14 Days in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka

Spend five nights in Tokyo, five in Kyoto and three in Osaka. Arrive in Tokyo on day one, move to Kyoto on day six and Osaka on day eleven, then fly home from Kansai on day fourteen. You get four full Tokyo days, four full Kyoto days and two full days based in Osaka, one of them a day trip to Nara.

Choose this route if you want Japanese art and temples alongside shopping, long lunches and evenings out. Osaka earns its hotel stay through the evenings: you can eat, explore Dotonbori and finish when you want, without a train back to Kyoto.

If you would rather unpack only twice, keep the final eight nights in Kyoto. Visit Osaka and Nara as day trips and use Haruka for the Kansai departure. That version adds return journeys but saves a hotel change. It suits someone more interested in Kyoto mornings than Osaka nightlife. The day-by-day plan below uses the three-base version.

This trip leaves out Hiroshima, a Hakone overnight and northern Japan. With two weeks, you can add more places, but you would be choosing a different pace. If you have fewer days, compare the seven-day and ten-day routes before booking the hotels.

• Try to fly into Tokyo and out of Kansai. A Tokyo return flight adds another long-distance journey. If that is your ticket, spend the last night back in Tokyo and give up the Nara day or shorten Osaka.
• Reserve the train you need, rather than assuming you need a rail pass. This route has one long Tokyo-Kyoto journey, a short Kyoto-Osaka move and local travel. Compare those fares with any pass you are considering.
• Reserve the temple lunch if it matters to you. Shigetsu in Arashiyama has advance-booking requirements. Put that day in place first, then arrange the more flexible Kyoto walks around it.

Day one: arrive and settle into the neighborhood

Have dinner near your hotel. This is the arrival day, not a full sightseeing day tucked onto the front of the trip. Bistro NOHGA is a dinner option in the building if you choose the Ueno hotel below.

Sleep in Tokyo, night one.

Day two: Asakusa and Kappabashi

Pelican Café Asakusa is the breakfast choice for charcoal-grilled toast with butter and jam. Use the café at 3-9-11 Kotobuki. It opens at 9am Monday through Saturday and closes Sundays. Hotel breakfast is the alternative if you want to start earlier.

Walk through Kaminarimon and Nakamise to Senso-ji, then spend time in the surrounding streets. For lunch, Katsukichi, 1-21-12 Asakusa, serves tonkatsu with rice. Jo recommends it in The Tokyo Chapter. The restaurant's lunch runs from 11:30am to 2:30pm; Thursday is closed. It accepts cash or PayPay, not credit cards. Pelican's ham-cutlet or omelette sandwich is another lunch option if you skipped it at breakfast.

Spend the afternoon in Kappabashi for bowls, tableware and cooking tools. Keep the evening near your hotel. For Ueno, use the Ginza Line from Tawaramachi toward Shibuya and get off at Ueno. Sleep in Tokyo, night two.

Day three: Meiji Jingu, Harajuku and Shibuya

bills Omotesando offers a seated breakfast from 8:30am at 4-30-3 Jingumae. Afterwards, enter Meiji Jingu from the Harajuku side and walk through the wooded grounds to the shrine.

Browse Omotesando and Cat Street before continuing toward Shibuya. AFURI Shibuya Dogenzaka, 1-19-12 Dogenzaka, is the ramen stop once you reach that side of the neighborhood. Choose yuzu shio for a citrus chicken-and-dashi broth; the vegan bowl is a separate order. The branch is cashless.

Stay for dinner or a drink at TRUNK(HOTEL) Cat Street, which has a lounge bar and the skewer restaurant TRUNK(KUSHI). The Ginza Line runs directly from Shibuya back to Ueno if that is your base. Sleep in Tokyo, night three.

Day four: Japanese art and an eel lunch

Spend the morning at Tokyo National Museum. Begin with the Japanese collection in the Honkan, then decide whether to add another building. Two to three hours is a useful starting allowance. The usual Monday closure has holiday exceptions, so swap this day when needed.

Izuei Main Restaurant, 2-12-22 Ueno, is the lunch for someone who wants grilled eel over rice. An eel box includes soup and pickles, giving you the specialty without a full course meal. The main restaurant opens daily; its other branches have different schedules.

Spend the afternoon around Ueno Park or go back to the museum if you want more time with the collection. Dinner stays free near your hotel. Sleep in Tokyo, night four.

Day five: books, shopping and a free evening

Take the Ginza Line to Ginza. Ginza Tsutaya Books, on the sixth floor of GINZA SIX, is the stop for art and design books. Give the surrounding shops the afternoon.

AFURI Yurakucho, 2-9-1 Yurakucho, is a shorter lunch if you did not choose ramen in Shibuya. If you want a longer meal, keep lunch in the shopping complex you are browsing rather than crossing the city for another recommendation. Use the evening to return to a neighborhood you liked.

Our three-day Tokyo guide has more detailed meal alternatives and walking sequences for these neighborhoods. Sleep in Tokyo, night five.

Day six: train to Kyoto

Take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto after breakfast. Kyoto Travel gives about 130 minutes for Nozomi from Tokyo Station. Budget roughly half a day for breakfast, station access, the train and reaching the hotel.

For a suitcase whose three dimensions total more than 160cm and no more than 250cm, reserve the appropriate oversized-baggage seat with the ticket. Keep this afternoon close to the hotel and central Kyoto, then have dinner there. Sleep in Kyoto, night six.

Day seven: Kiyomizu-dera and Gion

From Kyoto Station, use JR to Tofukuji, transfer to Keihan and get off at Kiyomizu-Gojo for the uphill walk. Kyoto's transport guide explains this alternative to the sightseeing buses. A taxi can shorten the approach if the climb does not suit you.

Visit Kiyomizu-dera, then walk downhill through the lanes toward Gion. Okutan Kiyomizu, 3-340 Kiyomizu, is the tofu lunch near the temple. It accepts cash and normally closes Thursdays. It is also closed September 10–17, 2026, reopening September 18.

During that closure, continue through Gion and across the river for a later lunch at Pontocho Idumoya, 173-2 Kashiwayacho, for eel and Kyoto cooking. That is a change of neighborhood, not a restaurant beside the temple. Stay around the river for the afternoon and dinner if you want a longer day out. Sleep in Kyoto, night seven.

Day eight: Fushimi Inari and brunch

Take a JR Nara Line train that stops at Inari. The shrine entrance is beside the station. Follow the torii paths as far uphill as you want; the lower shrine visit and a full hillside circuit are different commitments.

Vermillion - cafe., at 5-31 Fukakusa Kaidoguchicho, serves brunch near the shrine. Choose the eggs, sausage, beans and toast plate for a substantial meal, or hummus for a plant-based option. The coffee uses a house blend developed with Kyoto's WEEKENDERS COFFEE. Meals are listed until 2pm. Use the café location, not the separate espresso bar.

Return toward the center after lunch. Give the rest of the day to browsing or a quiet afternoon at the hotel. You have another full Kyoto day tomorrow; there is no need to turn this into two temple excursions. Sleep in Kyoto, night eight.

Day nine: Arashiyama and a temple lunch

Use the JR Sagano Line from Kyoto Station to Saga-Arashiyama. Tenryu-ji lists a 13-minute walk from the station. Make the garden and temple your morning visit.

Shigetsu, inside Tenryu-ji, serves shojin ryori. Choose it for a seasonal vegetarian meal that belongs to the temple visit. Lunch opens 11am–2pm, with Thursday closed. The simplest listed menu needs at least two days' notice; other courses require longer and may have minimum party sizes. Garden admission is separate.

After lunch, spend time around Arashiyama and the river, then return on the same rail route. If the lunch is unavailable, keep the temple visit and eat locally; do not assume a walk-in seat at Shigetsu. Sleep in Kyoto, night nine.

Day ten: tea and central Kyoto

Start with breakfast at the hotel, then head to Ippodo's Kyoto main store, 52 Tokiwagicho on Teramachi. Choose the Kaboku tearoom if you would like guidance on brewing tea. Last orders are at 4:30pm; the store and tearoom close on the second Wednesday of the month.

Spend the afternoon around Teramachi and the river. This is the day to shop for tea and gifts, or return to something you did not finish. Idumoya can be today's lunch if you did not use it earlier. For your last Kyoto dinner, choose the hotel restaurant if you want to finish nearby, or remain in the center.

Sleep in Kyoto, night ten.

Day eleven: move to Osaka, then explore Dotonbori

Take the JR Special Rapid from Kyoto Station to Osaka Station. The tourism authority lists around 30 minutes between the stations. Osaka Station and Shin-Osaka are different stops; the local train fits the Dojima hotel below without buying a Shinkansen ticket to another part of the city.

After reaching the hotel, head toward Namba for the afternoon and evening. From the Umeda area, use the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line south to Namba. Browse the streets around Dotonbori, then eat nearby.

Ajinoya Main Shop is the dinner choice for okonomiyaki and yakisoba. Choose a cabbage-based pancake with the fillings you want from the menu, and share noodles if your group wants both. The main shop normally closes Mondays. Use its own site for the current booking or queue arrangements; it explicitly rejects AutoReserve bookings.

551 HORAI Honten, 3-6-3 Namba, is the alternative for steamed pork buns and its restaurant menu. Check the main-store page for service details rather than assuming every 551 counter has a restaurant.

Sleep in Osaka, night eleven.

Day twelve: a slower Osaka day

Have breakfast at the hotel, then spend the morning around Nakanoshima and its river walks. If art is the priority, look at the current program at Nakanoshima Museum of Art. For visits through September 27, 2026, the museum lists a Vermeer exhibition featuring Girl with a Pearl Earring. Check its ticket arrangements before choosing your day. After that date, choose from the current program; the painting is not part of a permanent display here.

UPSTAIRZ at Zentis is the longer lunch near this side of the city. The restaurant has an open kitchen and a terrace, with Japanese and French influences on the menu. Lunch runs 11:30am–3pm, with last orders at 2pm. This is a seated restaurant meal, unlike yesterday's bun option.

For the afternoon, choose more time by the river or go south to browse Shinsaibashi and the Namba area. If you missed Ajinoya because of Monday closure, make it tonight's dinner. Otherwise, UPSTAIRZ's bar gives you a drink near the room instead of another journey across town.

Sleep in Osaka, night twelve.

Day thirteen: Nara's Great Buddha and a rice-pot lunch

Take the Midosuji Line to Namba, then follow signs for Kintetsu Osaka-Namba and take a train to Kintetsu-Nara. Use the Kintetsu journey information to choose the service; limited express travel has an additional ticket. Allow roughly 90 minutes from a Dojima hotel to central Nara, depending on your connections.

Walk through the park toward Todai-ji. Give the Great Buddha Hall the morning. The hall and its seated Buddha make this a substantial temple visit; Nara is more than a stop for deer photographs. If you want to extend the walk, continue toward Nigatsudo before lunch.

Shizuka's Nara Park branch, 59-11 Noboriojicho, is the lunch for kamameshi, rice cooked in individual pots with toppings. The official Nara guide describes options including chicken, eel and seasonal seafood. This branch does not take dine-in reservations. It normally closes Tuesdays, with holiday exceptions and an additional irregular closure; use its branch calendar and swap the two full Osaka-based days if needed. The Omiya branch does, but it is a different location and would change the route.

Keep the afternoon around the park and central Nara, then return from Kintetsu-Nara to Osaka-Namba. If the lunch wait is too long, shorten the afternoon walk rather than trying to hurry a cooked-to-order meal and add more temples. Have your final dinner back in Osaka. Sleep in Osaka, night thirteen.

Day fourteen: Kansai departure

Use the airport connection that fits your hotel. Nankai connects Namba with Kansai Airport, but the Dojima hotel still needs a journey to Namba first. Compare that with a JR connection from the Osaka Station area for your flight. The airport train's advertised time is not the total journey from your room.

Today is departure, not another full Osaka day.

NOHGA HOTEL UENO TOKYO suits someone who wants art and local craft in a smaller hotel, with a bistro and lobby gallery. Its eastern location works for Asakusa and Ueno. Some room categories have showers rather than tubs, so choose the bathroom you want. The breakfast offers Japanese and Western choices with a salad buffet.

THE THOUSAND KYOTO is for someone who values easy train arrivals and understated rooms. Its low furniture and restrained interiors suit a quieter hotel stay. Garden and terrace features belong to particular room categories. You give up stepping straight into Gion in exchange for the station-side location.

Zentis Osaka fits someone who wants a design-focused hotel around Dojima, with the river area nearby and a restaurant worth using in the building. UPSTAIRZ serves Japanese, American and vegan breakfasts for hotel guests, with a buffet corner. Room 001 has self-service laundry, coffee and a small library, useful this far into the trip. Choose it for that combination; it is not a hotel beside Dotonbori.

For hotel forwarding and train baggage rules, see our Japan luggage guide.

Our two-day Osaka itinerary adds a castle alternative and kitchenware shopping.