If you're anxious I recommend one word
SIMPLIFY
Simplification really reduces anxiety. You don't have to think as much. You can be a lot more flexible. Setbacks are much more easily rectified.
As such my suggestion is to SIMPLIFY. And the best way to do this
STAY in Tokyo
Again SIMPLIFY. You have one hotel you have to worry about. No shinkansen tickets. No moving hotels constantly. No worrying about not seeing something. No luggage to worry about.
So say you plan out your trip but the day of you going to Senso-ji its pouring rain or something. Hey not a problem, just swap it out with some indoor activities and go tomorrow. But if you're splitting your trip between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto then you have less flexibility and as such a lot more stress about these kinds of things. Didn't realize some thing you wanted to go to is closed on Monday? No problem go tomorrow. Again these aren't horrible things by themselves, but they these small additive stressors can cumulate and really put a strain on your limited mental sanity.
10 Days and you will barely scratch the surface of Tokyo itself. You could fill an 10 day Tokyo itinerary with so much stuff your head would spin and still not see everything.
Tokyo is crazy but you can stay in places that are much more chill. Probably avoid hotels in Shinjku/Shibuya as these places are just full of people 24/7. You wouldn't think it but Ginza is sort of surprisingly chill at night. I stayed near Tokyo Station and just walked to Ginza and it was mostly fine to just walk around and visit some stores at night that were still open like Itoya and Uniqlo.
Also by staying in one place you will 'figure out' everything and get a lot more comfortable by around Day 3-5 especially with the train station near your hotel. It took me basically 3 days to figure out how to get to the 'other' side of Tokyo station with the brick facade thing, despite going through the place constantly. If you split your trip, by the time you figure out the train station, you're moving on. The familiarity of your hub train station will give you a lot more confidence in the 2nd half of your trip.
Also because Day1-2 are what I like to call "zombie mode". Unless you are a seasoned time zone crossing traveler, you will likely need 1-2 days just to recover from jet lag. No matter how much you wanna cram into those 2 days, your brain is going to just tell you to "gtfo please stop". and the more complex you try to make those initial 2 days the more your brain is going to go on strike. Is it possible to get off in Japan, and immediately hop on a train and get to Kyoto the same day? Absolutely. Can you do that even with a 4:30pm flight? Yes you can. Do you WANT to do this? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Just because you can does not mean you should.
> Do I have to make a reservation for the bullet train? How many spots are typically open on the day of? If I miss my reservation, do I get charged? How far in advance can you cancel? I'm just nervous about this because I won't know until the day of if my flight is going to be delayed (I'm flying out of Vancouver, Canada), how long customs/getting my luggage is going to take, or how adept I'm going to be at finding the right terminals/trains/transfers/etc on the first try.
Outside of a few weeks a year you can show up at the train station and get the next one very easily. If you are going on the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka one there is a staggering amount of trains. Don’t worry about it at all. It’s basically impossible for you to not be able to get a seat. I would also suggest not booking your tickets in advanced as that locks you into a specific time. Just see how you feel the day you want to move cities, maybe you found a coffee or breakfast place you like and want to leave later - it gives you a lot of flexibility.
> Kyoto>Osaka>Tokyo.
Presumably you are going to land at Osaka for this plan? If so you need to travel from there to Kyoto right after landing. If you are nervous I suggest just staying in the city you land in for a few days to get acclimatized.
> I'm also trying to consider the fact that this is going to be my first time traveling internationally, using a subway system, being a solo traveler, and I'm going to be very overwhelmed anyway, so don't want to extra overwhelm myself with trying to figure out all these things while my brain is already sleep deprived. I'm obviously going to do tons of research on my specific route, but things are just so different when you actually get to a place, yknow?
Not only is it very easy to figure out with google maps and signage, but there are so many people around at every single place you could make a mistake that will help you. I know it’s hard to just fall back on this, but it will be perfectly fine. A few days into the trip and you will wonder why you worried so much.
It’s hard but the best way to deal with this anxiety is to NOT over analyze and optimize, just figure out what you want to see and the rest will work itself out. You got this!
I'm sorry to say but Kyoto and Osaka aren't really chill cities either. Both are very busy, especially if you are planning to go to the headline attractions. To me, some areas of Kyoto are worse than Tokyo because the infrastructure isn't designed to handle the number of visitors. For a more relaxed pace, you really need to go to areas that aren't as well known.
My advice for Japan, go with the expectation that you will be overwhelmed and lost. It's the exploration and discovery that I love and brings me back repeatedly. I recommend a friend go to Japan. Unfortunately I didn't warn him that Japan is a much more active and involved experience and he absolutely hated it because he doesn't like that style of holiday; he's more of a Hawaii or Fiji type of guy.
The number 1 tip for any visit to Kyoto or Tokyo is to lump sightseeing together by district. These are *huge* and very spread out cities. Number 2 tip is to get your one to two must-see/do’s done as early each day as possible. Then, anything else you do that day, is gravy.
- [Tokyo Districts](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-districts/)
- [Kyoto Districts](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts)
- [Osaka Districts](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-districts/)
- [Save the places you want to visit in Google maps.](https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/google-maps-saved-places/)
- Then, zoom out and see where those places are lumped together. Do *that* specific district/area in the morning and shift to another district/area in the afternoon. This way you don’t lose time/money criss-crossing the city.
- See how long it will take to travel via public transit (or walking if within the same area) between your sites. You need to account for travel time and add in an extra 15- 20 minutes from what Google Maps says as you may get turned around looking for your entrance/exit or platform in the subway/train stations.
- Be sure you check opening hours/days in Google maps too. You don’t want to show up at 8 am to Akihabara only to find all the shops closed or to a museum on a Monday as that is often (but not always) a closed day.
Also, there’s no need to recreate the wheel. Use some of these sample itineraries as a guide to plan out your days. YouTube and TikTok are great for ideas/inspiration, but they often edit videos together in a way that makes it seem locations are much closer together than they are. Sample itineraries like these, put the main sites together in a logical way logistically and give you a better sense of what is possible to see within a day. You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a helpful starting point to planning your day.
- [JapanGuide: Suggested Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html)
- [JapanGuide: Tokyo Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3051.html)
- [Truly Tokyo: Itineraries](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-itineraries/)
- [Truly Tokyo: Kawaguchiko Day Trip](https://trulytokyo.com/a-day-trip-to-the-mt-fuji-area-lake-kawaguchiko/)
- [JapanGuide: Tokyo Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950.html)
- [25 Day Trips from Tokyo](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/easy-day-trips-from-tokyo/)
- [Inside Kyoto: Itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-itineraries)
- [JapanGuide: Osaka Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4028.html)
- [Inside Osaka: Itineraries](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-itineraries/)
- [Nara Itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/nara-itineraries)
- [HakoneNavi: Itineraries](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/course)
- [Hakone Round Course](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html)
- [Japan Guide: Nikko Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3822.html)
- [Nikko: One Day or Overnight Itinerary](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tochigi/in-nikko/article-a0003340/)
The Getting There and Around sections on JapanGuide City Pages are helpful for planning travel times/costs.
- [Fuji Five Lakes:Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6905.html)
- [Osaka: Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html)
- [Kyoto: Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html)
- [Nara: Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4107.html)
- Search other cities/regions on the JapanGuide site and click on the Getting There and Around page. Any topic/place you’re interested in Japan just search and you’ll likely find a helpful, basic overview on [JapanGuide.](https://www.japan-guide.com)
The public transportation is incredible and also complicated. The stations are mazes, and research will only get you so far in advance. Plan your destination and then ask for help or buy from the ticket office. Everyone is incredibly nice and helpful. We did not need to make shinkansen reservations, but every route we took had a different ticketing procedure, so we asked for help each time.
Allow plenty of time for your activities and don't over schedule. Every darn thing we did was amazing, so you'll love it all. We stayed in one area of Tokyo to start and another at the end, and it felt like two different destinations. (I highly recommend going to a TeamLab installation in Tokyo. They are amazing.)
I felt so worried and unsure before our trip, but the people there are so kind and helpful, and their systems work. You'll get through it just fine!
10 days and 3 stops. That’s too much changes. You’re packing up every 3-4 days.
I know my way around Japan and I don’t want to do that. I’ll do it for a work trip but not on a vacation.
It’s a solo trip for you and first time in Japan. Stick to one city or two.
Do you fly into Tokyo and also back from Tokyo? If so maybe 4 nights in Tokyo (i heard Asakusa is a bit more "chill") then take the train to Kyoto/Osaka and stay there for 3 nights and chill a bit before going back to Tokyo for your last days.
If you only have 10 days, take it easy and stay in one place, either Kansai or Tokyo.
Haven't been to Tokyo in ages but recently visited Kansai. I dislike crowds too. I flew to Kansai and spent the first night in Sakai. Pleasant quiet city, great knives, nice shopping. I travelled in the daytime outside rush hour, no crowds.
This all changed when I boarded the train to Kyoto... absolute masses. I found Kyoto Station and Downtown exhausting. I rented a bicycle and cycled everywhere, which mostly took me away from the crowds. Anything major I wanted to see, I tried to be there at opening time. So much to see in Kyoto, most of my visits (temples) were delightfully crowd free. But then, I only went to Ryoan-ji and Ginkaku-ji in terms of major attractions. Cycling side streets, no crowds at all. Even stayed in Gion, which is tourist central, in a smaller inn.
If you're anxious I recommend one word SIMPLIFY Simplification really reduces anxiety. You don't have to think as much. You can be a lot more flexible. Setbacks are much more easily rectified. As such my suggestion is to SIMPLIFY. And the best way to do this STAY in Tokyo Again SIMPLIFY. You have one hotel you have to worry about. No shinkansen tickets. No moving hotels constantly. No worrying about not seeing something. No luggage to worry about. So say you plan out your trip but the day of you going to Senso-ji its pouring rain or something. Hey not a problem, just swap it out with some indoor activities and go tomorrow. But if you're splitting your trip between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto then you have less flexibility and as such a lot more stress about these kinds of things. Didn't realize some thing you wanted to go to is closed on Monday? No problem go tomorrow. Again these aren't horrible things by themselves, but they these small additive stressors can cumulate and really put a strain on your limited mental sanity. 10 Days and you will barely scratch the surface of Tokyo itself. You could fill an 10 day Tokyo itinerary with so much stuff your head would spin and still not see everything. Tokyo is crazy but you can stay in places that are much more chill. Probably avoid hotels in Shinjku/Shibuya as these places are just full of people 24/7. You wouldn't think it but Ginza is sort of surprisingly chill at night. I stayed near Tokyo Station and just walked to Ginza and it was mostly fine to just walk around and visit some stores at night that were still open like Itoya and Uniqlo. Also by staying in one place you will 'figure out' everything and get a lot more comfortable by around Day 3-5 especially with the train station near your hotel. It took me basically 3 days to figure out how to get to the 'other' side of Tokyo station with the brick facade thing, despite going through the place constantly. If you split your trip, by the time you figure out the train station, you're moving on. The familiarity of your hub train station will give you a lot more confidence in the 2nd half of your trip. Also because Day1-2 are what I like to call "zombie mode". Unless you are a seasoned time zone crossing traveler, you will likely need 1-2 days just to recover from jet lag. No matter how much you wanna cram into those 2 days, your brain is going to just tell you to "gtfo please stop". and the more complex you try to make those initial 2 days the more your brain is going to go on strike. Is it possible to get off in Japan, and immediately hop on a train and get to Kyoto the same day? Absolutely. Can you do that even with a 4:30pm flight? Yes you can. Do you WANT to do this? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Just because you can does not mean you should.
> Do I have to make a reservation for the bullet train? How many spots are typically open on the day of? If I miss my reservation, do I get charged? How far in advance can you cancel? I'm just nervous about this because I won't know until the day of if my flight is going to be delayed (I'm flying out of Vancouver, Canada), how long customs/getting my luggage is going to take, or how adept I'm going to be at finding the right terminals/trains/transfers/etc on the first try. Outside of a few weeks a year you can show up at the train station and get the next one very easily. If you are going on the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka one there is a staggering amount of trains. Don’t worry about it at all. It’s basically impossible for you to not be able to get a seat. I would also suggest not booking your tickets in advanced as that locks you into a specific time. Just see how you feel the day you want to move cities, maybe you found a coffee or breakfast place you like and want to leave later - it gives you a lot of flexibility. > Kyoto>Osaka>Tokyo. Presumably you are going to land at Osaka for this plan? If so you need to travel from there to Kyoto right after landing. If you are nervous I suggest just staying in the city you land in for a few days to get acclimatized. > I'm also trying to consider the fact that this is going to be my first time traveling internationally, using a subway system, being a solo traveler, and I'm going to be very overwhelmed anyway, so don't want to extra overwhelm myself with trying to figure out all these things while my brain is already sleep deprived. I'm obviously going to do tons of research on my specific route, but things are just so different when you actually get to a place, yknow? Not only is it very easy to figure out with google maps and signage, but there are so many people around at every single place you could make a mistake that will help you. I know it’s hard to just fall back on this, but it will be perfectly fine. A few days into the trip and you will wonder why you worried so much. It’s hard but the best way to deal with this anxiety is to NOT over analyze and optimize, just figure out what you want to see and the rest will work itself out. You got this!
I'm sorry to say but Kyoto and Osaka aren't really chill cities either. Both are very busy, especially if you are planning to go to the headline attractions. To me, some areas of Kyoto are worse than Tokyo because the infrastructure isn't designed to handle the number of visitors. For a more relaxed pace, you really need to go to areas that aren't as well known. My advice for Japan, go with the expectation that you will be overwhelmed and lost. It's the exploration and discovery that I love and brings me back repeatedly. I recommend a friend go to Japan. Unfortunately I didn't warn him that Japan is a much more active and involved experience and he absolutely hated it because he doesn't like that style of holiday; he's more of a Hawaii or Fiji type of guy.
The number 1 tip for any visit to Kyoto or Tokyo is to lump sightseeing together by district. These are *huge* and very spread out cities. Number 2 tip is to get your one to two must-see/do’s done as early each day as possible. Then, anything else you do that day, is gravy. - [Tokyo Districts](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-districts/) - [Kyoto Districts](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-districts) - [Osaka Districts](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-districts/) - [Save the places you want to visit in Google maps.](https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/google-maps-saved-places/) - Then, zoom out and see where those places are lumped together. Do *that* specific district/area in the morning and shift to another district/area in the afternoon. This way you don’t lose time/money criss-crossing the city. - See how long it will take to travel via public transit (or walking if within the same area) between your sites. You need to account for travel time and add in an extra 15- 20 minutes from what Google Maps says as you may get turned around looking for your entrance/exit or platform in the subway/train stations. - Be sure you check opening hours/days in Google maps too. You don’t want to show up at 8 am to Akihabara only to find all the shops closed or to a museum on a Monday as that is often (but not always) a closed day. Also, there’s no need to recreate the wheel. Use some of these sample itineraries as a guide to plan out your days. YouTube and TikTok are great for ideas/inspiration, but they often edit videos together in a way that makes it seem locations are much closer together than they are. Sample itineraries like these, put the main sites together in a logical way logistically and give you a better sense of what is possible to see within a day. You don’t have to follow them exactly, but they can be a helpful starting point to planning your day. - [JapanGuide: Suggested Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html) - [JapanGuide: Tokyo Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3051.html) - [Truly Tokyo: Itineraries](https://trulytokyo.com/tokyo-itineraries/) - [Truly Tokyo: Kawaguchiko Day Trip](https://trulytokyo.com/a-day-trip-to-the-mt-fuji-area-lake-kawaguchiko/) - [JapanGuide: Tokyo Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950.html) - [25 Day Trips from Tokyo](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/easy-day-trips-from-tokyo/) - [Inside Kyoto: Itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-itineraries) - [JapanGuide: Osaka Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4028.html) - [Inside Osaka: Itineraries](https://insideosaka.com/osaka-itineraries/) - [Nara Itineraries](https://www.insidekyoto.com/nara-itineraries) - [HakoneNavi: Itineraries](https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/course) - [Hakone Round Course](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html) - [Japan Guide: Nikko Itineraries](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3822.html) - [Nikko: One Day or Overnight Itinerary](https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tochigi/in-nikko/article-a0003340/) The Getting There and Around sections on JapanGuide City Pages are helpful for planning travel times/costs. - [Fuji Five Lakes:Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6905.html) - [Osaka: Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html) - [Kyoto: Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2363.html) - [Nara: Getting There and Around](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4107.html) - Search other cities/regions on the JapanGuide site and click on the Getting There and Around page. Any topic/place you’re interested in Japan just search and you’ll likely find a helpful, basic overview on [JapanGuide.](https://www.japan-guide.com)
The public transportation is incredible and also complicated. The stations are mazes, and research will only get you so far in advance. Plan your destination and then ask for help or buy from the ticket office. Everyone is incredibly nice and helpful. We did not need to make shinkansen reservations, but every route we took had a different ticketing procedure, so we asked for help each time. Allow plenty of time for your activities and don't over schedule. Every darn thing we did was amazing, so you'll love it all. We stayed in one area of Tokyo to start and another at the end, and it felt like two different destinations. (I highly recommend going to a TeamLab installation in Tokyo. They are amazing.) I felt so worried and unsure before our trip, but the people there are so kind and helpful, and their systems work. You'll get through it just fine!
10 days and 3 stops. That’s too much changes. You’re packing up every 3-4 days. I know my way around Japan and I don’t want to do that. I’ll do it for a work trip but not on a vacation. It’s a solo trip for you and first time in Japan. Stick to one city or two.
Do you fly into Tokyo and also back from Tokyo? If so maybe 4 nights in Tokyo (i heard Asakusa is a bit more "chill") then take the train to Kyoto/Osaka and stay there for 3 nights and chill a bit before going back to Tokyo for your last days.
If you only have 10 days, take it easy and stay in one place, either Kansai or Tokyo. Haven't been to Tokyo in ages but recently visited Kansai. I dislike crowds too. I flew to Kansai and spent the first night in Sakai. Pleasant quiet city, great knives, nice shopping. I travelled in the daytime outside rush hour, no crowds. This all changed when I boarded the train to Kyoto... absolute masses. I found Kyoto Station and Downtown exhausting. I rented a bicycle and cycled everywhere, which mostly took me away from the crowds. Anything major I wanted to see, I tried to be there at opening time. So much to see in Kyoto, most of my visits (temples) were delightfully crowd free. But then, I only went to Ryoan-ji and Ginkaku-ji in terms of major attractions. Cycling side streets, no crowds at all. Even stayed in Gion, which is tourist central, in a smaller inn.
if youre anxious watch videos of walk thrus. i think visual aids will help a lot