Self-Launched Japan Golden Route: Osaka, Kyoto, Mount Fuji & Tokyo

Land at Kansai International (KIX) and take the Nankai Rapi:t or the cheaper Nankai airport express (about £5-9) into Namba. Check into a hostel or capsule hotel in Namba or Shinsaibashi. In the late afternoon, wander Dotonbori's canal-side neon strip and graze your way through takoyaki, okonomiyaki and kushikatsu — this is Japan's 'kitchen capital', so skip a set dinner and eat street by street. If you want company, most Osaka hostels run free evening walks or common-room dinners; hostels are the natural replacement for the group welcome meeting.

🚌Nankai airport express KIX to Namba (~£5-9); walking and subway around town (~£2-4/day)

🛏Hostel or capsule hotel in Namba/Shinsaibashi (~£20-28/night)

• →Dotonbori evening walk
• →Street-food crawl (takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu)
• →Optional: Umeda Sky Building Floating Garden Observatory (~£12)

Ride the Tokaido Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto (about 15 minutes, ~£11 unreserved, or hop the much cheaper JR Special Rapid local for ~£4 in 30 minutes). Drop bags at your guesthouse, then take the JR Nara line two stops to Inari and walk up through the tunnels of red torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha — free, open 24 hours, and far quieter if you start late afternoon or at dusk. In the evening, walk the lantern-lit lanes of Gion and Pontocho at your own pace (a self-guided audio walk on a podcast or app replaces the CEO-led tour); remember photography is restricted in some Gion alleys.

🚌Shinkansen Shin-Osaka to Kyoto (~£11) or JR Special Rapid (~£4); JR Nara line to Inari (~£1)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in central Kyoto near Kyoto Station or Kawaramachi (~£22-30/night)

• →Fushimi Inari Taisha hike to the summit (free, ~2 hrs)
• →Gion and Pontocho evening wander
• →Optional: Nishiki Market food stalls

Get out early — before 8am — to reach the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove ahead of the crowds (JR Sagano line to Saga-Arashiyama, ~£2). Pair it with the riverside Togetsukyo Bridge and, if you fancy it, the free-ish Okochi Sanso villa garden or the Iwatayama monkey park. Come back into town for an afternoon of temples and Zen gardens at your own rhythm: Ryoan-ji's rock garden (about £3) and Daisen-in (about £2.50) are both cheap and easy by city bus (day pass ~£4.50). Finish with a bowl of Kyoto-style ramen or a cheap izakaya dinner.

🚌JR Sagano line to Arashiyama (~£2); Kyoto city bus day pass (~£4.50)

🛏Guesthouse or hostel in central Kyoto (~£22-30/night)

• →Arashiyama Bamboo Grove (free, early morning)
• →Ryoan-ji Zen rock garden (~£3)
• →Daisen-in Zen garden (~£2.50)
• →Optional: Sagano Scenic Railway or boat ride

The long travel day: Shinkansen or JR to Mishima or Otsuki, then the Fujikyu Railway to Kawaguchiko (total roughly £35-45, around 3.5-4 hours), or take the direct Fujikyu highway bus from Kyoto/Osaka if you'd rather not change trains. Arrive mid-afternoon at a lakeside minshuku or budget ryokan with its own onsen. Walk the northern shore of Lake Kawaguchi for Fuji viewpoints, take a soak in the hot spring before dark, then sit down to a kaiseki-style multi-course dinner — many small ryokan include dinner and breakfast in the room rate, which is how you replicate this night cheaply (£70-100 all-in rather than the group-tour premium). Cover tattoos if you have them.

🚌JR/Shinkansen to Otsuki or Mishima plus Fujikyu Railway to Kawaguchiko (~£35-45); buses and walking locally (~£3)

🛏Lakeside minshuku or budget ryokan with onsen, dinner and breakfast included (~£75-100 for the night, the trip's splurge)

• →Lake Kawaguchi lakeside walk and Fuji viewpoints
• →Ryokan onsen soak
• →Kaiseki-style dinner at the ryokan (usually included)

Breakfast at the ryokan, then spend the morning on foot along the lake or take the cheaper local bus to Oishi Park and the Kawaguchiko herb and flower fields (free to wander). If the mountain is clear, the ropeway up Mt Tenjo (~£5) is the best-value viewpoint. Mid-afternoon, ride the Fujikyu Railway to Otsuki and pick up the JR Chuo line or a Shinkansen into Tokyo (~£25-35, 2.5-3 hours), or take the direct Fujikyu highway bus to Shinjuku (~£10-12). Check into a hostel in Shinjuku, Asakusa or Kuramae and eat cheap at a standing soba bar or conveyor-belt sushi.

🚌Fujikyu Railway to Otsuki plus JR to Tokyo (~£25-35) or Fujikyu highway bus (~£10-12); subway locally (~£2-4)

🛏Hostel in Shinjuku, Asakusa or Kuramae (~£20-28/night)

• →Oishi Park and lakeside flower fields
• →Mt Tenjo ropeway viewpoint (~£5)
• →Optional: Chureito Pagoda walk

Your own Tokyo day. Start with Senso-ji in Asakusa before the crowds, wander Ueno Park and its free museums, then cross town to the Meiji Shrine (free) and Harajuku's Takeshita Street. In the afternoon, hit the Imperial Palace East Gardens (free) or the free-to-enter Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory for skyline views. In the evening, go where the locals go: a ramen counter in Shinjuku's Omoide Yokocho, yakitori under the tracks in Yurakucho, or an izakaya in Ebisu. If you're travelling solo and want a group for the night, hostels and apps like Timeleft make meeting people easy.

🚌Tokyo subway day pass (~£5-6)

🛏Hostel in Tokyo (~£20-28/night)

• →Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa (free)
• →Ueno Park and Ameyoko market
• →Meiji Shrine and Harajuku (free)
• →Imperial Palace East Gardens (free)
• →Optional: TeamLab Planets or Shibuya Sky (~£15-25)

Check out and head to Narita (Keisei Skyliner ~£12 or the cheap Keisei limited express ~£5, about 70 minutes) or Haneda (monorail ~£3). If your flight is late, squeeze in one last shrine, a kissaten breakfast or a final bowl of ramen. Consider adding a night or two — Tokyo rewards lingering, and extra hostel nights are around £20-25.

🚌Train to Narita (~£5-12) or Haneda (~£3)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Free morning in Tokyo
• →Optional: Tsukiji Outer Market breakfast
• →Optional: Yanaka old-town walk