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Two weeks in January: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, with day trips in between.
We spent two weeks in Japan in January 2026, using Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka as bases and setting out on day trips from each. Winter isn’t the obvious choice, and a few places are better saved for spring. But the crowds were thinner, the skies were clear enough to see Mount Fuji from the train, a light snow fell over Kyoto, and some of my favorite moments happened precisely because we went when we did.
The route
Tokyo is where the trip started, and it set the pace: early mornings, full days, and something unexpected around every corner. Some of our best moments were ones we never planned, and the day we slipped away to the coast at Kamakura turned out to be one of the quietest and loveliest of the whole trip.
Day trip: Kamakura
Read the Tokyo guide
Kyoto slowed everything down. Cold mornings, temple paths, and a light snow falling over the bamboo in Arashiyama made it feel like a different world from Tokyo. A day trip to Nara and Uji gave us the most laughter of the trip, thanks to some very bold deer.
Day trip: Nara and Uji
Read the Kyoto guide
Osaka was louder, looser, and full of surprises, from an aquarium we wandered into on a whim to a day in Himeji that didn’t go as planned. That detour led to Kobe, and the best dinner of the entire trip.
Day trip: Himeji and Kobe
Read the Osaka guide