How to Spend 14 Days in JAPAN 🇯🇵 Ultimate Travel Itinerary

Travelling to Japan is the trip of a lifetime, so spend those 14 days wisely!
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ABROAD IN JAPAN | CITY GUIDES

EDITING: David Parish, Chris Broad, Marcus Canning

00:00 14 Days in Japan: The Grand Plan
02:05 Day 1 - 2 Tokyo
02:47 Day 3 Kamakura & Yokohama: The Perfect Day-trip
11:14 Day 4 - 5 Kanazawa: City of Gold
19:59 Day 6 - 7 Shirakawago & Takayama
27:32 Day 8 - 9 Kyoto: Soul of Japan
37:11 Day 9 Nara: Ancient Capital
40:40 Day 10 - 11 Osaka: Japan’s Nightlife Capital
46:14 Day 12 Hakone: Hot Spring Heaven
52:03 Day 13 - 14 What to do in Tokyo

**FOLLOW THE ADVENTURE**
► Instagram: @abroadinjapan

**EQUIPMENT I USE**

[AbroadinJapan]

**DON'T FORGET JOURNEY ACROSS JAPAN KICKS OFF ON DECEMBER 1ST!**

Well guys, I'm delighted to FINALLY release this video after 10 years, given it's been our most requested video topic.
We’ve been working on this massive, epic episode of Abroad in Japan for the whole month now. It’s been a huge undertaking filming across Tokyo, Osaka, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Kamakura, Yokohama and Nara. But I hope you enjoy the video and are able to get a ton of ideas for YOUR trip to Japan. If you enjoyed the episode, be sure to show us your support and if it does well, we’ll produce more itinerary videos in 2024! (Special thanks to Natsuki and Sharla for joining!)

[draco]

I'm actually going on a 14 day trip starting Friday next week so believe me when I say I was delighted to see this title 😂✨

[shpcjir]

If you`d like to save this guide in a quick notes sheet -

Stay in Asakusa - historical district ( 1-2 days explore askusa ueno and akihabara)

Day 3. Kamakura (Kyoto of East Japan)
Kamakura daibutsu (43 ft buddha statue)
Hokokuji Temple (temple with stunning bamboo forest)
Komachi dori (bustling shopping street - try Giraffa curry bread)

Yokohama ( second largest city)
Minato Mirai Harbor ( Futuristic Waterfront district)
CupNoodles Museum
Chinatown ( the largest in the world)

Day 4-5
Kanazawa (A town nestled in the mountains, a golden city, that wasn`t bombed or hit by natural disasters)

Kazue Machi Chaya Tea District
Omicho Market ( try unagi grilled eel )
Nagamachi Samurai Distrcit
Matcha desserts
Higashi Chaya-gai Geisha District
Stay in a Machiya town house
try gold leaf ice cream
Kenrouken garden
Kirari sushi (conveyer. very good quality of fish and price)


Day 6 Shirakawago village (very beautiful mountain village)
try their pudding in a glass jar

Day 6-7 Takayama (Mountain city, Chris`s favorite town)
Take in the views over the Miyagawa River
Stroll around Takayama old town
Try the many Hida beed street foods
Takayama Showa-kan Museum
Stop for tea at Bagpipe
Hida Fold Village (if you skipped shirakawago)

Dat 8-9 Kyoto

The best stay is Higashyama (stay in Kyomachiya - a traditional Kyoto wooden townhouse)
Fushimi Inari Taisha ( ancient shrine famed for its thousand of tori gates)
Tempura endo yasaka (serving cripsy golden tempura battered dishes)
Arashiyama Scenic Mountain District
Sagano Bamboo Grove ( walkable 24 hours of a day for free
Tenryuji temple (Zen Buddhist temple originally constructed in 1339)
Kinkakuji (golden pavilion. zen temple originally home to 14th-century shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu)
Wasaka Pagoda (five storey pagoda dating back to 1408)
Kiyomizudera temple (one of Kyoto`s most celebrated temples founded in 780)
Pontocho Alley (atmospheric narrow alley packed with restaurants)

Nara is 45 minutes from Kyoto by train (ancient capital)
Nara Park (with deer)
Tomogi Mochi (rice cake flavored with Japanese mugwort leaves)
Todaiji Temple (eastern great temple originally founded in the 8th century)
Kasiga Taisha (Nara`s most celebrated Shinto shrine)


Day 10-11 Osaka (Japan`s nightlife capital)
Dotonbori (downtown Osaka)
Takoyaki (Osaka's beloved battered octopus balls)
Osaka Castle ( epic in scale and completed construction in 1597)
Shinsekai (retro district built in the 1920s) (try kushikatsu - deep fried skewers - fish meat, veggies)

Day 12 Hakone ( hot springs)
Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) and kanseki (traditional multi-course dinner)
Kashikiri (reserved private bath)
Owakudani (the great boiling valley)
Hakone shrine on the shores of Lake Ashi

Day 13-14 Tokyo again (Kabukicho, Shinjuku)

Omoide yokocho (maze of narrow alleyways crammed with 60+ bars and restaurants)
Shibuya
How to experience Tokyo:
Stay in a capsule hotel’
Stay in a love hotel
Karaoke
Mori Tower
Game Center
Odaiba
Ginza ( souvenir shopping)
Ueno park, shinjuku park
Go retro second-hand shopping
Eat some ramen (Ichiran, Ippudo, or just a random family-run ramen shop)

[YouTube]

adding this to my bucket list 😍 japan is such a beautiful country 🇯🇵

[MichaelQC]

As someone who has been to Japan on such a trip, going from Tokyo to Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, then back to Tokyo, a word of warning to anyone who is thinking of such a trip (and has never been to Japan before): Take a day off to relax. Don't always be on the move. Tokyo itself is 4-5 days easily with its various downtown cores and museums. Folk villages that are in the mountains take a long time to get to by bus, so if your time is limited, don't even bother. Spend a day here and there to visit the onsen and find some local cafe. Enjoy your time at your own pace and do NOT fit too much in it or it will burn you out.

[bradley]

Been watching this channel for about 8 years. Finally went on my dream trip to Japan and a week after I get back Chris finally decides to drop an itinerary video

[kammymarie]

I love that you included the history behind each of these places and put it into context with the history of the other places mentioned! So many tourism videos/articles are just like “go to this place because it’s cool” with no explanation on why it’s culturally significant. Great video as always, Chris!

[jwyirhn]

Chris is RIGHT on the money about starting in Asakusa. My family just got back from a month long trip to Japan and Asakusa was a perfect place as the train stations in the area are relaxed and easy to learn your bearings in as you prepare for dealing with larger stations and more hustle and bustle. It was beautiful and I loved our trip!

[sharlainjapan]

Can’t recommend Kanazawa/Shirakawago/Takayama enough! Well worth the trip out there, hope this video encourages more people to visit 🙌🏻❤

[kimu__desu]

Chris, please partner with a local tour agency and make this trip available to your fans worldwide 🙏 I love the idea of my first trip to Japan being in the company of other followers from across the world! Also: looking forward to the upcoming series!

[dowaa]

the first time I went to japan I was 18, and I spent 2 weeks there with some other high schoolers on a program for teenagers. It was awesome. The second time I went I was 19 and spent 2 weeks there but brought my family so my mom could meet her brother living there. She hadn't seen him for over 35 years. It was also Awesome. The Third time I went I was 20, and I spent 2 months there backpacking with my close friend from Canada from Hokkaido to Hiroshima. This is without a doubt the best experience of my life, and it has forever shaped who I am as a person. I want go back but, after spending two months there I couldn't imagine spending any less time. I want to take my boyfriend there and we are both poor college students so I will use this with the knowledge I gained from visiting there to create an itinerary for us. I can highly recommend this video to anyone trying to plan a trip to Japan.
P.S. DONT SKIP THE COUNTRY SIDE. it'd be a shame if your only experience with Japan was Tokyo. My personal favorite spots were Noboribetsu in Hokkaido (hot spring town), Karuizawa in Nagano(mountain resort town) and, Tōno in Iwate(my favorite place for small town immersion, Very nice locals!).

[OsoCaliforniano]

I have to say, Chris your videos have inspired me over the past few months. I just got your book shipped to me from the UK this week! Thank you for being my guide on a 2 month journey from Tokyo throughout the Mainland and all the way down to Okinawa. I probably would never imagine a solo trip of a lifetime like this without your channels and friends. Thanks for the courage mate!

[DerpyDerpums]

It's heartwarming to see you give Natsuki the chance and reason to explore the parts of Japan he never had time to

[IDontKnow]

I visited Japan in May this year for the first time with two of my best friends. I can honestly say it was a trip of a life time, I can't express in words how incredible our 2week were. We started off in Osaka, day tripped to Kyoto then ended our trip in Tokyo. As a 36 year old man who's dreamed of visiting ever since I was a child, I cried on my return flight home (I'm getting emotional now as all the memories come flooding back into my mind lol) as my brain could not comprehend what I just experienced. I definitely will be back :)

[thomasschubert]

This kind of thing is what brought me to you in the first place. Since then I've visited Japan for two weeks with my mom and best friend (one each week) and it was the trip of my lifetime and I can't wait to go back. I can't wait to send to them this video and HOPEFULLY talk them into doing it again. Thank you so much for all your content. It's been a delight.

[internetperson]

I feel like I haven't seen a travelogue of modern Japan this well done in quite some time. Excellent work.

[MightyZarquon]

Staggering production, to be honest. Better quality than the travel shows we get here, in the UK. Stunning cinematography, image quality, editing, and of course content.... the presenter / narrator isn't bad, either. Quite affable! Great quality audio also. The Japanese Tourist Board should pay Chris a nice little bundle for this. Makes me want to visit Japan more than ever! (and I've always wanted to go, but, being physically disabled I'm not sure how I'd manage. Maybe Chris could pay me to fly over and do a video about how a physically disabled tourist manages in Japan!) ;p Really great video, as interesting as it is stunning. Roll on Journey Across Japan! It's amazing how far YouTube content has come!

[sumirunihon]

Even tho this video is only a few hours old it is by far my favorite video of yours. Not only for the premise itself (a very useful one for a channel like yours) but for everything else too. This video in my opinion represents every single aspect of how far you've improved as a youtuber. The camera work is fantastic. The shots are dynamic and sleek. They never get too boring or overstay their welcome. The production is astonishing. The editing is incredible. The music selection is perfect. The narration is solid, giving every single important detail to each location and what's great about it and it's filled with personality.

This is by far the best travel guide to Japan that i've ever seen. Your years of experience in that country really shows since you talk about all kinds of places and foods nobody talks about and isn't at all cliché and avoiding all the tourist traps that aren't worth it. This video is astonishing and it's honestly hard to believe you made it all yourself when big budget hollywood level documentaries don't reach this level of quality.

I've been watching your channel for years since the "how to study kanji" video in 2013 (i was 9 when i first saw it) and since then watching the creative explosion of your content in real time is nothing short of astonishing.

It's in large part because of you that i made the decision to leave Canada and move myself and my small business to Japan 4 months ago at the age of 19. Japan has always been on my mind since i was a kid when it comes to travel compared to my soulless and crime ridden home town and the ever growing corruption and cost of living in my country seeled the deal for me. I speak conversational Japanese but i still have a long way to go. My biggest struggle is memorizing kanji and i use your system from the video i first watched from you over 10 years later to help. If it wasn't for your channel for getting me interested in Japan and teaching me most of what i know now about the local culture, and Matt Bonder's channel for his incredible and unique system that i use to learn the language and showing me that learning a language like Japanese is not only possible, but can be done from the comfort of my own home and can be fun and engaging, i honestly don't know where i would be in life.

Thank you Chris, you changed my life. ❤

[shootboyz]

You've outdone yourself with this one. The visuals, the history, the travel guide. So informative thanks for your hard work making this

[KasperCDK]

Thanks for your video. Just did my first visit to Japan. Tokyo, Gora, Kyoto, Hiroshima and last Osaka. And I LOVE Osaka. What a city!!! I stayed just in the middle of it all. Not my last time in Japan.