Japan · Trip Planner
Plan a Japan trip, with the real numbers
Choose your towns and how many nights in each, set an arrival date and party size, and this builds the route, the day-by-day shape and a budget that includes the things people forget — guiding, trains, and the ten per cent that always happens.
9 nights across 3 towns.
Where, and how long
Tokyo
Good all year; blossom late March, best light in November
Arrival city, the food, the shopping and the museums. Two to four nights is usually right.
A house here runs about USD 900 a night in the shoulder, USD 1,600 in peak weeks.
Kyoto
Blossom late March–early April and maples mid–late November, both sold out a year ahead
Temples, machiya houses and the country's best walking. Three nights minimum or you will rush it.
A house here runs about USD 1,100 a night in the shoulder, USD 2,400 in peak weeks.
Osaka
Year-round; cheapest of the big three
Eating city, and a cheaper base than Kyoto twenty-eight minutes away.
A house here runs about USD 650 a night in the shoulder, USD 1,100 in peak weeks.
Hakone
Best October–March; mineral baths in cold air is the point
The onsen stop an hour and a half from Tokyo. Two nights; one is a waste of the bath.
A house here runs about USD 950 a night in the shoulder, USD 1,800 in peak weeks.
Niseko
January–February powder, and the rates to match; September is a bargain
The snow. Book the chalet twelve months ahead for the January weeks.
A house here runs about USD 1,200 a night in the shoulder, USD 4,200 in peak weeks.
Hakuba
December–March for snow, July–September for the alps
Cheaper than Niseko, closer to Tokyo, and the summer hiking is genuinely good.
A house here runs about USD 700 a night in the shoulder, USD 2,200 in peak weeks.
Kanazawa
Lovely in November; snowy and quiet in January
Kenroku-en, the gold-leaf crafts and the seafood, with none of Kyoto's crowds.
A house here runs about USD 700 a night in the shoulder, USD 1,300 in peak weeks.
Okinawa
April–June and October; typhoons peak August–September
The sea end of a Japan trip. Four nights or don't bother.
A house here runs about USD 800 a night in the shoulder, USD 1,900 in peak weeks.
Your route, day by day
Days 1–3
Tokyo
Land, clear customs and go straight to the house — resist the nap. Arrival city, the food, the shopping and the museums. Two to four nights is usually right.
Days 4–7
Kyoto
Move by train (reserve the green-car seats the week before). Temples, machiya houses and the country's best walking. Three nights minimum or you will rush it.
Days 8–9
Hakone
Move by train (reserve the green-car seats the week before). The onsen stop an hour and a half from Tokyo. Two nights; one is a waste of the bath.
Day 10
Departure
Check out late where the house allows it, send the luggage ahead to the airport by takkyubin, and keep the last morning empty.
What it costs
| Houses and ryokan9 nights | USD 9,000 |
| Food and drink2 travelling | USD 3,800 |
| Trains, transfers, carsincluding rail passes | USD 1,100 |
| Private guiding2 days at USD 700 | USD 1,400 |
| FlightsUSD 2,200 each | USD 4,400 |
| Contingencyten per cent, always spent | USD 1,970 |
| Total | USD 21,670 |
USD 10,835 a person, USD 2,408 a night for the party.
These are planning figures, not quotations — house rates are what comparable properties actually asked in shoulder weeks through 2026. Live prices for your dates are below.
Live prices in Tokyo
Real hotels, ryokan and rentals from our booking partners for your dates — prices on the pins, not estimates.