my girlfriend and i are going to japan for two-ish weeks in late june/early july. we're landing in tokyo but our hope is to see as much of the country as possible in that amount of time. i've never planned anything like this before though and so i'm looking for tips or resources on how to plan for different accomodations, train trips, etc. across many towns. have any of you done this sort of trip in japan before? how did you identify all the different places you wanted to vis… See more

We've done that I record getting the Bullet Train ticket for a week or the 2 purchase it before you arrive in Japan it's cheeper

i'd recommend setting up in Osaka for a couple days. It's a great city, but also, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe are all about an hour away by train

For accommodations I believe airbnb was the best if you’re on a budget. As for the train make sure you buy an JR rail pass as it would help you travel to different regions in Japan (you must purchase it before you go to japan and activate it there)
Planning, I just used an excel spread sheet to see what I was doing each day and the activities as well

There is so much to see in Japan! I lived there for two years and didn't see it all. If you can, I would recommend renting a car and travelling around the island of Shikoku - it's so beautiful and there are a lot of outdoor things to do. If you are looking for beaches, then definitely go all the way south to Okinawa and the surrounding islands. Again, I would rent a car.

Japan has the best public transportation in the world.. if you're going to sightsee, i doubt you'd need a car

If you're a redditor, I'd recommend checking out the JapanTravels subreddit and Japanguide.com. I used both extensively when planning my trip to Japan this past fall. Tons of resources for you.
General tips:
1. Figure out what you'd like to see or do first. On our trip, we knocked off pretty much everything we wanted to see by choosing 1-2 major sites we wanted to check out each day then cross-referencing where they were within the city. Grouping sites that are close to one another will save you a ton of time and will save you from getting burnt out from all the running around.
2. Determine the number of cities you want to visit early. People blindly recommend getting the JR pass without even considering itineraries. More often than not, the JR pass will wind up costing more than purchasing individual tickets. Use a JR Pass calculator to see if the JR pass is worth it to you. Do note however, that the JR pass does offer a bit of convenience that should be factored in, but thats going to be different for everyone.
3. As for figuring out what you want to see? Youtube vlogs. It sounds kind of dumb, but we watched TONS of travel vlogs from Japan and that really helped narrow down what we wanted to see and do while we were there and we ended up being VERY satisfied with our trip. (In fact we are going back this fall.)
4. Make sure you get pocketwifi. Google maps was a godsend and having unlimited data for the duration of our trip made a world of difference and really didn't cost much. I would highly recommend getting one for your trip.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Good luck on your planning and feel free to drop me a line if you have any specific questions. I'd be happy to try and help!

Take the rapid train to Kyoto. Beautiful, full o temples

Tokyo... then fly to Hokkaido.. or Shinkansen .. - Sapporo.. train to Shimkuppu .. hidaka mountains . rafting .
http://www.rafting-hoa.co.jp/ or better drive ..
to lake shikotsuko or sunkyou gorge in Daisetsuan .. national park..
then from obihiro fly to Hiroshima, slow train through mountains to Kyoto.. to Osaka.. and then home from Kansai ! In Kyoto .. just cycle it all .. too easy ! Bikes at some guest houses for free or a few yen.. . Best way to get around ..
tanoshin de ne !
RAFTING-HOA.CO.JP
北海道一の激流鵡川ラフティング・沙流川ラフティング、キャニオニング、カヤック、ブリッジスウィング　HOA北海道アウトドアアドベンチャーズ

Get your JR Rail pass BEFORE you leave. It's a physical document that's FedEx to you. You'll save a lot of money. Look for affordable hotels or airbnb near Shin Osaka station and use it and your rail pass to day trip to Kyoto (30 min) Nagoya, Nara, Hiroshima and I'm sure there is more. Def check out Osaka though, it's a cool town. Neat aquarium too. Have fun, Japan is a different beautiful world

Try using TripIt! It’s a great app that organizes your itinerary.

Erica Carr Some more light reading before your trip. xo

http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/.../download/150380
This was what I used. But I travel based on the hubs. Each day I metro to a certain station and walked the area.
Shibuya, Shinjuku, Odaiba, Asakusa , etc