Japan is a popular destination, and it draws a lot of visitors. Avoiding the crowds altogether is not possible, but the advice below will help you shape a route that keeps you out of the heaviest periods.
Come in the right season
Shifting your trip by a week or two is sometimes enough to miss the busiest stretches. Planning matters here: watch the main tourist periods, and watch the Japanese holidays too.
For more on the most congested times of year in Japan, see our guide to the seasons to avoid in Japan.
Avoid the peak hours
Starting your day early is a good way to get ahead of the crowd that builds through the rest of it.
In large cities like Tokyo you can also move some of your visits to after dark. Not everyone knows that a good number of places stay open, and lit at night they read quite differently.
For more, see our list of OUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO VISIT AT NIGHT IN TOKYO
Get out into the countryside
Plenty of destinations, easily reached from the big cities, offer something the cities cannot, and they will change the texture of your trip. They are often little known, and they let you step out of the tourist rush.
Find alternatives to the busiest places
A common mistake on a first trip to Japan is going only to the best-known sites. There are alternatives that are just as good and far less known, which let you look around more calmly without missing anything.
Take Tokyo. Rather than Sensou-ji in Asakusa, the largest temple in the city and also the busiest, why not go to Zojo-ji instead: just as interesting culturally, and much less known.
Book your trains and activities
Even if you follow every piece of advice here to the letter, you will not escape the crowds entirely, because Japan is a popular place.
The answer is to work with them. Book your trains, and any activity that takes bookings, as soon as you arrive in Japan. Try to pick early-morning slots as well: they are usually far quieter.
A note
Cocolo Travel builds your trip for you, with an itinerary made to measure. If you would like help putting a trip together and want to use us, get in touch.
