How To Plan Your First Trip to Japan

Tokyo Sky View with Mount Fuji

First let me start with our origin story. Like many we planned to go to Japan in the future, but the goal seemed distant and more like a dream. Flight prices alone made going to Japan seem unreachable. But suddenly the pandemic hit, then the stimulus checks, and now new savings from not going out as much as before. It occurred to me to check the flight prices and much to my surprise they were affordable! Only $1,119.00 for the BOTH of us leaving from ORD. Therefore, I decided to purchase our flights to Japan as an anniversary gift for us in May of 2021.

One problem though, the border was closed … to basically everyone! Nevertheless, I was hopeful and excited. Soo excited that I couldn't wait till our anniversary to tell David, which was late June. With him on board and bursting of joy and negativity of the border situation, we start planning our trip which was for February of 2022.

Fast forward, David was right! Japan was capable of having their borders closed for one of the longest if not THE longest time periods. Our flight was canceled! Although sad, we were determined to plan our trip for February of 2023 and hoped we would be good then. So now, how did we plan this daunting first trip? Below I will explain how to plan your first trip to Japan!

• Figuring out our preferred season or month of travel

Blossoming Plum Tree

We didn't have much choice in the matter of season. In our case, we work outdoors consistently in the spring, summer, and fall. Winter is our only option and the month of February is preferable for us.

Many that have an option, choose the season of spring due to the cherry blossoms blooming in March. Others choose fall for the changing landscape. The point is to figure out when your available to go and what you want to experience.

• How long would we like to stay?

For us, it was clear that we wanted to stay for at least 2 weeks. Considering the distance and uncertainty of returning to a far-off country, we would have extended our stay if our budget allowed.

So, let's say you've only got a week off, or maybe 10 days, or even a whole month. You just need to decide how much time you've got. Once you've picked a month or season to go, it'll make planning the next part a lot easier.

• Flights

As per the story above, our first flight was affordable and when we wanted them, but it didn't happen. So we planned for the next year and we stumbled upon something amazing. We learned how to book flights with airline points! Its a bit complicated and you need to commit but man was it worth it. Thanks to that we scored first class tickets for the Both of us on A.N.A., All Nippon Airlines, a Japanese airline.

First Class Cabin in A.N.A. Flight

I would definitely recommend for you to book your flight a year in advance no matter how you fly. You can wait for last minute deals but you run the risk of increasing your overall travel expenses, especially lodging, if you wait till then. Planning ahead gives you time to compare flights and hotel prices for different weeks of the month and season you choose.

Many airlines fly to Japan. If you are aiming for Tokyo, most flights land in Narita Airport which is like an hour away from Tokyo. Some flights land at Haneda Airport which is roughly 30 mins from central Tokyo. On our second trip, we got creative and found great flights to South Korea, spent the weekend there, then flew to Fukuoka, Japan. Just be flexible and take careful consideration what time you will be landing and in what airport as to plan accordingly how to get to your hotel. 

Check out this YouTube video inspired by this blog post.

• Itinerary/Budget

This one is hard. Everyone has their idea of Japan and what they want to do there. Some say you must do this or do that. It was honestly hard to figure this out with all the overwhelming information and videos out there. I feel you might edit this several times till right before the trip.

We personally based a lot of our planning from our budget and our interests. There was a never ending list of what we wanted to do but reality was we had so much time and so much money. Therefore, we made some tough decisions on our first trip, like to stay mostly in Tokyo and not get the JR Pass, basically saying no to Osaka and the rest of Japan. Some are against that, but we ultimately saved about $1,000 or more making that decision and saw most of Tokyo, which is HUGE by the way!

On our second trip, we found ourselves on the other side of Japan and creatively found affordable ways to go across the country.

The app Wanderlog was super helpful for all the planning. Word of advice, be flexible, have fun, enjoy the moment, don't let your high expectations of Japan close your mind.

• Hotel/Lodging

It can be overwhelming with all the options and types of hotels available in Japan. But if you have a general itinerary, you can start from there!

TIP: Find hotels next to the airport or near a station for the first night if you arrive late. And when I mean near, I mean like you exit the station and you see the hotel immediately. Trust me, carrying your tall luggage bag at 11:00pm in a country/station you never been before is tough, add lack of sleep, and more stairs or alleyways on the streets, yeah... no! An example is below.

Map View of Hotel by Train Station

When it comes to booking accommodation, don't forget the struggle of lugging your suitcase from place to place! On our first adventure, we decided to stay in Ueno for a whopping 12 nights. Camping out for over a week not only scored us a better deal but also saved us from the dreaded hotel-hopping hassle. On our second escapade, we wanted to explore Japan and we went all out with our hotel points, bouncing around Japan and relying heavily on the hotel luggage service. Ultimately, your lodging choice(s) will be based on how ambitious your itinerary is and your overall budget.

For us, choosing the right location in Tokyo was important due to the fact it was our hub for soo long. The right location for us is in central Tokyo, near a station with many different lines available. Factoring in your location based on your itinerary can save you money, and most importantly scared time! If you are looking for suggestions on where to stay in Japan, be sure to read this blog post.

• Transportation

Japan has the best railway system throughout the whole country. Tokyo has endless lines to get you anywhere you want. There is also buses, overnight buses, and ferries. Renting a car is an option, but not really needed or recommend for Tokyo. They even have a discounted Japan Rail Pass for foreigners only, which can be a great deal depending on your itinerary.

Based on our first itinerary of Yokohama and Tokyo, getting a Pasmo or Suica card and paying as we go was cheaper than the JR Pass. We really enjoyed these versatile cards that got us around effortlessly and were easy to reload.

The JR Pass is definitely recommended for those traveling through Japan. Japan Railways just raised the prices for this pass significantly but it is still a deal for cross country travelers. But if you get really creative and are flexible with time, you can live without this pass and discover some amazing options.

• Conclusion

Planning a trip is like a puzzle, every piece is important and connected. All the factors above helped us to plan our trips. Hope our planning strategy helps yours!