Japan Holidays: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Mount Fuji, Month by Month

The short answer

What is a Japan holiday with us?

Japan is a long way to go for one city, and it is an easy country to over-plan. The trap is trying to fit Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Hakone into ten nights and spending a third of the holiday on trains. We sell Japan in two shapes, and the difference between them is mostly how much time you have.

Japan Discovery, ten nights. Four nights in Tokyo, three in Kyoto and three in Osaka, joined by bullet train on a seven-day Japan Rail Pass. The Tokyo stay includes a full day at Tokyo Disneyland and a day trip to the Fuji Five Lakes at the foot of Mount Fuji. It is the route almost everyone should do on a first visit: the capital, the old imperial city and the country’s food city, each with enough nights to be a stay rather than a stop.

Japan Discovery, fourteen nights. The same route, plus Hiroshima, Miyajima and Hakone, on a ten-day rail pass. The extra four nights cost £500 per person in every month. It is the version for people who want to see the country’s west and a hot-spring town, and it is the version those extra places need — squeezing them into ten nights is the over-planning trap.

Tokyo and Kyoto, six or eight nights. The two most different cities in the country, about two hours apart, and nothing else. Tokyo is dense, modern and enormous; Kyoto is low-rise, older and quieter, built around temples, gardens and narrow streets. It is the shorter first taste, from £1,199 per person.

How much does a holiday to Japan cost?

These are our lead-in prices per person, based on two sharing, with return flights from London. On Japan Discovery they also cover the Japan Rail Pass, 4★ hotels with breakfast, the Tokyo Disneyland ticket and the Mount Fuji day trip. Fourteen nights cost £500 more than ten in every month.

Tokyo and Kyoto prices are released to February 2027; for later dates, tell us when you want to go and we will price it.

The spread on Japan Discovery is narrow for long-haul: £300 between the cheapest and dearest months, or 16%. October 2026, January and February 2027 share the lowest price, and December, April and August share the highest. That makes the month mostly a weather decision rather than a money one — the choice between cold, clear January and blossom-season April is £300 per person, not double.

What sits outside the package price. Lunches and dinners, local subway and metro fares within the cities, the Nara excursion from Osaka and, on the fourteen-night version, Hiroshima excursions, and travel insurance. Two smaller rail costs are worth knowing about as well: the special ticket for the fastest Nozomi trains, if you want them, and a baggage fee if you board with a large case and no reservation for it. Both are explained below.

When is the best time to go to Japan?

Japan has four proper seasons and the weather changes the holiday more than the price does. The figures below are the official 1991–2020 averages from the Japan Meteorological Agency, as published by the World Meteorological Organization, for Tokyo and for Osaka, the Kansai station on the route.

Spring and cherry blossom: late March to early April

The blossom is the reason most people ask about spring. The Japan Meteorological Agency’s 1991–2020 averages put the first flowers in Tokyo on 24 March and full bloom on 31 March; in Kyoto, 26 March and 4 April; in Osaka, 27 March and 4 April. Those are averages, and in any given year the dates move, so the safest plan is to travel across the turn of the month rather than aim for a single day. On Japan Discovery that means March 2027 at £1,999 or April 2027 at £2,199 per person — April is one of the three dearest months.

Summer: hot, humid and in typhoon season

August is the hottest month in both cities on these averages, at 31.3°C in Tokyo and 33.7°C in Osaka, and GOV.UK warns that Japanese summers are extremely hot and humid, with temperatures often above 35°C in July and August. June is Osaka’s wettest month on both rain days and rainfall, and Tokyo’s month with the most rain days. GOV.UK also gives the tropical cyclone (typhoon) season as June to December, peaking between July and September. Summer works if you plan temples for early morning and keep museums for the afternoon, but it is not the season we would suggest for a first visit.

Autumn: November is the calm balance

October is Tokyo’s wettest month by rainfall, at 234.8mm, and it sits inside the typhoon season. November is the turn: Tokyo averages 16.7°C with 7.4 rain days and Osaka 17.8°C with 6.2, and in both cities November has fewer rain days than any month from March to October. It costs £1,999 per person on Japan Discovery, £100 more than October, and it is the month we would suggest to anyone who wants mild walking weather without the spring premium.

Winter: cold, dry and the cheapest

December, January and February are Tokyo’s three driest months on both rain days and rainfall, and January is Osaka’s driest on both. They are also cold — Tokyo’s January averages a high of 9.8°C and a low of 1.2°C — but cold and clear is good sightseeing weather in a country built for walking between trains. January and February 2027 share the lowest Japan Discovery price, £1,899 per person, and January is the cheapest month for Tokyo and Kyoto on their own, at £1,199. December is dearer, at £2,199.

The route: Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka

Tokyo, four nights

Tokyo is where the long-haul flights land, and it is the right place to start: no train on the day you arrive, and the quieter cities come later, when you want them more. The first full day covers the two sides of the city — Shibuya, with its famous crossing, and Sensō-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo’s oldest temple. The third day is Tokyo Disneyland on the included one-day ticket, and the fourth is the included day trip to the Fuji Five Lakes, at the foot of Mount Fuji. The mountain can be hidden by cloud, so keep your expectations about the view flexible; the lakes are worth the day either way. Hotels are 4★, such as the Shinjuku Washington Hotel or similar, with breakfast.

Kyoto, three nights

Kyoto is the old imperial capital and the reason many people come to Japan at all. The route covers Fushimi Inari, with its thousands of red torii gates climbing the hillside, Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, and the bamboo grove at Arashiyama on the city’s western edge. Three nights covers the main temple districts with time left to walk the older streets. Hotels are 4★, such as the Kyoto Tokyu Hotel or similar.

Osaka, three nights

Osaka is the food city. Dotonbori, the neon-lit food street along the canal, is the first evening, and Osaka Castle and its park the next day. The last full day is free, or an optional day trip to Nara — its deer park and Tōdai-ji’s giant bronze Buddha — which is paid locally or arranged in advance with your consultant. Hotels are 4★, such as Hotel Nikko Osaka or similar. The final day is the journey back for the flight home from Tokyo, confirmed with your travel documents.

The fourteen-night additions: Hiroshima, Miyajima and Hakone

Hiroshima is the Peace Memorial Park and museum, and Miyajima, the island just off its coast, is the Itsukushima Shrine and its torii gate standing in the sea at high tide. Hakone is a hot-spring town in the mountains near Fuji. Together they turn the trip from the big three cities into the country, which is what the extra four nights are for. Hiroshima excursions are not included in the package price.

How the bullet train and the Japan Rail Pass work

The Tokaido Shinkansen joins Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and it is the part of the trip people worry about unnecessarily.

Tokyo to Kyoto takes about 130 minutes — that is JR Central’s own figure, and it is the fastest Nozomi trains that achieve it. Trains run from Tokyo Station, and Kyoto Station is in the middle of the city rather than on the edge of it.

What the Japan Rail Pass covers. Japan Discovery includes a seven-day pass on ten nights and a ten-day pass on fourteen. On the Tokaido Shinkansen, JR Central says the pass covers the Hikari and Kodama trains. The faster Nozomi trains need a separate special ticket sold only to pass holders — 4,960 yen per adult from Tokyo or Shinagawa to Kyoto or to Shin-Osaka — bought at station ticket machines or offices once you are in Japan, not online beforehand. Hikari trains stop a little more often; for most people the pass alone is enough.

Large luggage needs a reservation. Cases whose length, width and depth add up to between 160cm and 250cm need a seat with an oversized baggage area booked in advance. The reservation costs nothing extra, but boarding with a case that size and no reservation brings a 1,000 yen fee. Travelling with one manageable bag each makes the city changes genuinely easy instead of merely possible.

Seats are reserved and the trains leave exactly on time. Arrive on the platform rather than at the station.

How many nights do you need in Japan?

Six or eight nights covers Tokyo and Kyoto properly, split evenly — three and three, or four and four. Three nights in Tokyo covers a couple of neighbourhoods rather than all of them; three in Kyoto covers the main temple districts. Given how far the flight is, eight is the version we would push you towards.

Ten nights is the right length for a first trip that includes Osaka and Mount Fuji. It is Japan Discovery’s standard shape, and it keeps every city at three or four nights, which is the minimum that feels like a stay.

Fourteen nights is for the west of the country and Hakone. Trying to fit Hiroshima into ten nights costs you a day of travel from a trip that has none spare.

Who is a Japan holiday for, and who should look elsewhere?

First-time visitors are who Japan Discovery is built for: the big three cities, Mount Fuji and the rail pass sorted before you leave.

Families. The included Tokyo Disneyland day makes it one of the easier long-haul trips to sell to children, and Japan’s punctual trains make it an easy country to move around with them. The published prices are per person based on two adults sharing; prices for children are confirmed when you enquire.

Couples and honeymooners who want a city holiday rather than a beach one. Kyoto in November or at blossom time is as romantic as anywhere we sell.

People looking for all-inclusive Japan should know we do not sell it that way, and we would not want to: breakfast is included every day, and lunch and dinner in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are one of the reasons to go. If you want a resort with everything included, look at our multi-centre holidays that end on a beach instead.

Luxury. The packages are priced on 4★ hotels. If a particular property matters to you, tell us and we will price it directly, so you can see the difference before deciding.

Who should look elsewhere: anyone who wants a relaxing week by a pool. Japan is a walking, train-riding, early-rising holiday, and it is at its best when you are out all day. For Asian cities with a beach at the end, Thailand and Vietnam are the better fit.

Practical things worth knowing

Entry. British passport holders do not need a visa in advance. GOV.UK says you can get a visa on arrival for tourism for up to 90 days. Your passport must be valid for the length of your stay — Japan asks for no additional period beyond that, which is unusual — and you need a blank page for the stamp. Checked against GOV.UK travel advice on 28 September 2026; check again close to travel.

Time difference. Japan is nine hours ahead of the UK in winter and eight hours ahead during British Summer Time, because Japan does not change its clocks.

Cash still matters. The currency is the Japanese yen. Japan is far more card-friendly than it was, but smaller restaurants, temples and some transport still expect cash. Carry more yen than instinct suggests.

Earthquakes. GOV.UK notes that Japan is in a major earthquake zone, and advises taking note of the instructions in hotel rooms and at train stations and following the advice of local authorities.

The flight is the long part. London to Tokyo is the hard leg of this holiday, not the trains in the middle. Plan the first day in Tokyo as a light one.

Booking and protection

Every Japan holiday we sell is protected under ATOL 10713, and you receive an ATOL Certificate setting out what is covered. A deposit of £99 per person secures the booking. ATOL protects the money you pay if a travel company fails; it is not travel insurance, which is not included and which you should arrange when you book — particularly for travel in the typhoon months.

Frequently asked questions