Japan Travel Guide - Beyond the Golden Route Map

The Golden Route is the classic first trip: Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka and sometimes Hiroshima, usually in a week or two. It is popular for good reason, but it also means the same handful of sights get most of the attention. This map covers what is beyond it.

Spring (March to April, cherry blossoms) and autumn (October to November, red leaves) are the classic times, and the busiest. Summer rewards you with festivals and cooler far-north Hokkaido, winter with snow monkeys, skiing and clear mountain views. Whenever you go, avoid Golden Week in late April and Obon in mid-August if you would rather not compete with the whole country for trains and hotels.

Beyond the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka circuit: Tohoku for quiet mountain temples and festival towns, the Japan Sea coast for preserved castle towns, Kyushu for onsen and volcanic landscapes. Filter the map by region and build your route around two or three of them instead of ticking off every city.

Filter by region to plan one area at a time, and use the season filter to see what is at its best when you are going - every pin notes its best time to visit and why. Flip between the map and list views as you browse, and save the places that catch your eye to build your own route.

Off the beaten path Japan: misty mountain temples, hidden coastal valleys, onsen towns, festival towns and small cities where you will go days without hearing English. Every pin has a note on what the place is and when to go.

Nine regions, from Tohoku in the north down to Kyushu - 215+ places and growing. New destinations are added as I research and explore Japan.

Two weeks is the sweet spot for a first trip: enough for the Tokyo-Kyoto highlights plus a few days off the Golden Route. If you only have one week, build your Japan itinerary around one or two lesser-visited regions from this map instead of rushing between cities.

Yes - every place on the Beyond the Golden Route map is free to browse, go ahead and save them for your next trip.