7-Day Classic Golden Route

Overview

The 7-day classic Golden Route: Tokyo + Hakone + Kyoto + Osaka. Japan's most-booked itinerary.

• Hotel base: 3 Tokyo + 1 Hakone ryokan + 2 Kyoto + 0 Osaka (day-trip)
• Transit: 7-day JR Pass ¥50,000 (break-even on this route)
• Budget: ¥248,000/person

Day 1 — Tokyo Asakusa + Akihabara

Day 2 — Tokyo Shibuya + Shinjuku

Day 3 — Hakone overnight

• Morning Romance Car Shinjuku → Hakone-Yumoto
• Hakone Open-Air + Owakudani + Ashi cruise
• Eve ryokan onsen + kaiseki

Day 4 — Hakone → Kyoto

• AM onsen + ryokan breakfast
• Lunch shinkansen Odawara → Kyoto 2h, ¥13,500
• PM Higashiyama: Yasaka Pagoda + Kiyomizu

Day 5 — Kyoto Arashiyama + Fushimi

Day 6 — Osaka day-trip

• Shinkansen Kyoto → Osaka 15 min
• Castle + Dotonbori + Shinsaibashi
• Eve back to Kyoto

Day 7 — Nara day-trip → fly out from Kansai

• AM Nara deer
• PM fly out from Kansai Airport

Hotels

• Tokyo: Hotel Mystays Premier ¥13,000
• Hakone: Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora ¥28,000
• Kyoto: Sakura Terrace ¥11,000

JR Pass math

• Singles: Tokyo→Odawara ¥3,500 + Odawara→Kyoto ¥13,500 + Kyoto↔Osaka ¥2,840 + Kyoto↔Nara ¥1,440 + Kyoto→KIX ¥3,190 = ¥24,470
• 7-day Pass ¥50,000 → does NOT pay off
• → Buy singles

The Pass only wins if you add a Hiroshima or Nikko day-trip.