10 Days in Japan: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka

Written By Jessica Wang

Good for people who love: food, shopping, mix of culture and

Recommended home bases:

  • Tokyo: Shinjuku or Ginza

  • Kyoto: Gion

  • Osaka: Namba

Day 1 (Tokyo): Getting oriented

  • Morning: 7/11 breakfast dishes and snacks taste (get the egg sandwich, strawberry + cream sandwich, onigiri)

  • Afternoon: teamLabs borderless or teamLabs Planets (order tickets in advance!)

  • Evening: explore the streets of Ginza, get tsukumen noodles at Oborodzuki

Day 2 (Tokyo): Kitchen supplies and cats

  • Morning: Asakusa

    • Walk through Asakusa Senso-ji Temple, Nakamise Dori for snacks/souvenirs, Kappabashi Dougu Street (Kitchen Town) for kitchen supplies galore (heads up that most stores open after 10am)

  • Afternoon: Ueno Park (beautiful during cherry blossom season!)

  • Evening: Yanaka, the “Cat Town” of Tokyo for cat cafes and cat-themed shopping

Day 3 (Tokyo): Vintage shopping galore

Vintage shops to check out: 2nd Street, TreFac Style, Atlantis Vintage (vintage shops are often clustered together so pop into all of ‘em!)

  • Morning: Koenji

  • Afternoon: Shimokitazawa

    • Check out Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory

  • Evening: Donburi

Day 4 (Tokyo): Vintage shopping galore

Vintage shops to check out: 2nd Street, TreFac Style, Atlantis Vintage (vintage shops are often clustered together so pop into all of ‘em!)

  • Morning/afternoon: Shibuya Mega Don Quixote (stock up on last-minute shopping and gifts) and vintage shopping (e.g., QQQ)

  • Evening: Yakiniku

Day 5 (Kyoto): Old streets and temples

Taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto is a truly magical experience. If you sit on the right side of the train, there’s a chance you can see Mt. Fuji! There’s an option on Klook to pay extra to get the “Mt. Fuji view”, though I’d recommend checking the weather a few days in advance—if it’s cloudy, there’s no chance you’ll be able to see Fuji-san.

  • Morning: buy ebiken (bento box meal) to eat on the Shinkansen

  • Afternoon: stroll around Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Ninenzaka, and Sannenzaka

  • Evening: Kaiseki dinner (Kyoto is known for this!), but there are plenty of fantastic options on the main street in Gion, like teriyaki eel

Day 6 (Kyoto): day trip to Nara

  • Morning: arrive and walk to Nara Park. Buy deer crackers for 200 yen, and spend time with the bowing deer

  • Afternoon: Todai-ji Temple and the giant Buddha. There’s a wooden pillar with a small hole—if you crawl through this, you supposedly reach enlightenment!

  • Evening: beautiful seafood bento box from

Day 7 (Kyoto): Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari

  • Morning: Fushimi Inari walk—go EARLY if you want to avoid packed crowds! Like 6am early

  • Afternoon: Arashiyama

    • Visit the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

    • Saihoji Temple (moss temple, beautiful + tranquil, make sure you book tickets in advance)

    • Tenryu-ji Temple

    • Lunch at __: it’s run by a couple and everything is made in-house. You can truly taste the love and care put into each dish!

  • Evening: dinner in Arashiyama

Day 8 (Kyoto): day trip to Uji, matcha heaven

  • Morning: walk across Uji Bridge, visit Byodo-in Temple (the temple on the 10 yen coin)

  • Afternoon/evening: matcha, matcha, and more matcha

    • Buy matcha and try ALL the matcha foods (there’s matcha takoyaki, matcha ramen, matcha cheesecake, matcha ice cream, etc.)

    • Go to a tradTenitional tea ceremony (buy tickets in advance here)

    • Take a matcha-making course and learn about how matcha is made

Day 9 (Osaka):

Take the Shinkansen to Osaka.

  • Morning: Transit to Osaka

  • Afternoon: Osaka Castle, Dotonbori (street food + neon vibes)

    • Try takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, the jiggly cheesecake from Uncle Rikuro

  • Evening: Ramen

    • Options:

Day 10 (Osaka):

Fly home!

Jessica Wang