Noob solo traveler: Japan - 2 weeks?

Hey guys, I got a nice job this summer and I've been saving up my money to potentially travel to Japan next summer. This will be my first solo travel trip ever. Also, my first time living by myself (which I have no problem with).

I was originally looking to spend about 3,000 CAD on a month trip to Japan (I know it's impossible now that I budgeted it, I was ignorant back then), however a bit of advice on Reddit told me to raise my budget a little bit to 5k if I wanted to do a month, although as a student with relatively amount of savings, I'm a little hesitant on spending almost double what I intended.

Here's my dilemma; I don't mind spending more on a trip to Japan if it'll be worth it. But on the other hand, I don't want to stay long enough to spoil my trip by overexposure. I've never done something like this before, so I don't know if that's even possible, but maybe less is better.

I'm definitely not the nightlife/party/drinking kind of person, so staying in a big city isn't a must. My current itinerary is:

Kyoto for 10 days: the perfect city for history, sightseeing. Then the rest of the trip visiting surrounding cities like Nara, Kobe, Osaka, Himeji, Hiroshima/Miyajima. I budgeted this to about 3,200 CAD, which includes 2 Kansai-Hiroshima passes and about 150 dollars on a Suica card. 30 dollars a day for food and attractions.

However, should I make this trip tighter to make it more convenient? Maybe 10 days in Kyoto, 10 days in Osaka, which might cut down on the transportation costs since the Kansai-Hiroshima pass can eat into my budget, as well as constantly traveling about for the first time on my own might make me more stressed than being able to enjoy myself.

I am also quite the foodie, so trying foods and discovering cuisine is a top priority of mine on this trip as well. I don't want to feel like a tourist, but rather feel Japanese for a short period of time (impossible as a foreigner but you get what I mean).

Should I streamline my trip even more, maybe to 14 days? Or is my current 19 enough? Any advice is appreciated.

It all depends on what your interests are, but I doubt very much that a first trip to Japan for 2 weeks will be an "over exposure."

My first trip to Japan was for 2 months - that was a bit too long all at once. The second trip was for one month, and I felt that was a very satisfying duration. For the third trip I went "only" for 2 weeks, since I had already see pretty much everything I wanted to see of Japan, and most of those 2 weeks were spent in Kyoto.

You can travel with flexibility such that if you get bored with one place, just check out of your accommodation and go to another destination. If you are on a tight budget, you can stay at a hostel, capsule hotel, or guest house etc.

Hi!

I'm a little confused as to why you would need 2 Kansai-Hiroshima passes for your 20 day period. I can easily see one from the places you listed... but I am not sure where the second pass is coming from.

I personally couldn't spend 10 days in Osaka unless I was planning to take a lot of day trips. Places like Nara are better to get to via the private Kintetsu line vs. JR. For Kobe, if you are traveling from Osaka you might be better off with a Special Rapid rather than using the shinkansen. I would fit Himeji in during one of the 5 days the pass is valid.

Good luck!

Hi, if you�fre a foody, you�fll like Japan. Osaka in particular, has great food.
10 days in Osaka might be a bit long, unless you are using it as a base to take day trips from. You might want to consider some time in Tokyo, which is just amazing.
Kyoto and surrounds has much to look at, with more just short trips away, so a week or more there would be good.

If you say you don�ft like cities, maybe try some
countryside?

I too made my first trip ever to Japan alone and my advice about 19 days is DO IT. I was there for 9 days and I was so sad cus I was so unexperienced that I "wasted time" on being overwhelmed by stupid things like umbrella stands and vending machines. So I dont think you will be stressed out in the end - mostly in the beginning cus everything is so new and exciting so you spend a few days adapting before you actually start to enjoy yourself and the culture.

I was in Tokyo the first few days and then went on to stay in Osaka because of its central placement. From there I went to Kyoto, Himeji and Hiroshima. I hadnt even planned Hiroshima but during the end of my trip I had seen everything I came for cus the Japanese train system took me by surprise. I knew it was good but damn... you can visit a lot of cities in just one day. Last year I did Osaka, Nara, Uji and Hiroshima on my first day because now I know how to plan my trip. So I will also advice you to get a train pass and go see more than just a few cities when you are there for so long - plus YOU ARE IN JAPAN. Kyoto has a lot to see but 10 days still sounds like overkill to me if you dont plan on leaving the city. Most of the attractions are in the same areas like Arashiyama and can be seen in one day. I have never stayed in Kyoto but seen most of the city after 5 different day trips. And Kyoto has a shinkansen station so you can just stay there and use the city as your base during your entire trip cus it is easy to get to the places you want to go from Kyoto. I would just get a to week

As for the budget... I usually only bring around 250 CAD for a week trip. Cus I too am a student so I am also on a budget. Also I am not a foodie so I dont mind konbini-meals and Japanese attractions are pretty chep. Then I buy a Rail Pass - that is around 345 CAD and I only need hotels to sleep at and take a shower so I rent cheap rooms for no more than 50 CAD a night so a week in Japan usually costs me less than 1000 CAD.