Day by Day Japan plans a first trip to Japan the way a friend who lives here would: one day at a time, with the trains and the prices written down.

Each route is a real day or weekend: where to go first, how long the walk or the train takes, what the ticket costs and where to eat on the way. Prices come from the operator's or the place's own published fares and carry the date they were checked; where we have not checked a price, the route says so instead of guessing. If it rains, the route has a plan B.

Around the routes sits the week in Japan. Every few hours the site reads the Japanese city and food press and the English-language desks in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Fukuoka, and puts the places they name on one map. Headlines stay in the language they were written in, every story links to its source, and we quote no more than a line.

The routes and notes are written by one editor under a pen name, Sora Nakamura, drafted with AI assistance from checked material and read before they go out. Day by Day Japan is independent: no advertisers, no affiliate links, no bookings.

← Day by Day Japan Archive

SoraNews24Tokyo

Beautiful Studio Ghibli coin/card cases recreate scenes and props from anime classics [Photos]

September 23

What better place to carry your train pass than inside No Face’s Spirited Away train ride? In Japan, the vast majority of transactions involve either coins or a card.

Trains & routes Japan accessories anime bags

Read at SoraNews24 ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

Beautiful Studio Ghibli coin/card cases recreate scenes and props from anime classics [Photos]

Related

GoA train trip to " Vacation Lodge FamiliA, Aizu kogen " via the Asakusa direct express train & Nikko/Ouchi-juku route MATCHA

GoPriority Seating Nuance: Why Locals Pretend to Sleep and the Unwritten Rules of Train Etiquette Voyapon

GoDirect train ride from Asakusa! A complete guide to enjoying snow activities at "Vacation Lodge FamiliA, Aizu kogen" with zero crowds. MATCHA

GoA Coastal Road Trip in Noto: Discovering the Landscapes and Local Life of Japan's Satoyama and Satoumi MATCHA

GoNagoya Departure | 2-Night, 3-Day itinerary to Visit Takayama and Gero Onsen MATCHA

OfficialThe Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route in March 2027 - What to Know Snow Monkey Resorts