The Tripnook Trip Planner turns a few answers into a day-by-day Japan plan. Tell it where you fly from, how many days you have, your month, budget, pace and interests. It suggests a route through our seven city guides, the nights to spend in each base, rough daily costs in your currency, a rail pass hint and notes for the season. It is free, needs no account and runs entirely in your browser.
How does the planner build a route?
It starts from the westbound journey in our guides: Tokyo, Hakone, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima. Short trips stay with Tokyo and Kyoto, as in our seven-day First-Time route. Longer trips add the cities that match your interests, as long as each one gets the nights its guide recommends. A relaxed pace means fewer bases, and a packed pace means more. Nara usually goes in as a day trip from Kyoto or Osaka. If you pick your own cities, the planner keeps them in a sensible order and tells you when the nights do not stretch far enough.
Every activity, transfer note and price comes from a Tripnook guide. Where a guide gives a train time as a planning estimate, the planner says so. Check opening hours, fares and timetables on official sites before you travel.
Before you buy a rail pass, read Is the JR Pass worth it in 2026-27? For the season, see our guide to the best time to visit Japan, month by month, and for spring trips the 2027 cherry blossom guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tripnook Trip Planner free?
Yes. There is no account and no sign-up. Some booking links on the plan are affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
How accurate are the costs?
They are rough estimates per person, taken from the daily ranges in our guides and excluding international flights. Official yen prices, such as the Japan Rail Pass and city passes, were checked on 13 November 2026. Onsen and view-hotel nights in Hakone and Kawaguchiko usually cost more than the ranges.
Can I use it if I am not flying from Australia?
Yes. Choose Auckland, Singapore, London, Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver or somewhere else. Costs show in the currency your browser suggests, and you can change it with the currency menu. Flight notes are most detailed for departures from Australia; from elsewhere, compare flights into Tokyo and Osaka on the airline sites.
Will it tell me whether to buy a Japan Rail Pass?
It counts the long Shinkansen legs in your plan and shows the official pass price for the length you would need. The pass tends to pay off with two or more long trips within its validity. For Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka only, individual tickets are often cheaper.
Is my plan saved anywhere?
Only where you choose. “Save on this device” keeps it in your browser’s local storage, and “Forget it” removes it. We do not store plans on our servers.
How do I share or print my plan?
Use “Copy share link” to send the plan to someone else. The link rebuilds the same plan on their screen. “Print or save as PDF” opens a clean, printer-friendly version, and “Email it to myself” opens your own email app with the link.
Which cities can the planner include?
Tokyo, Hakone, Mount Fuji (Kawaguchiko), Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima with Miyajima, plus day trips our guides mention, such as Kamakura and Nikko. Each city links to its full guide.
Photo credits
- Hero image: Photo: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
