Your trip,
planned by a friend who lives here.

We were going round in circles trying to plan our first Japan trip. This gave us a route we could actually commit to. We did Asakusa, a few Kyoto temples and our last evening in Dotonbori. Still changed things along the way, but not having to decide everything from scratch was the main benefit for us.

Used this for the Kyoto section of a longer trip. Kiyomizu-dera, Nishiki Market and Fushimi Inari the next morning. Helpful order to follow, although we dropped the last stop on day one. We'd had enough walking by then.

Really enjoyed this part of our trip. We visited gardens and temples in Kyoto, then spent a day in Nara. I also read some of the cultural pages beforehand, which made things more interesting once we were there. Would have happily stayed in Kyoto longer.

The overall route worked well. Hiroshima and the afternoon on Miyajima were highlights for us. My only reservation is that a couple of transfer days felt busier in practice than they looked on paper, especially with luggage. I'd ask for fewer activities on those days next time. Otherwise, a useful plan for a first visit.

Had one free day and didn't want to spend it planning. Castle area, Kuromon Market, Dotonbori. Ate too much, bought nothing useful. Good day.

We chose this because we wanted more than Tokyo and Kyoto. Matsumoto Castle was a highlight, and we liked walking around Takayama early in the morning. The route suited us well. You'll still need to make your own decisions about where to eat, which was fine—we quite enjoyed that part.

We had three days before joining friends elsewhere in Japan. Wanted a mix of sightseeing and shopping, so we did Asakusa, a museum in Ueno and time around Shibuya. Good balance overall. We were slower than the plan, but that tends to happen when one of us goes into every stationery shop.

Our interests are fairly specific: art, gardens and not changing hotels every night. This felt like a good fit rather than a generic first-time route. We visited museums on Naoshima and spent a lovely evening beside the canal in Kurashiki. That stop wasn't originally on our list. Glad it ended up being part of the trip.

Used this for a family trip with two children. Ueno and Nara were both a success. Some temple visits were less of a success, but that's children for you. Having a structure helped, we just learned to stop after lunch some days rather than push through. I'd be even more explicit about downtime if ordering again.

Useful for a short stopover. Did Asakusa, some record shopping around Shibuya and plenty of eating. Didn't follow every stop, didn't need to.

I normally plan our holidays myself, but didn't have the time for this one. What I appreciated most was having the basic decisions made without every hour feeling spoken for. We did the main sights, spent an afternoon in Tokyo bookshops and took a very long lunch in Kyoto. It wasn't a trip we followed word for word, but it was a good foundation.

Second visit to Japan, first time in Kyushu. We ate at yatai in Fukuoka, explored Nagasaki and finished with baths in Beppu. A good combination for us. I did some extra checking on transport before departure and would recommend doing the same rather than leaving it until the morning.

Only needed help with two days of our holiday. We wanted gardens and tea rather than lots of big sights, and this gave us a manageable outline. Stayed longer than planned in one garden and skipped the next stop. That was probably my favourite afternoon.

Good starting point for our week. Stayed in Osaka, visited Kyoto and Nara, and spent most evenings looking for somewhere inexpensive to eat. I would have liked more help estimating the total daily spend. The route was useful, but I still needed my own budget spreadsheet.

Used it for a day out from Sapporo. Canal, glass shops, sushi lunch. Pretty straightforward and saved me some research. It rained, still had a nice time.

My partner wanted Tokyo and shopping. I wanted smaller towns and a castle or two. We were pleased with how the trip combined both. Matsumoto was especially good, and we enjoyed the morning market in Takayama. There was one fairly long travel day, but we knew about it beforehand and kept the evening free.

A useful outline for our first few days. We did a museum, explored Shinjuku and spent longer shopping than we intended. Had to rearrange one afternoon because of rain. I wouldn't follow it too strictly, but it helped us get started.

We asked for fewer hotel changes and time to enjoy places properly. Keeping this part of the trip to two cities was the right call. Kenrokuen was wonderful, and in Kyoto we could visit a temple, have lunch and decide what we felt like doing next. The plan gave us direction without becoming the focus of the holiday.

This covered a short section of a longer trip. We wanted time for the Peace Memorial Museum and an overnight stay on Miyajima. Both worked well. The transfer day would have been easier with smaller bags, so that would be my main advice. We left one suggested activity out.

Bought this after our group chat achieved absolutely nothing for about three weeks. Finally had a route everyone could agree on. Shopping in Tokyo, a busy day in Kyoto and lots of food in Osaka. Would stay in Kyoto next time instead of just doing the day trip.

We wanted gardens, older neighbourhoods and a slightly quieter trip. This was a good match. We walked around Takayama before breakfast and spent much longer than expected in Kenrokuen. Two afternoons were wet, so we changed things around and found cafés instead. Came home feeling we'd actually spent time in the places, not just passed through.

Useful for choosing a few stops rather than trying to see everything. Temples, lunch, then a walk near the sea. We started late and missed one place. No big deal. Would use something similar for another day trip.

Two solo days before meeting friends. Gardens, tea and enough space to fit in a pottery class I'd booked myself. My bowl was a disaster. The days were good though.

We found it most useful for deciding how to divide our time between the three cities. Visited the museum in Hiroshima, tried yatai food in Fukuoka and explored Nagasaki's harbour area. We checked current transport details separately and took a few afternoons more slowly. A sound basis for the trip, with some additional preparation needed.

First Japan trip, and I was the person responsible for organising it. Having a plan took some pressure off. We saw temples and museums, stayed overnight in Hakone and still found time for bookshops and long lunches. We also slept through one early start and changed another day completely. What I liked was knowing we had a sensible route, even when we weren't following every detail.