3 weeks in Japan
A first trip, plus two detours most people save for next time
Shibuya crossing is on your list. Good, it should be.
But an hour west on the train there are parks that nobody in your hostel will mention. And on your way back from Hiroshima, there is a two day bike ride across six islands.
That is what this guide is. The places you would feel cheated to miss on a first trip, done properly, plus two things that usually get filed under "next time". A first trip does not have to be the standard loop.
I have been to Japan several times now. I have tried things that worked and plenty that did not. This is the trip I would build if I were doing my first one again.
Three weeks. Around €2,050 per person, flights excluded. Every price in here is one I paid, in September 2025, and I have been specific about where the money goes, because in Japan it goes faster than you expect. A lot of what is in here costs nothing at all.
One exception, and I flag it rather than hide it: we lost the Kumano Kodo to three days of rain. That section is the trip I had planned and will go back for, built from the official timetables, and I say so every time it matters.
Take what is useful, skip the rest.
The trip at a glance
Nine stops over 21 days. Every line goes to its own page.
Days
Stop
Nights
What it cost
We had just come out of two months of backpacking in South East Asia, so we were on a budget for Japan.
We spent around €35 per day by taking breakfast and lunch at convenience stores, which are not to be underestimated, and at cheap restaurants, then having something a bit nicer for dinner.
For accommodation, we slept mostly in dorms and tried to stay at €25 per night per person.
Trains are expensive but a real time saver. That category also includes public transport once you arrive in a city, because you will take buses and subways several times a day, so I budgeted around €150 for the whole trip, about €7.50 per day.
The table below is the minimum I would take with you, flights and shopping excluded. Be honest with yourself and add a buffer on top: we went over budget on accommodation and on food more than once, and those were opportunities we did not want to miss.
| Category | EUR | USD | JPY | Per day | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | €735 | $854 | ¥133,000 | €35 / day | 36% |
| Accommodation | €517 | $601 | ¥94,000 | €26 / night | 25% |
| Transport | €419 | $487 | ¥76,000 | €20 / day | 20% |
| Activities | €377 | $438 | ¥68,000 | €18 / day | 18% |
| Total, flights excluded | €2,048 | $2,380 | ¥372,000 | €98 / day |
Every figure in this table is what we actually spent, in September 2025. Dollars and yen are converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate of 4 September 2026 (1 EUR = 1.1622 USD = 181.59 JPY) and rounded, so treat them as an order of magnitude rather than what you will pay. Per day is over 21 days, except accommodation, which is per night over 20 nights, per person.
The two unusual stops
Two stops in here are not on the standard loop. They are the reason this itinerary exists.
Days 13 to 14
Shimanami Kaido
A cycle route across a chain of islands between Honshu and Shikoku, with a dedicated path the entire way. You are never fighting cars. If the weather is with you, it is the day you will still be talking about in a year.
Read this stop
Days 17 to 19
Kumano Kodo
The old imperial pilgrimage route through the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, sleeping in villages along the way. We lost it to three days of rain, so this one is the plan, built from the official timetables, not a memory.
Read this stop