Routes · Asia

Moscow to Japan: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka

Moscow → Tokyo → Hakone → Kyoto → Osaka

Classic Japan Best season (general guide): late Mar–May, Oct–Nov

This first look at Japan follows the route most visitors take between its two big urban regions, with a night in the mountains in between. From Moscow, the flight goes through a hub in China, the Gulf or Türkiye. Once you land in Tokyo, the rest of the trip runs on Japan's railways.

Tokyo deserves four nights: the Edo-period streets of Asakusa, the gardens around the Imperial Palace, and neighbourhoods as different as Shibuya and Yanaka. A short trip on the Odakyu line or the Shinkansen brings you to Hakone, where a night in a ryokan with its own hot spring bath is part of the experience, and Mount Fuji appears across Lake Ashi on clear days. From there the bullet train continues west to Kyoto, with its temples, moss gardens and the lanes of Gion, before the final short ride to Osaka, a city known for food stalls and its castle.

The Japan National Tourism Organization describes spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, as the most comfortable travel seasons. Cherry blossom and autumn leaves draw huge crowds. Golden Week, around the turn of April and May, is one of the busiest domestic holiday periods, so book accommodation early for those dates. Fly home from the Kansai area to avoid backtracking.

A luggage-forwarding service between hotels, known as takkyubin, lets you travel light on the train days. It's especially useful for the night in Hakone, where you can send your big bag straight on to Kyoto. Rail passes and IC cards like Suica make getting around simple.

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