Your Local Guide to Japan

The Best Tours & Experiences in Japan

Japan packs neon city blocks, thousand-year-old temples, and volcanic hot springs into a country you can cross by bullet train before lunch. Most first trips open in Tokyo, where Senso-ji and the Nakamise stalls of Asakusa sit a short train ride from Shibuya crossing, the Shinjuku alleyways, and the teamLab digital art museums. Guided walks are the fastest way to make sense of a city with no street names and thirteen competing rail operators.

West, Kyoto holds the vermilion torii tunnels of Fushimi Inari, the bamboo path at Arashiyama, and the gold-leaf pavilion of Kinkaku-ji, with the geisha lanes of Gion best walked at dusk. An hour away, Nara puts bowing deer and the Great Buddha of Todai-ji in one afternoon, while Osaka trades temples for takoyaki, kushikatsu, and the neon canals of Dotonbori.

Out of the cities, Mount Fuji rises over the Fuji Five Lakes, with day tours pairing the Fifth Station with a ropeway ride and a lake cruise in Hakone before an onsen soak. Further west, Hiroshima joins the Peace Memorial Park to the floating torii gate on Miyajima, and the northern island of Sapporo adds powder snow and seafood markets. Every tour we feature is Viator-verified, top-rated, and bookable with free cancellation.