Tokyo's neon, Kyoto's temples, Mount Fuji and Hiroshima's island shrine, linked by some of the fastest and most punctual trains in the world.
Japan welcomed a record 42 million visitors in 2025, and 2026 has brought a wave of new costs to match: a higher departure tax, dearer rail passes, higher visa fees and steeper hotel taxes in Kyoto. Here is what has changed, and where to go.
Sources: Business Today, July 2026 (departure tax, visa fees, visitor numbers), JNTO (rail pass), Time Out (Kyoto tax), Official Mt. Fuji Climbing site and Get Hiroshima, checked 9 October 2026. Confirm before you pay.
Most trips start here, through Narita or Haneda airport. Tokyo moves from the neon crossings of Shibuya and Shinjuku to the old temple streets of Asakusa, with world-class food at every price, from convenience stores to counter sushi.
Good base for day trips to Mount Fuji, Nikko and Kamakura
Book: teamLab Planets tickets ↗ Partner link
Japan's old imperial capital: the torii tunnels of Fushimi Inari, the bamboo groves of Arashiyama and quiet walks through the forested hills around the city. Since March 2026 Kyoto charges one of Japan's highest lodging taxes.
Lodging tax ¥200 to ¥10,000 per person per night, by room rate
Read our Kyoto guide →Kyoto (JNTO) ↗
Stay: Seryo, a ryokan in the Ohara hills ↗ Partner link
Osaka is Japan's street-food city, at its loudest around the canal-side lights of Dotonbori. Nara, a short train ride away, is home to the giant bronze Buddha of Todai-ji and the free-roaming deer of Nara Park.
Easy to combine with Kyoto on one rail route
Japan's highest peak is best seen from the lakes at its northern foot, or from the Chureito Pagoda above Fujiyoshida. Climbers on the Yoshida Trail now pay a fee and must carry proper gear.
Yoshida Trail: 1 July to 10 September, ¥4,000 per climber, 4,000 a day
Book: Mount Fuji day trip from Tokyo ↗ Partner link
Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and museum tell the story of 6 August 1945. A short ferry away, the island of Miyajima holds Itsukushima Shrine and its great torii gate standing in the sea at high tide.
Miyajima visitor tax ¥100 per person, collected with the ferry fare
Japan's northern island: deep powder snow for skiing in winter, the Sapporo Snow Festival each February, and cooler summers with flower fields around Furano. It also largely escapes the early-summer rainy season.
Reach it by plane from Tokyo or by the Hokkaido Shinkansen
Japan stretches from snowy Hokkaido to subtropical Okinawa, so the best time depends on where you are going and what you want to see.
Japan rewards light, practical packing: you will walk a lot, take your shoes off often and carry more cash than you might expect.
Japan is a walking country: expect long days on foot between stations, temples and markets.
Search optionsYou will take your shoes off often, at temples, traditional inns and some restaurants.
Search optionsCash is still common at shrines, small restaurants and markets, and ¥100 and ¥500 coins add up fast.
Search optionsMaps, translation and rail apps drain a phone quickly on long sightseeing days.
Search optionsTemperatures swing between morning and evening, and between Tokyo, the mountains and Hokkaido.
Search optionsJapan uses two-pin Type A sockets at 100 volts; check your chargers can handle it.
Search optionsMany public washrooms have no paper towels or dryers, so locals carry a small cloth.
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