Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka in 12 days

This 12-day trip follows the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka line by Shinkansen (Japan's high-speed rail), with two ryokan nights in the mountains of Hakone and a day in Nara: it is the most common first trip to Japan, for a couple or friends, in spring or autumn. Eleven nights in four hotels from Umika's selection, with only three changes of hotel.

The trip at a glance

Japan is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop. You arrive in Tokyo and leave from Osaka, through Kansai airport, so there is no backtracking.

Days 1 to 3: Tokyo

Haneda airport is about 15 minutes by train from Shinagawa; from Narita, the Keisei Skyliner reaches Ueno in 41 minutes at its fastest. By taxi, Hoshinoya Tokyo is about 20 minutes from Haneda and 60 from Narita.

The hotel is a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, set over 17 floors in Otemachi, a 10-minute walk from Tokyo Station. Each floor gathers six rooms around a shared lounge, the ochanoma, and the 17th floor holds an indoor and open-air onsen (hot-spring bath), fed by a spring drawn from 1,500 m down and open from 3 pm to 11.30 am the next day. Check-in from 3 pm.

Three days are enough for the main districts, from old to new:

• the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, laid out on the enclosures of the former Edo Castle, free entry, closed on Mondays and Fridays;
• Asakusa and Senso-ji, whose main hall opens at 6 am, 6.30 am from October to March;
• Meiji Jingu shrine, in a 70-hectare forest, open from sunrise to sunset;
• the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, closed on Mondays, open until 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays;
• Hama-rikyu garden, an Edo-period garden whose pond is fed by seawater.

The Tokyo page covers these sights and the other districts.

Days 4 and 5: Hakone

On day four, the Odakyu Romancecar leaves Shinjuku and reaches Hakone-Yumoto in about 80 minutes, with an express supplement of 1,200 ¥ (about 7 €) on top of the ordinary fare. The Hakone Tozan mountain railway then climbs to Gora, where the Gora Kadan shuttle collects guests on request, in about 5 minutes.

Gora Kadan occupies the grounds of Prince Kan'in's former summer villa. Its kaiseki dinner, a seasonal meal of many courses, is served in the room at 6 or 7 pm; many rooms have their own open-air hot-spring bath, and a private bath can be booked for 40 minutes at no charge.

Day five makes the round of Hakone:

1. the Hakone Ropeway, from Sounzan to Togendai over the steaming crater of Owakudani, about 45 minutes in three sections, 2,000 ¥ (about 12 €) per person;
2. the crossing of Lake Ashi in the special cabin, from Togendai to Moto-Hakone or Hakone-machi, 25 to 40 minutes, 2,500 ¥ (about 15 €);
3. at Moto-Hakone, Hakone Shrine and its torii (shrine gateway) standing in the water.

The ropeway closes by sections for maintenance: Owakudani-Sounzan from 7 to 24 December 2026, Togendai-Owakudani from 12 January to 26 February 2027, with replacement buses. Hakone-yama volcano has been at alert level 1 of the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) since 2019: check the level before going up to Owakudani.

Days 6 to 9: Kyoto and Nara

On day six, the Hakone Tozan railway runs back down towards Odawara, where you take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto. The Imperial Hotel Kyoto, opened on 5 March 2026, is 15 minutes by taxi from Kyoto Station, in the heart of Gion: it occupies the Yasaka Kaikan, a 1936 building, on the grounds of the theatre where geiko, Kyoto's geishas, dance the Miyako Odori in spring. Its 55 rooms measure 50 to 128 m².

Four nights leave three full days:

A day in Higashiyama. Kiyomizu-dera opens at 6 am; Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, from 8.30 am to 5 pm from March to November. In the afternoon, the private tea ceremony at the Camellia Flower teahouse in Higashiyama lasts 45 minutes, for 8,000 ¥ (about 46 €) per person. In Gion, the district council asks visitors not to photograph a geiko or maiko (apprentice geiko) without her consent.

A day at Fushimi Inari and in the north-west. Fushimi Inari Taisha, with some 10,000 torii, is 5 minutes from Kyoto Station on the JR Nara Line; Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, is open from 9 am to 5 pm.

A day in Nara. The Kintetsu limited express links Kyoto to Kintetsu-Nara in about 34 minutes. Todai-ji and its Great Buddha Hall open from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm from April to October and from 8 am to 5 pm from November to March, for 800 ¥ (about 5 €); deer roam freely in the 660-hectare park around it, along with Kasuga Taisha and Kofuku-ji. Late in the day, in Naramachi, the Harushika brewery pours a tasting of five sakes in about 30 minutes, for 700 ¥ (about 4 €).

The Kyoto and Nara pages give all the opening hours.

Days 10 and 11: Osaka

From Gion, the Keihan line reaches Yodoyabashi in Osaka in about 48 minutes; the JR Special Rapid links Kyoto and Osaka stations in 30 minutes. Patina Osaka, opened in May 2025, is a minute's walk from the castle park: 221 rooms of 50 to 233 m², a heated indoor pool and a 1,400 m² wellness area looking onto the castle.

For these two days:

• Osaka Castle, whose museum keep was rebuilt in 1931, open from 9 am to 6 pm;
• Dotonbori, a district that grew up around the canal dug from 1612, with its giant signs;
• Kuromon market, a 580 m covered arcade with about 150 shops;
• the Kuchu Teien observatory, on the 39th and 40th floors of the Umeda Sky Building, open until 10.30 pm, 2,000 ¥ (about 12 €).

Day 12: departure

Patina Osaka is 50 to 55 minutes by car from Kansai airport; by train, the Nankai Rapi:t limited express links the airport with Namba in about 40 minutes.

When to go and how to book

The recommended months run from March to May and from October to November; our guide to seasons and cherry blossom gives flowering and autumn-colour dates. Trains are covered in our guide to trains and the Japan Rail Pass. The price shown covers the hotels and the listed activities; meals are set out on each hotel page, while flights, trains and accommodation taxes are extra.