Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka: Our 9 Day Trip along Japan’s Golden Route

Japan had been on our travel wishlist for SO long. We’d been all ready to go in March 2020. And well, we all know how that turned out. With other trips on our mind once we could travel again, Japan somehow went on the backburner. After all, I’d done so much planning and research before that cancelled trip that I almost forgot that I hadn’t been. But inevitably, our minds began to wander back to making the trip. And so, in November 2025 – five and a half years after our postponed trip – we finally made it to Japan. And thus began our 9 day trip along Japan’s Golden Route, taking in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

Our trip

Let’s start with the length of the itinerary. I miscalculated somewhat when I booked flights. A Monday flight from Heathrow meant we didn’t arrive into Tokyo until noon on Tuesday. Which left us just 9 full days. I still have no idea why I didn’t book a flight on the Friday or Saturday. By the time I looked to see if we could change the date of our flight we were looking at half the fare again. We were stuck with 9 full days. And two of those would be spent travelling between cities, from Tokyo to Kyoto, and Kyoto to Osaka. We would have to make sure we made the most of every moment.

In all honesty, if we’d had longer, we couldn’t have sustained the pace that we did. By the end of Day 9 I could barely stand up to pack my suitcase. I resorted to packing only things I could reach from bed. After all, we had walked around 205,000 steps and 84 miles by that point. In hindsight, a few more days would have allowed us to build in some slower days. But I know that if we’d had 12 full days, then I’d have just crammed them full as well.

In reality, a 9 day trip along Japan’s Golden Route is not enough. But neither is a fortnight. Or three weeks. Japan is a country that deserves time, and even limiting ourselves to just three cities we barely scratched the surface. Which is why I can definitely see another Japan trip in our future.

Japan Travel Planning (Japlanning, if you will)

As first-timers to Japan, it felt like a no-brainer to do the well-worn tourist route of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Our flights had us flying into Tokyo Narita, and flying out of Osaka’s Kansai International. But how to split our time in between?

I followed my well-worn travel planning method of reading every blog post, scrolling through every Instagram reel and watching every YouTube video, and noting down the sights that most appealed in each city. I colour coded and used a rating system to rank. We had two non-negotiables: a day trip to Mount Fuji from Tokyo and Universal Studios Japan.

I created Google Maps for each city, pinning the sights and grouping together nearby attractions. Hotel bookings that were made early on in the planning process were cancelled, and other hotels booked in more favourable locations. I split each day into morning, afternoon and evening, and assigned areas to explore, knowing full well that some of these plans would be abandoned. Our public transport options from Narita to our Tokyo hotel were meticulously considered, preferably to be as uncomplicated as possible. I had a checklist of “Before We Travel” tasks to tick off.

And eventually, our plan was set. 4 nights in Tokyo, 3 nights in Kyoto and 3 nights in Osaka.

Our 9 day Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka itinerary

After much deliberation, our final 9 day Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka itinerary looked like this. And it’s a plan we pretty much stuck to.

Tokyo

• Arrival Day: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku
• Day 1: Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Sumo Show
• Day 2: Gotokuji Temple, Shimokitazawa, teamLab Borderless
• Day 3: Day Trip to Mount Fuji

Kyoto

• Day 4: Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto, Gion, Yasaka Pagoda, Kiyomizu-dera Temple
• Day 5: Arashiyama
• Day 6: Philosophers Path, sake tasting, Fushimi Inari Shrine

Osaka

• Day 7: Travel to Osaka via Nara, Dotonbori
• Day 8: Universal Studios Japan
• Day 9: Katsuoji Temple, Minoh Park & Falls, Kuromon Market, Harukas 300, Shinsekai
• Day 10: Namba Yasaka Shrine, last minute shopping, depart from Osaka airport

Final thoughts on our itinerary

Were there any big things we missed from our itinerary? We didn’t make it to Akihabara or Ueno or Yanaka in Tokyo. There were other day trips we could have done, like Kamakura from Tokyo or Hiroshima from Osaka. We didn’t book a food tour, take part in a traditional tea ceremony, get naked in a hot spring or roll our own sushi. Occasionally we sacrificed time spent in one area, using it purely as a transit route to somewhere else instead of really exploring. I could easily fill a second itinerary, based on the same route again, with things we didn’t do.

But we tried to mix up the tourist big hitters with “slightly” less popular sights. Believe me, nowhere in these cities is a “hidden gem” anymore, but by heading to Shimokitazawa in Tokyo and Minoh Park in Osaka I felt we ticking off at least some places a step or two off the well-worn tourist trail.

Still to come

So. Many. Blog. Posts. I plan on doing blog posts for each city on our 9 day trip along Japan’s Golden Route, plus some of those absolute highlights that deserve talking about a little more. I’ll also share some of those hints and tips that we learned along the way, and all the important things to know before you go. And I’ll try and link everything back to this post where possible, so that if this is your introduction to our itinerary you’ll know where to go next 😉

Pin me for your Japan Travel Planning!