Japan – The land of the rising sun. A country rich in culture but home to the largest city in the world (as of this writing). From geisha to anime, castles to skyscrapers, the country has something to offer everyone. Our first adventure here took us to its capital of Tokyo and a tour of the main southwest cities.

How to Get Here

Given that Japan is a chain of islands, the most common way to visit is by air. Flying into one of Tokyo’s two international airports, Narita and Haneda, is likely the most affordable option. Haneda is closer to the city, but Narita has more international flight options. If you are also visiting South Korea, there are options to take a ferry to Japan.

We flew on Air Canada from Seattle to Narita via Vancouver, BC which was about 12 hours of actual flight time on the way there and about 10 hours on the way home. As of April 2025, Alaska Airlines is now flying direct from Seattle which is great news for our next trip.

Trip Length

We did a 24-day trip (3 of those days were travel days) and traveled around the country.  If you have the ability to do a longer visit like we did, we highly recommend it. Airfare was our most expensive part of the trip so extending our stay was important. We had a very specific date range in mind (cherry blossom season) therefore didn’t plan around flight deals and unfortunately had no miles to use at this time. If you’re looking at a shorter trip, we’d recommend 10 days minimum to make the flight ‘worth it’. For Tokyo specifically, we would recommend 4-5 days if you are okay with a fast-paced itinerary or 5-7 days if you like a little slower pace.