Japan by Train: Three Weeks from Tokyo to Okinawa

We did Japan in 2018, three weeks, on what was at the time the most we'd ever spent on a holiday. Six destinations, JR Pass for 14 days, a one-night ryokan splurge in Hakone, and four days in Okinawa to remember what beaches felt like. Japan is the country where the gap between expectation and reality breaks in your favour.

Days 1 to 7: Why you need a full week in Tokyo

Yes, seven days. Tokyo is its own country and a week is the minimum to start to understand it. Stay in Akihabara (walking distance to Ginza, Tsukiji, and the Imperial Palace, one tube stop from everywhere else).

Day one: Asakusa, Sensoji Temple, Tokyo Skytree, Sumida River walk.

Day two: Western Tokyo. Meiji Shrine at 9am (forest paths, peaceful). Takeshita Dori in Harajuku (Linda lost her mind in three sticker shops). Omotesando for shopping. Shibuya crossing. Shinjuku in the evening for dinner at Omoide Yokocho (Memory Lane, the alley of yakitori joints under the railway tracks).

Day three: Tsukiji Fish Market (the old market, pre-Toyosu). 5am tuna auction queue. Sushi breakfast at Daiwa Sushi.

Day four: Yokohama day trip. The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum (recreated 1958 streetscape with seven ramen shops, £5 entry). We ate at three of them. Full Tokyo ramen guide →

Day five: Zao Fox Village day trip (Tohoku shinkansen at 7:18am, free with JR Pass; 100 free-roaming foxes in a forest. The foxes are tiny and curious and one of them fell asleep on Linda's shoe).

Day six: Akihabara crawl. Don Quijote, Super Potato for retro games. The Robot Restaurant in the evening (possibly the strangest 90 minutes of our adult lives).

Day seven: Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. Book online two months ahead, 12:00 entry slot. Do not skip this.

The Tokyo eats: Tsuta for truffle ramen (the world's first Michelin-starred ramen, £8). The Lawson egg sandwich (a national treasure for £1.50). Sukiyaki at Nabezo. New York Bar at the Park Hyatt for a Lost in Translation cocktail and a panoramic view (£40 each, worth the cliche).

Day 8: The Hakone ryokan experience

One-hour train from Tokyo. Stay at a traditional ryokan (£600 for one night for two, including kaiseki dinner and onsen access). The drill: arrive at 3pm, change into yukata, bathe in the onsen, be served the kaiseki at 7pm (twelve courses, in your room), sleep on a futon, bathe again in the morning, breakfast in your room, leave by 10am.

It's the genuine Japanese hospitality experience and worth doing once. Linda still has the yukata.

Days 9 to 12: Kyoto by bicycle

Three-hour train from Hakone. Rent bikes (£8/day), which is the way Kyoto wants to be explored.

Fushimi Inari Shrine at 7am for the orange torii gates without the crowds. Kiyomizudera in the morning. The Philosopher's Path between Ginkakuji and Nanzenji Temple in the afternoon. Gion in the evening for a chance of a maiko sighting (be respectful, this is a working district). Pontocho for dinner the first night (lantern-lit alley of restaurants by the Kamogawa river).

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) and the Arashiyama bamboo grove on the western Kyoto loop.

Kaiseki dinner at a Pontocho riverside place: about £80/person, worth it once.

Day 13: Osaka day trip from Kyoto

15 minutes by shinkansen. Osaka Castle in the morning, Shinsekai for okonomiyaki for lunch, Dotonbori in the evening for the giant crab sign and takoyaki on every corner.

Days 14 to 17: Okinawa

Fly from Kansai Airport to Naha (£180 each). Two nights in Naha, rent a car for the north. American Village in Chatan is the cliche; Sunset Beach is genuinely pleasant. Okinawa was a separate kingdom (Ryukyu) until 1879 and the food, language and architecture are all different from mainland Japan. Goya champuru (bitter melon stir-fry) and rafute (slow-stewed pork belly) for dinner. Awamori (Okinawan rice spirit) for drinks.

How much does 3 weeks in Japan cost for two people?