Van Verre · Japan

Japan by Rail: First Encounter

Temples, bullet trains and a night on Mount Koya

Thirteen days by train through the essential Japan — neon Tokyo, temple-rich Kyoto and poignant Hiroshima, crowned by a night in a Buddhist temple lodging on Mount Koya, complete with morning ceremony.

Japan by Rail: First Encounter — Photo by Van Verre on Van Verre

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The story

The bullet train slides out of Tokyo Station before you've finished your coffee, and suddenly the city is gone — replaced by a blur of rice paddies and distant mountains wearing clouds like loose scarves. Those first three days in Tokyo are sensory overload in the best possible way: vending machines at midnight, the hush of a shrine tucked between skyscrapers, ramen eaten standing up at a counter that fits six people.

Kyoto slows everything down. You start noticing details — moss on a stone lantern, the particular creak of a wooden temple floor, how late-afternoon light turns the Kamo River the color of old gold. Hiroshima arrives like a held breath, profound and necessary, before Osaka shakes you loose again with its loud, delicious generosity.

Then Koyasan. A mountain monastery, cedar forests, paper lanterns glowing in the dark — it feels like the journey's quiet confession. Back in Osaka for those final two days, you eat well and sleep better, already knowing you'll return.

The route

Highlights

Temple stay with morning ceremony on Mount Koya
Geisha district and temples of Kyoto
The floating torii of Miyajima
Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima
Street-food culture of Osaka

Day by day

1
Tokyo
Day 1-3

Meet & greet on arrival, then three days of contrasts: the Shibuya crossing, tranquil Meiji shrine, sushi breakfasts and views from the observation decks.
Explore Tokyo →

Photo by Van Verre on Van Verre
2
Kyoto
Day 4-7

Japan's cultural heart with 1,600 temples, the geisha district of Gion and the red torii tunnels of Fushimi Inari — with day trips to Nara or Himeji castle.
Explore Kyoto →

Photo by Van Verre on Van Verre
3
Hiroshima
Day 8-9

The moving Peace Memorial Park and museum, plus a ferry hop to Miyajima island where the famous torii gate floats at high tide.
Explore Hiroshima →
4
Osaka
Day 10

Japan's kitchen: street food in Dotonbori, from takoyaki to the freshest ramen of the trip.
- Dotonbori
Explore Osaka →
5
Koyasan
Day 11

A cable car climbs to the sacred mountain of Shingon Buddhism. Sleep in a temple lodging (shukubo), join the monks' morning ceremony and walk the mystical Okunoin cemetery.
- Koyasan Ropeway (Kōya-san Cable Car)
- Okunoin Cemetery
- Kongobu-ji Temple
- Shukubo (Temple Lodging) Morning Ceremony
- Danjo Garan Sacred Temple Complex
Photo by Nishant Kumar on Pexels
6
Osaka
Day 12-13

Back to Osaka for a last free day before the flight home.
- Dotonbori
- Shinsekai District
Explore Osaka →