Tanuki Trip: plan a trip to Japan in the right order

A trip to Japan gets decided in a certain order.

The month, the budget, the flight, the room, the trains on the ground. Each of those has its own good moment and its own trap, and no two of them are settled on the same page.

The five questions, in the order they turn up

Two of them have an article of their own: the weeks the whole country travels, and the date the rooms actually go on sale.

Stop 1 · When to go

The month decides more than the weather

Sapporo and Naha are 21°C (37°F) apart in January. The month sets your weather, your crowds and your prices, and the right one depends on the region you are heading for.

Pick your month →

Stop 2 · Budget

What two weeks actually costs

Rooms, trains, meals and data, each on its own line, from prices we record and this month's yen rate. Set your dates and the total follows.

Work out your budget →

Stop 3 · Flights

Where fares are, month by month

Month by month, from London or the United States. Two pages and not one, because a fare out of Heathrow and a fare out of JFK have nothing to say to each other beyond the fact that they both land in Tokyo.

Compare the months →

Stop 4 · Where to stay

Where to book, and how early

Ryokan inns and hotels do not live on the same booking sites, and they do not open their dates at the same time. The inn opens about six months out.

See the calendars →

Stop 5 · Getting around

Whether a rail pass pays for itself

On 10 days around Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka it costs more than the tickets it replaces. Describe your own route and the sums are done again on yours.

Plan your route →

Connection

Tips

When to book, what it really costs, and what you find out once you're there: thirteen tips so far, each one checked against its source on a date printed at the top of the page.

See the tips →

What we watch, so you do not have to

Fares, and the yen

From London, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the yen against your currency: it moves every day, and your budget moves with it.

The day bookings open

Some Japanese inns release their dates about six months ahead, on one particular morning, and nobody announces which morning that is.

Tickets that sell out

Sumo and the Ghibli Museum go on sale on a fixed date, and knowing the date is the whole game.

Three alerts, and nothing else

Nothing arrives while there is nothing to say.