Trying to fit Japan into a single week? A 7 day Japan itinerary is one of the most popular trip lengths for good reason — it’s enough time to feel the contrast between neon-lit Tokyo and quiet mountain temples, without needing weeks of vacation days. This guide walks through exactly how I spent my week in Japan, day by day, from Tokyo to Osaka, Kyoto, Mount Koya and finally Shiga — plus where to stay each night and how to get between each stop. Post updated July 2026.
Tokyo Japan
First things first: you can’t travel to Japan and skip the quirky capital — Tokyo is one of my all-time favourite cities to explore. It has so much to offer if you’re after entertainment, from karaoke bars to robot restaurants and everything in between. On a 7 day itinerary you won’t have long here, so the best approach is to treat it as a whirlwind 24 hours and come back another time for the rest.
Don’t miss: Harajuku, Shibuya
Stay 1 night: Claska Design Hotel
Osaka Japan
From Tokyo, hop on the Shinkansen (Japan’s bullet train) and you’ll arrive in Osaka, Japan’s third-largest city, in just two and a half hours. Osaka is by far my favourite metropolitan city in the country — it’s smaller and more approachable than Tokyo, with a street food scene that’s out of this world if you like all things fried.
Stay 1 night: Yamatoya Honten (Ryokan)
Kyoto Japan
Next up is Kyoto, reachable in about an hour by regional train from Osaka, or just 15 minutes by bullet train. Kyoto is my favourite destination in Japan, thanks to its endless temples, shrines, and even an ethereal bamboo grove — it’s effortlessly beautiful. Give it two full nights so you actually have time to see it, since public transport to some of the main attractions is limited and you’ll want to build in extra travel time.
Stay: 2 nights Cross Hotel Kyoto
Mount Koya Japan
From Kyoto, make your way to misty Mount Koya for a night inside a Buddhist temple — reachable by regional train and cable car in around two hours. The journey itself is a great window into regional Japanese life. Mount Koya is a mountaintop settlement built around religious sites, and it makes for the perfect homestay: the resident monks are welcoming and happy to share their culture with visitors.
Stay 1 night: Jofukuin Temple (Ryokan)
Shiga Japan
My final stop on this whirlwind tour of Japan was visiting Shiga. Shiga was an unexpected highlight of my 7 days in Japan. On this morning I woke to watch the sun rise at Shirahige Shrine, a must visit in Japan. The shrine was the perfect place to spend my last morning and surprisingly I had it all to myself.
Stay 1 night: Racine Home Harie (Ryokan)
Brooke Saward founded World of Wanderlust as a place to share inspiration from her travels and to inspire others to see our world. She now divides her time between adventures abroad and adventures in the kitchen, with a particular weakness for French pastries.