An epic two-week trip planned by our friend Lau/Adrienne. Basically 2.5 days in Tokyo, 2.5 days in Kyoto, 2.5 in Osaka, and then four full ski days in Niseko, where we were spoiled and ruined by perfect snow. Also tried to pretend to be whiskey connoisseurs.
January 15, 2023
Background
Japan packs a lot into a two-week loop: the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka triangle links by shinkansen in a couple of hours a leg, and Niseko up on Hokkaido catches some of the most reliable, lightest snow on earth off the Siberian storms. Winter is the version with powder instead of cherry-blossom crowds.
If you go
The Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka triangle links by shinkansen in a couple hours each leg, so a city sampler like this is very doable; just price out a rail pass against point-to-point tickets, since the math changed a lot in 2023. Niseko, up on Hokkaido, is the powder — some of the most reliable, lightest snow on earth, which is exactly the ‘spoiled and ruined’ problem. Winter also means thinner crowds than the cherry-blossom and fall-foliage seasons. Japan’s official travel site is a solid starting point.
