Hi everyone, I am going to Japan solo for a week at the end of September. I am arriving in Osaka and ending my trip in Tokyo. Kyoto is on my itinerary. Any recommendations of places to visit and restaurants to try are highly appreciated! Btw, shall I join a tour or go on my own for a day trip to Mount Fiji from Tokyo? Thanks all!

You're gonna have a great time! Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are all wonderful in their own ways. Here are some of our highlights:
Tokyo:
- Ghibli Museum in Mitaka
- Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku and Yoyogi Park
- Robot Restaurant
- "Piss Alley" in Shinjuku
- We stayed in Asakusa and got to walk by the Sensoji temple each night, it was absolutely stunning
- Shin-okubo is Korea town and there is some EXCELLENT korean food to be had.
- Ikebukuro for electronics and anime culture, a tour around the Sunshine City mall (aquarium and Pokemon Center!)
Osaka:
- Walking around the Osaka Castle grounds was lovely
- Dontonburi (try some Osakan okonomiyaki!!! great nightlife)
Kyoto:
- Temples temples temples! Kinkakoji during the day and Kiyomizudera at night.
- Arashiyama forest is stunning, great for a day of walking. Once you get past the touristy part of the bamboo forest there are some gorgeous secluded walking paths.
- Daytrip to Nara. Feed the deer and visit Todaiji to see the massive bronze Buddha.

Visit the Japan Tourist Organization in Tokyo. Agents speak English and can help plan everything, free.

One week is way too short! You should pick two cities. Don't be too ambitious on your itinerary. Ride the bullet train between cities (JR railways). You're gonna need minimum 3 weeks. Japan has alot to offer. I spent almost a week in Kyoto and I still wanted to explore more. Leave mt Fuji out for another trip if you're coming back again.

This guy knows what’s up... I spent a week in Tokyo and didn’t even have time to see Tokyo tower

When is the best season to go to Japan?

Depending on what you can handle Gini though ever season is beautiful. Most busy and popular is spring but the fall colours is amazing too. Summers get super hot but if you can handle it go for it.

I went on Jan, and it wasn't like crazy busy with tourists. I've stayed at hostels and I had no problem booking them on the day of. Peak season starts when cherry blossoms start blooming ( I believe it's March or April). Go during winter or fall. You'll get just the right amount of tourists.

Zack silverberg

Overambitious itinerary for a week trip. You won't have time to enjoy each city. Even a week isn't enough for Tokyo alone, since it's so big. Do maybe a day and a half in Osaka and the rest in Tokyo. Mt Fuji and Kyoto will have to wait for your next trip, if you want to truly explore them. The JR pass may not be worth it if you're only going to visit two cities, but look into it vs the price of a return Shinkansen ticket.

I agree we just came back from Japan at the start of July and we did 17 days (Osaka 2 nights, Hiroshima 2 nights, Kyoto 5 nights, Takayama 2 nights and Tokyo 5 nights) and we didn't get to see basically anything in Osaka, Kyoto we didn't get to see half of what is there and same in Tokyo). When we went it was off season and was quiet so we luckily got in and out of places pretty quickly but to see top attractions if it is busy you can wait 2-3 hours. Things to do: Osaka castle, in Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Ginkakuji Temple, Kinkakuji temple, kiyomizudera, if you like culture we liked the kyoto cultural performance at Gion corner. We did a fun dye your own silk scarf at a silk museum. I don't think if you have limited time the Imperial palace in kyoto is not worth it. Food is amazing. In Kyoto we ate a lot of street food as we were walking to save time.

Hi Hailey,
Did you have the JR pass? We plan to travel a bit throughout Japan.

Yes we did. Between those stops we also did another trip from Kyoto to Osaka and back as we did a Nagomi visit. We went to Nara from Kyoto. We used it a little in Kyoto to get around and we used it exclusively in Tokyo. We only got the 14 day pass so our time in Osaka and last day in Tokyo we didn’t have it. We also bought an IC card it doesn’t give you a discount but made transportation easy as you tap on and off and it can be used at some vending machines and convenient stores as well.

Thanks Hailey. We also plan to travel to Kyoto and Osaka and back to Tokyo. We plan to get the 14 day pass. We just need to work it out so we can use it to take the train from Tokyo to Osaka and back.
I will have to look into the IC card. Never hard of it before.

We also did this amazing visit called Nagomi visit where you get matched with people for either lunch or dinner and you have the meal at their house. They also may teach you how to cook, or do other things like calligraphy

I will have to look into that also. Thanks.
If you don't mind, I might PM you later on when I'm ready to order my JR pass just to make sure i got the right website etc....

feel free to pm me anytime we learned so much.

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments! I forgot to mention in my OP that I have been to Tokyo before. So my focus is the other cities and just shop and eat in Tokyo this time. Keep them coming! Thanks again.

For shopping and eating check my other comment. The best can be found on YouTube- Simon and Martina, KimDao, TokiYuYu and YummyJapan. Highly recommend you eat here! Reservations needed https://youtu.be/2dVMLweAK_s

Following cause I'm planning a 3 week trip in a few more years (April 2021)

I've been to Japan 3 times now and never get to do everything I want.
Piss alley in Tokyo - I did it, kinda a hard pass. It was crowded and if you're a germaphobe like me, it's in closed quarters.
If you like hiking, go to fushi inari shrine in Kyoto. 10,000 tori gates.
Places do open early in Kyoto (depending how early you want). Bakeries open relatively early

check out my travel blog! i went last year for 2 weeks and hit up 5 cities (tokyo, kanazawa, takayama, kyoto & osaka) and i also went in 2012 for a week where i was situated in osaka with a day trip to kyoto and nara. www.boketto.rosannau.com