Honeymoon

A honeymoon in Japan fits into 10 to 14 days, from late March to May or from October to early December, and it is built around two or three nights when the couple has a bath of their own: in a Hakone ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn where you dine and sleep), in a Kyoto suite or aboard a boat on the Seto Inland Sea. Our trip idea Japan honeymoon, 11 days links Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and two nights at sea; this page helps you choose the season, the length of the trip and the rooms for two.

When to go as a couple

The reference dates are the 1991-2020 averages of the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency); every year moves a few days either side, and our seasons guide gives the current year's calendar.

Winter brings closures to plan around for a honeymoon between December and March: the Hakone Ropeway closes its Ōwakudani-Sōunzan section from 7 to 24 December 2026 and its Tōgendai-Ōwakudani section from 12 January to 26 February 2027; the spa at The Okura Tokyo closes from 12 to 15 January 2027; on Naoshima, Benesse House closes from 12 to 18 January 2027, its Beach building from 4 January to 4 March 2027, and the Chichu Art Museum from 12 January to 19 March 2027.

How long, and in what order

Eleven days allow four stops at an easy pace: three nights in Tokyo, two in Hakone, three in Kyoto and two on the water. Hakone is about 80 minutes from Shinjuku on the Romancecar, Odakyu's express train; Kyoto is about 2 hours 10 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen, the bullet train. One night in a ryokan gives you the bath and dinner; two nights leave a full day for the mountains or for staying put at the inn.

With a few more days, add a slower stop. In the onsen (hot spring) towns of Kaga, near Kanazawa, Beniya Mukayu gives each of its 16 rooms an open-air thermal bath facing the garden. Near Takayama, Wanosato welcomes couples for two nights in the countryside, around an open hearth, with a private bath in stone or hinoki, Japanese cypress, in every room. On the Inland Sea, Azumi Setoda occupies a shipowners' house of 1876 on the island of Ikuchijima, with a hinoki bath in every room, for two nights cycling between the islands and the lemon groves.

Bathing together

In Japan, shared baths are separated by sex. A couple who want to bathe together choose a room with its own bath or book a private bath, known as kashikiriburo. A rotemburo is an open-air bath.

Hakone Ginyu and Gora Kadan serve meals in the room, which turns a night in Hakone into an evening for two: at Gora Kadan, the kaiseki dinner, a seasonal meal of many small courses, starts at 6 or 7 pm. Our onsen guide explains bathing etiquette and the rule on tattoos: some establishments refuse them, and the Japan National Tourism Organization advises checking the rule in advance or booking a private bath.

Tokyo and Kyoto for two

In Tokyo, two hotels in our selection are designed first for couples. Park Hyatt Tokyo, reopened on 9 December 2025, fills floors 39 to 52 of a Shinjuku tower; its Deluxe Rooms look over the city or towards Mount Fuji, and its spa has a treatment room for couples. Aman Tokyo, in Ōtemachi, has suites of at least 71 m² with a furo, a deep Japanese tub where you sit with the water up to your shoulders, and a 2,500 m² spa. For a morning together, the private tea ceremony in the Zangetsu tea house, in the garden of Hotel Chinzanso, lasts an hour and costs 90,000 ¥ (about 508 €) for the group.

In Kyoto, the choice is between river, forest and centre. Hoshinoya Kyoto, in Arashiyama, is reached by a 15-minute boat ride up the Ōi river, between 2.30 and 5.45 pm; its 25 pavilions face the river and Mount Ogura, and it takes guests from the age of 12. Aman Kyoto sits in a forest garden in Takagamine, 1.6 km from Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, with a hinoki bath in each of its 26 rooms and onsen baths included in every stay. Capella Kyoto, opened on 22 March 2026 in Miyagawa-chō, puts Gion within walking distance; its Onsen Suites are the honeymoon choice for a hot spring bath in the heart of the city.

Near Ryōan-ji, the Camellia Garden tea house offers a 50-minute private tea ceremony at 15,000 ¥ (about 85 €) per person. In Gion, the district council asks visitors not to photograph a geiko, as geishas are called in Kyoto, or a maiko, an apprentice geiko, without her consent.

Ending on the Inland Sea

guntû is a floating ryokan of 17 suites, designed by the architect Yasushi Horibe, that sails from Bella Vista Marina in Onomichi for two or three nights and anchors each evening off the islands. Meals, drinks other than fine wines, and shore excursions are included; passengers must be at least 15. For two, three categories have an open-air bath on the terrace: the two Terrace Suites with Open-Air Bath of 50 m² and the two Grand Suites of 80 m², with a cypress bath, and The guntû Suite, the single cabin facing the bow. In April 2027, two-night cruises leave on the 6th, 23rd and 26th; the published calendar runs from December 2026 to May 2027.

Two more Inland Sea addresses suit the end of a trip for two. On Naoshima, the art island, the Oval building at Benesse House has just six rooms on the hill, reached by monorail from the museum, and hotel guests can visit the museum until 11 pm. Opposite Miyajima, KAI Miyajima, opened on 23 July 2026, turns every room towards the island and its Itsukushima shrine; you cross by boat from the pier next door.