, which is the oldest temple in Tokyo. On the way to temple is Nakamise street where I found some of the best street foods in Tokyo!

I also got my fortune after doing a fortune ritual (if that’s what you call it?). I’m probably only excited about the fortune since I actually got a good fortune that said I’d have the best fortune this year…. that remains to be seen.

Sumida Park – nice cherry blossoms along the Sumida-Ku river if you haven’t had enough yet. Overall, we had a nice stroll along the Sumida River.

Day 3

DiverCity – We headed to DiverCity Tokyo Plaza for some shopping and to see the life-sized Unicorn Gundam statue.

*Note: my friends and I kept putting off our souvenir/bring back home shopping thinking we didn’t want to fill up our luggage until the end of the trip. We also kept thinking we’d find better deals elsewhere.

We ended up scrambling during our last day getting all the things we wanted so I recommend just buying whatever you want when you see them.

You’ll be able to find many shops inside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza so if something looks appealing, I’d just buy it then and there although there is one more big plaza (Tokyo Skytree) coming up at the end of this trip so this won’t be your last chance to buy gifts.

Digital Art Museum (needs reservation) – We also went to the Digital Art Museum that was nothing short of breathtaking. The pictures absolutely cannot do the place justice and I definitely recommend booking a reservation to see this place.

I’ve never see anything like it in my life.

Day 4

Robot Restaurant – Back to the heart of Shinjuku, prepare to be mind-blown by booking a reservation at the Robot Restaurant. This is more of a show than a restaurant and it is a 10-billion worth establishment.

Bright lights, flashy dancers, robots out of this world are some of the things you’ll experience at this show.

Honorable mentions – Shinjuku Golden Gai.

We spent Day 4 mostly resting because a bunch of us were feeling sick/tired after non-stop going out. What we had planned for the night was to go bar-hopping around the Golden Gai narrow alleys so definitely check that out if that sounds interesting to you.

Day 5

It’s travel day! Travel to Osaka and check in to your lodging. Time to activate that JR Pass and ride the futuristic Shinkansen bullet train.

On a clear day, it’s possible to see Mt Fuji if you sit on the right side of the train around 40-45 minutes into the journey. Unfortunately I knocked out about 20 minutes into the ride and proceeded to miss the view although it was a clear sunny day. 🙁

Kurumon Market – if you haven’t had enough street food (that’s a trick… because you can never have enough street food in Japan), head to Kuromon Market which specializes in seafood street foods!

Dotonbori – we explored Dotonbori which is the one-stop shop for entertainment and food in Osaka.

Skip – Shitenno-ji Temple. Looked nice but didn’t leave much of an impression.

Day 6

Osaka Castle – take a quick peek at Osaka Castle before heading on a day trip to Kyoto (we decided to stay in our lodging in Osaka for the duration of our Osaka/Kyoto part of the trip so every time we headed to Kyoto, it was only for a day trip).

Kyoto – Kyoto was one of my favorite parts of this Japan trip. Unlike Tokyo and Osaka, it offered a glimpse into the more traditional side of Japan.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest and Monkey Park – The bamboo forest and monkey park are very close together so definitely hit these two hotspots together. I have to say, more than the actual forest or the park, the journey there was beautiful! Hands down it was the most memorable part of the trip and the best view I had in Japan.

Arashiyama Monkey Park – Underwhelming. A few monkeys here and there roaming around. Nice view at the top, but I’ve seen my fair share of monkeys before so it wasn’t too mind-blowing.

Day 7

Fushimi Inari – we made our way to the iconic thousand orange torii gates. And boy was it crowded. You definitely have to keep going farther to get rid of the crowd if you want a get a solo picture.

Regardless of how far up you want to go through the torii gates and how fast you make the journey, for the most part it shouldn’t take more than 4 hours to go all the way up and back down the shrine which leaves you quite a bit of time to see other parts of Kyoto.

Golden Pavilion – we made our way to the Golden Pavilion floating on a pond which is one of the symbolic images of Kyoto.

My impression of it was that it was exactly as I imagined from the google images I saw when I was researching my itinerary.

Maruyama Park – as the day was coming to an end and we were losing light, we made our way to Maruyama Park which was surprisingly beautiful. We were greeted with this beautiful cherry blossom tree with the dusk backdrop. Needless to say, I took about 20 minutes taking a picture of this tree from all the angles I could get.

We walked around Maruyama Park for quite a bit, enjoying the various food offered at the food stands. There was also an outside dining area with beautiful light decorations that looked like you would need a reservation to get seatings for but we were too full already to look into.

Skip – Philosopher’s Path. I’m not sure why this was even on my itinerary but it was definitely not worth the trip. I vaguely remember seeing beautiful cherry blossoms along a river on my research but I definitely did not see that at all when I went there. Maybe the cherry blossoms just haven’t bloomed yet.

Day 8

Cup Noodle Museum – We decided to forgo our trip to Nara to see the bowing deer because we read that the deers could get quite aggressive (hah! I kid you not…). Plus none of us were really into deers.

Instead we stayed in Osaka and made a trip to the Cup Noodle Museum to make our own cup noodles.

With our very own cup noodles in hand, we ended our Osaka/Kyoto journey and made our way back to Tokyo with a stop at Hakone.

Day 9

Day Trip to Hakone – I knew that the number 1 must do for me in Japan was going to an onsen (Japanese hot spring) and through my research, Hakone kept popping up as the mountainous resort town known for its many onsens. I knew I had to make a day trip out of it.

We decided that it was best to save the relaxing onsen for the last leg of the trip when we’d be exhausted after a jam-packed itinerary.

There are public and private onsens available (private ones will be more expensive obviously). My friends and I were split with some deciding to do the private and some wanting the full public (completely naked with strangers) experience.

Guess which one I went for? Yep, I did the public onsen. I instantly felt so self-conscious to be completely bare naked in front of strangers but strangely enough, got used to it in a matter of minutes and was fine.

Obviously… no pictures allowed to show but it was great. I went to the onsen at Hotel Green Plaza Hakone which allows you to pay for an onsen visit without being a hotel guest.

As luck goes, although sunny, it was not a clear enough day for me to have a view of Mt Fuji which was supposedly divine from the women’s onsen if it had been a clear day.

Honorable mention: unlucky (again) for me, the Hakone torii was under reparation when I went. Hakone torii is famous for being right on the lake and I was actually really excited to see it, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Nakameguro Cherry Blossom – Making our way back to Tokyo, we stopped by at night to see the cherry blossom lit up by the Meguro River. It was gorgeous and I saw many girls dressed up in kimono taking pictures with the river and cherry blossom in the backdrop.

Day 10

Pokemon cafe – we booked a reservation in advance for the Pokemon Cafe and it was literally the cutest thing I’ve seen in my life! From a dancing pikachu to food made to look like your favorite Pokemon, it was a dream come true, bringing my childhood fantasy to reality.

Tokyo Skytree — alright, it’s time to shop till you drop! It’s the last day in Japan so make sure you get all the souvenirs and food you want to bring back home. The good news is Tokyo Skytree is a one stop shop for every thing you’d want. This is where you can get all the good food to bring home. My personal favorite is the Tokyo Cheese Factory. But don’t just trust me on this, they’ll give you samples to try!

Day 11

Travel back to Narita (use N’EX) – Say goodbye to Japan as you make your way back home. If you time your itinerary like mine, your JR pass should still be active so you can ride the N’EX back to Narita from Tokyo for no extra cost. 🙂

Surprising Things About Japan

Some random but surprising things I found out about Japan that you might be interested to know:

• No trash cans anywhere: for such a clean country, it was dang hard to find any trash cans around the street… I mean what do people do? Just carry their trash back home? This still remains a mystery to me.

• It’s rude to walk and eat: also a huge surprise as there are literally 7-Elevens everywhere that you can get anything from rice balls to oden on the go. It would have been perfect to just grab some rice balls and eat it on my way to the train station, but it’s considered rude in Japanese culture to eat while walking.

• Beige trench coat is the craze: I always love how Japanese women can look so effortlessly put together. Now that I think about it, trench coats really give that effortlessly chic look. I didn’t expect to see 80% of the women riding the train to all be wearing beige trench coats though. So I guess, if you really want to fit in, pack yourself a beige trench coat (or anything neutral) on your trip.

And that’s a wrap for this Japan 10 Day Itinerary for First Time Visitors. I hope this was helpful and you have an amazing trip to Japan!