A Tour of Japan 

By Stephen Jennings, owner of YOU Travel Napier. I've travelled Japan myself and designed the route below. Last updated July 2026.

Most people give Japan somewhere between two and three weeks, enough time to work down from Tokyo to Osaka without rushing past the parts worth slowing down for. To show what that looks like in practice, here's a real 17-day Japan itinerary I put together, timed for cherry-blossom season, with a rough idea of what a trip like it costs. Fair warning up front: I built this one as an escorted tour and that departure isn't going ahead, so it isn't bookable. The route, the pacing and the costings are all real though, and they're a solid starting point for your own version.

A 17-day Japan itinerary, region by region

This route runs the length of the country from Tokyo to Osaka, by coach and bullet train.

Tokyo. The Imperial Palace, the old temple district of Asakusa, the shopping streets of Ginza, and a live sumo lunch show. The sumo lunch show is the sort of thing most independent travellers walk straight past, because you need someone to arrange it.

Matsumoto. Matsumoto Castle, nicknamed the Crow Castle for its black walls, is one of Japan's few surviving original keeps. You're standing in the real thing.

Takada Castle Park. Timed for spring, this park is known for cherry blossom lit up after dark, the trees reflected in the castle moat.

The Japanese Alps. Zenkoji Temple, a major pilgrimage site, and the Daio Wasabi Farm, a working farm fed by clear alpine spring water.

Kanazawa. Kenrokuen Garden, ranked among Japan's "three great gardens", is the reason to stop here. It's a strolling garden, and it repays walking slowly.

Shirakawa-go and Takayama. Two UNESCO-listed villages, with their steep thatched-roof farmhouses and preserved old streets, plus a tasting at a local sake brewery.

Kyoto. A tea ceremony, ikebana flower arranging, and dinner with a maiko, an apprentice geisha. You take part in all three rather than watch them.

Hiroshima and Miyajima. The Peace Memorial Park, and the Itsukushima shrine on Miyajima with its gate that appears to float on the water at high tide.

Osaka. Osaka Castle, the food and neon of Dotombori after dark, and the view from the Umeda Sky Garden.

This particular route was built for early April, when the blossom is out. That is the most beautiful window to travel, and also the busiest and the most expensive. Go a few weeks either side of the peak, or in Japan's quieter season, and you'll usually find it cheaper and less crowded.

What's included, and what a trip like this costs

Built as a small-group hosted trip that isn't going ahead, this example folded most of the cost in up front:

• Return airfares from Napier
• 16 nights' accommodation with private facilities
• Daily breakfasts, plus seven lunches and two dinners
• Sightseeing with local English-speaking guides
• All entry fees, bullet-train journeys and coach transfers
• Luggage forwarding between cities, so your bags meet you at the next hotel
• Fully hosted throughout — the plan had me leading the group on the ground

As a fully-inclusive spring trip, this one was priced at around $15,499 per person. That's an example figure from a previous itinerary rather than a current price, and it reflects a peak cherry-blossom departure, which is the pricier end of the scale. The number for your own trip only exists once we've built it.

Flights are the part people tend to fixate on, and they move around a lot. Return airfares to Japan have been sitting around $2,000 to $2,500 through 2026 depending on timing. Because Japan's quieter season lines up with the New Zealand winter, travelling outside the blossom peak usually pulls the whole cost down. If a spring trip at this level is more than you had in mind, that's exactly the sort of thing we'd adjust when we design your own custom Japan itinerary.

How a tailored Japan itinerary gets built

Why buy something off the shelf that's designed for the mass market when you can have something designed 100% for you? That's the point of an itinerary like this one. It shows what's possible, and then we build yours to fit.

I designed this route myself, then worked with a Christchurch-based operator who specialises in Japan to handle the on-the-ground bookings through their own contacts over there. That's how I work on every trip. I'm the point of contact, but sitting behind me is a whole network of airline, tour-operator and cruise-line experts. It's knowing which one to ask the question.

A route you copy off a blog can't know how you like to travel. The things that make or break a Japan trip are usually the ones a generic plan skips: the pacing, so you're not on a train every single morning; the seat reservations and connections booked before you land; hotels chosen for room size and location as much as star rating; and the small logistics, like forwarding your luggage ahead so you're not hauling a heavy bag onto a crowded bullet train. That's the work that turns a list of famous places into a trip that suits the people actually taking it.

Planning your own Japan itinerary

If Japan is on your list, the itinerary above is a starting point you can shape from. Tell us how long you have, who's travelling and what you want out of it, and we'll design your own custom Japan itinerary from there. If you'd rather talk it through first, get in touch with the team for a chat. We've been doing this from Napier since 1997, and we're TAANZ, IATA and CLIA accredited — the IATA part means we issue your airline tickets ourselves rather than going through an intermediary, which matters on the day a flight changes.

Over the years I've hosted escorted groups through Sri Lanka, Spain and Portugal, Canada and Alaska. You can see the trips I've led if that's the way you like to travel.

Frequently asked questions

Can I book this exact trip?

No. This is an example based on a route I'd designed, and that particular departure isn't going ahead. I'd use it as a starting point and build your version around your dates, your budget and the things you most want to see.

How much does a Japan trip like this cost?

The example above was priced at around $15,499 per person as a fully-hosted spring trip, which sits at the pricier end. That's a figure from a previous itinerary, not a current quote. A tailored trip can land higher or lower depending on when you go, the hotels you choose, how long you're away and what you want included.

Can it be shorter, longer or cheaper?

Yes. Seventeen days is one shape; plenty of people do Japan well in ten to fourteen. Travelling outside the cherry-blossom peak usually costs less, and we can trim or stretch the route to match the time and the budget you have.

When's the best time to visit Japan?

Cherry-blossom season, from late March into April, is the most beautiful, and also the busiest and priciest. Autumn is popular for the colours. Japan's low season lines up with the New Zealand winter and is generally the cheaper, quieter time to go.

Written by Stephen Jennings, owner of YOU Travel Napier. I've travelled Japan and designed the itinerary above; a Christchurch-based Japan specialist handles the on-the-ground arrangements. Last updated July 2026.