JJapan Trips

Advice on first time in Japan

  • January 16, 2026


Hi all!

My wife and I will be going to Japan for our first time in coming May (2nd till 23th). We know it overlaps with Golden Week, but we found cheap plane tickets and it suits our holidays too. We will be mainly in Tokyo during this overlap and figured that it is such a big city it will be crowded anyway.
From past travels to countries in South-East Asia we noticed that we are not very much interested in temples or shrines. We love to explore a country by strolling around, finding stuff that we don't have at home and eating as much as possible to explore the local food scene.

We didn't book anything yet, besides the plane tickets, and are still deciding on which places to visit. For now we came up with this draft itinerary:

  1. Tokyo – 5 nights (2/5-7/5): Arrive in Haneda Airport and go to our hotel, maybe walk around in the neighbourhood for our first day. We will explore different neighbourhoods during our stay and maybe a day trip to Kamakura. We are also interested in the Ramen Museum.
  2. Matsumoto – 3 nights (7/5-10/5): Mainly interested in the Castle, Wasabi Farm and visit this miso brewery
  3. Ryokan with onsen stay around Okuhida or somewhere else that fits our itinerary – 1 night (10/5-11/5)
  4. Takayama – 2 nights (11/5-13/5): Visiting Hida Folk village, the morning markets and wandering through old town and tasting sake.
  5. Kanazawa – 3 nights (13/5-16/5): Geisha and Samurai districts, Omicho market and Kenroku-en.
  6. Onomichi – 1 night (16/5-17/5)
  7. Shimanami Kaido – 2 nights (17/5-19/5): Stay 1 night on one of the islands and another at the end in Imabari
  8. Osaka – 4 nights (19/5-23/5): Not sure yet what to do here except for shopping around, eating, exploring the neighbourhoods and maybe a day trip to Kyoto, Kobe or Nara.

We don't dare to commit to anything since there is so much to do and see in Japan. What do you think, any advice on the itinerary or something you would change? Also some things that we are still in doubt off:

  • Is it ok to skip Kyoto? We are afraid that since we already have low interest in shrines and temples, that it will be too crowded for us to enjoy it.
  • We are in doubt if our Ryokan stay in Okuhida is good or if we zant to switch it with 1 or 2 nights in Kinosaki Onsen. Or are there any other onsen recommendations? We see Kusatsu Onsen a lot, but this look like a lot of additional transport time.
  • In doubt if we will do the Shimanami Kaido, which looks stunning, but maybe it is better to visit another place that is not as dependent on the weather? Also it feels impractical with luggage. But we have a feeling we will love the views and the quiet island feels.
  • Do we have too much stops for the amount of time we are there or is it doable?
  • Any recommendations which food we should eat in these places?

Looking forward to your advice! đŸ™‚

by _CaraPils