10 days in Japan: a private journey through Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka for two close friends

Last Updated: September 04,2026

Travel Style: Private friends' journey
Destination: Japan
Trip Length: 10 Days
Number of People: 2
Route: Tokyo → Mt. Fuji area → Kyoto → Nara → Osaka
Focus: Pop culture sites, traditional landmarks, and local experiences

A Long-Awaited Japan Trip, Planned Around One Injured Ankle

Amara Okafor had wanted to visit Japan since she was eleven. The Ghibli films her brother had recorded off the television, the Pokémon games he had bought her for her twelfth birthday, and a tattered Hello Kitty sketchbook filled the shelves of her childhood bedroom in Lagos. Now thirty-four and working in healthcare administration in Atlanta, she finally had both the leave and the savings to go. She asked her closest friend, Dana Mitchell, to come with her.

Dana agreed on one condition: that the trip be built around Amara's recovery. Six months earlier, Amara had torn a ligament in her right ankle during a half-marathon. She was walking again, but unevenly, and a planned ten-day route through five cities was the most ambitious thing she had attempted since the injury. The two of them had travelled together before, often on a budget and at a fast pace. This time had to be different.

The biggest planning question was not where to go. They already had a list, and most of it was non-negotiable. The question was how to fit Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka into ten consecutive days without turning the trip into a daily test of Amara's ankle.

Building Ten Days Around What Amara Could Comfortably Manage

Three concerns shaped the route. The first was walking volume: standard ten-day itineraries for those five cities averaged twelve to fifteen kilometres a day, far above what Amara could sustain. The second was logistics — moving luggage between cities, booking restaurants that did not take walk-ins, and reserving Ghibli Museum tickets, which routinely sell out a month in advance. The third was Tokyo's transit system, where subway stations often involve long flights of stairs with no escalator.

Phoebe, their UME Travel specialist, scheduled a long first call to go through the route in detail. She asked which activities were non-negotiable, which could be dropped, and what Amara's current walking limit looked like on a good day. The plan she returned with restructured the trip in three specific ways. Hotels in every city were chosen for elevator access and flat walking routes. The Fushimi Inari climb was split into a taxi to the upper torii gate and a short walk down, instead of the full 5-kilometre ascent. The Mt. Fuji leg was organised around a private vehicle to the Subaru Line fifth station, with a lakeside alternative held in reserve if altitude became an issue.

Phoebe also booked every restaurant, reserved timed-entry tickets for the Ghibli Museum and TeamLab Planet, and arranged luggage transfer between hotels. The quote that Dana remembers from the planning stage was simple: "We didn't want the trip to be a checklist we had to survive. We wanted to enjoy it."

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Ten Days Across Japan, Without Rushing Through It

Tokyo: The Childhood Favorites Finally Became Real

Their first three days were in Tokyo. Amara's list included Senso-ji in Asakusa, a morning at Tsukiji Outer Market, an hour at the Pokémon Center in Nihonbashi, and a long evening in Akihabara. Dana added Shibuya Sky and the Ghibli Museum. The Ghibli tickets, secured through Phoebe a month in advance, were what Amara had waited for. She walked through the entrance, looked up at the Catbus, and laughed.

Tokyo moved quickly. They also visited Odaiba, the Imperial Palace gardens, and a late-afternoon Sumida River cruise. The Shinkansen on day four took them from Tokyo Station to Mishima.

Mt. Fuji: Ten Clear Minutes and a Slower Day on the Road

A private driver met them at Mishima. From there they visited Arakurayama Sengen Shrine, walked the short loop at Oshino Hakkai, and continued up to the Fuji Subaru Line fifth station. The view of the mountain held for the first ten minutes and then closed in. They drank canned coffee from a vending machine and headed back down. Dana, who did not drink coffee, held Amara's arm for the steeper sections without saying why.

Kyoto: Tradition, Quieter Routes, and a Gentler Way Through Fushimi Inari

Kyoto began with a kimono fitting and a tea ceremony near Gion, then Nishiki Market for lunch. The taxi dropped them near the upper torii gate at Fushimi Inari. They walked down through the red tunnels, alone for most of the descent, and stopped once at a small shrine so Amara could rest her ankle. The upper gate, where most visitors never reach, became the photograph Dana sent home first.

The following morning included Nijo Castle, the Samurai and Ninja Museum, and a quiet walk through the Kyoto Imperial Palace gardens.

Nara: An Easy Day Trip with Deer, Temples, and Fewer Miles

The day trip from Kyoto was a short train ride. They fed the deer in Nara Park, walked through the great wooden gate of Todai-ji, and visited Kasuga Taisha before returning in the late afternoon. Amara said the deer were friendlier than she had expected.

Osaka: Markets, City Views, and One Last Dinner

The final two days were in Osaka. Kuromon Market for breakfast, Osaka Castle, the Museum of Housing and Living, and a final evening at Umeda Sky Building. The trip ended with a long dinner and a longer list of places they wanted to come back to.

Ten Days, Five Stops, and a Trip That Never Became a Test of Endurance

The ten days covered what Amara and Dana had hoped for, and a few things they had not planned on. Tokyo's pop culture side and Kyoto's traditional sites both made the list. The Mt. Fuji visit, though brief, was the part Dana later described as the most unexpectedly quiet day of the trip. Amara's ankle held. It was sore after the Fushimi Inari walk, but never enough to require a change in plan.

The structure of the trip, the elevator hotels, the pre-booked tickets, the taxi up Fushimi Inari, and the luggage transfers, was what made the ten days possible. Without those arrangements, a route this dense would have been a different memory.

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