Japan From North to South: A Complete 15-Day JR Pass Itinerary Covering Nearly Every Major Destination

Fifteen days. Twelve stops. The itinerary covers Hokkaido's two best cities, the atmospheric port of Hakodate, the temple city of Sendai and the pine-island bay of Matsushima, Tokyo, the little-visited castle town of Hikone on the shores of Lake Biwa, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima and Miyajima, Himeji, and finally Fukuoka — the gateway to Kyushu and one of Japan's great food cities. Each stop is one to two days, which means the pace is brisk. But brisk and Japan go together well — the trains are fast, the cities are compact, and a single well-spent afternoon can cover more ground than a full day in most other countries.

The pass is activated on Day 2 in Sapporo, when the long-distance travel begins. Day 1 uses local transport within the city — no pass needed. From Day 2 through to Day 15 in Fukuoka, the pass carries you across the full length of the country. Buy the 14-day JR Pass here

Want to focus on just part of this route? Our 9-day Tokyo to Sapporo itinerary covers the northern leg in depth, and our 17-day Tokyo to Kyushu itinerary covers the southern half with more time in each city.

How to Use the 14-Day JR Pass on This Itinerary

The 14-day JR Pass covers unlimited travel on all JR-operated trains — including the Shinkansen — for fourteen consecutive days from first use. Activate it on Day 2 in Sapporo when you board the Hokkaido Shinkansen south to Hakodate, and it runs through to Day 15 in Fukuoka.

Key pass rules to know: the Nozomi and Mizuho Shinkansen services on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines are not covered — always book Hikari or Sakura services instead. On the Hokkaido Shinkansen, all services (Hayabusa, Hayate, Hokuto) are covered. The JR ferry to Miyajima Island from Miyajimaguchi is also covered by the pass.

Seat reservations are free and unlimited with the JR Pass, and are required on all Shinkansen and most limited express trains. On a trip with this many long-distance legs, reserve every Shinkansen before you leave home — either at a JR ticket office on arrival or online in advance. Our guide on how JR Pass holders can reserve Shinkansen seats online walks you through the process step by step. Buy the 14-day JR Pass here

Days 1–2: Sapporo & Otaru — Where Japan Begins (and Winter Never Quite Ends)

Fly into New Chitose Airport and take the fast airport express (about 37 minutes) into central Sapporo. Do not activate your JR Pass today — use a Suica IC card for the airport train and any local travel within the city. Day 1 belongs to Sapporo.

Sapporo is Japan's fifth-largest city and its most northerly major one, built on a North American grid plan by American agricultural advisors brought in by the Meiji government in the 1870s. It has wider streets, more open sky, and a different pace than most Japanese cities — younger, sportier, and noticeably more relaxed. It hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, and in winter the city transforms into one of the most beautiful snowscapes in Asia. In summer, lavender blooms across the surrounding Hokkaido farmland and the city fills with festival-goers.

Day 1: Sapporo

• Odori Park — The long, tree-lined park that bisects the city centre is Sapporo's social heart. In winter it hosts the famous Snow Festival, when enormous ice sculptures — some the size of buildings — take over the park for a week. In summer it becomes a series of beer gardens. In any season it is a good place to orientate yourself and feel the city's rhythm.

• Sapporo Clock Tower — Hokkaido's most photographed landmark is, by local admission, also its most celebrated disappointment — small, surrounded by modern towers, underwhelming in person. Visit anyway. The self-awareness Sapporo has about its own landmark is endearing, and the building itself dates from 1878.

• Hokkaido Government Office (Akarenga) — The handsome red-brick American Baroque building next to the Clock Tower is considerably more impressive and set in pleasant gardens. Free to enter.

• Susukino and Ramen Alley — Sapporo's entertainment district is one of the liveliest in Japan outside Tokyo and Osaka. Ramen Alley (Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho) is a narrow lane of tiny ramen shops that has been feeding late-night visitors since 1951. Sapporo's native style is miso-based — a rich, warming broth that is particularly good in cold weather. This is the best place in the world to eat it.

• Sapporo Beer Museum (Optional) — Japan's oldest beer brand was founded here in 1876. The original red-brick factory has become a museum and beer hall. The tasting room is the obvious highlight.

Day 2: Activate JR Pass — Day Trip to Otaru

Activate your JR Pass this morning and board a local JR train west to Otaru — about 40 minutes along the Hokkaido coastline. Otaru was Hokkaido's main commercial port in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the prosperity of that era is still visible in the stone warehouses and preserved Victorian-style buildings along the Otaru Canal. In winter, when the canal banks are deep in snow and gas lanterns glow along the path, it is one of the most beautiful urban scenes in Japan.

• Otaru Canal — The canal and its flanking warehouses are the heart of the town. Walk the full length of the bank, cross the low stone bridges, and find a cafe in one of the converted warehouses for coffee and LeTAO cheesecake — the city's most famous export and genuinely excellent.

• Sakaimachi Street — The main shopping street through the old town, lined with preserved Meiji and Taisho-era buildings now housing glass workshops, music box shops, and local craft stalls. Otaru has an inexplicable but charming speciality in music boxes; the main emporium on Sakaimachi is three storeys of handcrafted boxes from pocket-sized to room-filling.

• Fresh Sushi — Otaru's covered market and the restaurants near the canal are exceptional for Hokkaido seafood. Sea urchin from this stretch of the Sea of Japan is among the best in the country. A sushi lunch here is one of the great simple pleasures of the entire itinerary.

Return to Sapporo for the night.

Where to Stay in Sapporo

Stay centrally near Sapporo Station or Odori for both nights. Search Sapporo hotels

Day 3: Hakodate — The Port City That Opened Japan to the World

Take the Hokkaido Shinkansen south from Sapporo (change at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, then a local JR train into central Hakodate — about 20 minutes). The total journey takes around two hours. Hakodate was one of the first Japanese ports forced open to foreign trade in 1854, and the legacy of that early international contact is still visible everywhere: Russian Orthodox churches, American consulates, and colonial-era warehouses sit alongside traditional Japanese townhouses in a way that feels organic rather than museumised.

For a complete guide to arriving, getting around, and what to see, read our Hakodate complete train travel guide.

• Hakodate Morning Market (Asaichi) — Opens at 5am and runs until early afternoon. The market specialises in the seafood that made Hakodate's reputation: live crab, uni, ikura, and the local squid — caught fresh in the waters just offshore. A bowl of kaisendon (fresh seafood on rice) eaten here in the morning light is one of the best meals on this itinerary.

• Goryokaku Fort — Japan's first Western-style fortress, built in a five-pointed star shape and best appreciated from the observation tower alongside it. In spring, the fort is ringed with cherry blossoms; in winter it is floodlit against the snow. Either way, the geometric earthworks are striking.

• Motomachi District — The historic hillside neighbourhood where foreign consulates and merchants settled in the 19th century. Walk the steep lanes past Russian Orthodox churches, old stone warehouses, and traditional Japanese townhouses — the architectural mix is unlike anywhere else in Japan.

• Mount Hakodate Night View — Take the ropeway up after dark. Hakodate is consistently ranked as one of Japan's three great night views: the illuminated city spreads along a narrow peninsula with the sea visible on both sides, the lights of the harbour glittering below. Arrive early to get a good position at the observation deck.

• Hakodate shio ramen — The local style of ramen uses a clear salt-based broth rather than the heavier pork or miso bases typical elsewhere. It is lighter, more delicate, and lets the quality of the noodles and toppings speak for themselves.

Where to Stay in Hakodate

Stay centrally near Hakodate Station or in Motomachi. Search Hakodate hotels

Days 4–5: Sendai & Matsushima — Northern Culture and One of Japan's Great Bays

Board the Tohoku Shinkansen south from Hakodate (via Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto) to Sendai — the largest city in the Tohoku region and a lively university town with a food culture that punches well above its population size. The city was heavily damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and its resilience in the years since is quietly present in the texture of everyday life here.

Day 4: Sendai

• Zuihoden Mausoleum — The ornate mausoleum of Date Masamune, the one-eyed warlord who founded Sendai in the late 16th century. Set in cedar forest on a hillside, it is one of the most atmospheric historical sites in northern Japan — the lacquerwork and gilding are extraordinary.

• Aoba Castle Ruins — The hilltop site of Sendai's original castle offers sweeping views over the city and a dramatic equestrian statue of Date Masamune. The castle itself is long gone, but the stone walls and foundations give a sense of the scale of what stood here.

• Jozenji-dori Avenue — A wide, tree-lined boulevard through the city centre. Pleasant for an evening stroll, lined with cafes and restaurants. In late November it is illuminated for the Pageant of Starlight festival, one of Tohoku's best winter events.

• Gyutan (Grilled Beef Tongue) — Sendai's signature dish and one of Japan's great regional food specialities. Thick-cut, charcoal-grilled, served with barley rice and oxtail soup. The dish was invented in Sendai in the 1940s and the city still does it better than anywhere else. Do not leave without trying it.

• Zunda Mochi — The other Sendai speciality: soft rice cakes coated in a sweet edamame paste. Available everywhere in the city, and a good thing to eat on the train the next morning.

Day 5: Matsushima Bay

Take a short JR train from Sendai to Matsushima-Kaigan Station (about 25 minutes, covered by the JR Pass). Matsushima Bay is one of Japan's three officially designated scenic views — a wide inlet scattered with around 260 small, pine-covered islands that jut dramatically from the calm water. The 17th-century poet Matsuo Basho visited and was reportedly so overwhelmed by the beauty that he could not write a haiku about it. Make of that what you will.

• Bay Cruise — The best way to see the islands is from the water. Several cruise companies run 50-minute circuits of the bay; the boats weave between the pine-covered islands close enough to see the waves breaking against their bases. The view back to the shoreline from the water is as good as the view from land.

• Zuigan-ji Temple — One of the finest Zen temples in the Tohoku region, founded in the 9th century and rebuilt by Date Masamune in the early 17th. The cedar-lined approach path and the cave shrines cut into the rock face alongside it are quietly extraordinary.

• Grilled oysters and anago — Matsushima Bay is famous for its oysters, farmed in the cold, clean water of the inlet. Buy them grilled from one of the waterfront stalls. Anago (saltwater eel) is the other local speciality — lighter and less fatty than the freshwater unagi served elsewhere in Japan.

Return to Sendai for the night, or travel directly onward to Tokyo if you prefer to spend both Tokyo days in the capital.

Where to Stay in Sendai

Stay centrally near Sendai Station for both nights. Search Sendai hotels

Days 6–7: Tokyo — Two Days in the World's Greatest City

The Tohoku Shinkansen from Sendai to Tokyo takes about 90 minutes. Two days in Tokyo is a different proposition from three — you need to be more deliberate about where you spend your time. The city rewards neighbourhood-level exploration far more than landmark-ticking. Pick a different area each day and go deep rather than wide.

A practical note: Tokyo's metro and subway system is operated by Toei and Tokyo Metro, not JR. The JR Pass is of limited use for getting around within the city. Use your Suica IC card instead — it covers every train, bus, and subway line, and doubles as a contactless payment card at convenience stores and vending machines.

Day 6: East and Central Tokyo

• Senso-ji Temple, Asakusa — Tokyo's oldest temple, in its most atmospheric neighbourhood. Go early for the incense smoke and near-empty temple precinct, then explore the surrounding backstreets of Yanaka in the late morning — one of the few parts of the city that survived the 20th century largely intact.

• Shibuya — The crossing, the Shibuya Sky rooftop observation deck for the full aerial view of the city, and the restaurant floors of the Hikarie building for an excellent dinner. The stretch of rebuilt riverbank along Shibuya Stream is a good evening walk.

• Shinjuku — Tokyo's most intense neighbourhood after dark: the neon towers of Kabukicho, the narrow lanes of Memory Lane with their smoky yakitori stalls, the Golden Gai bar district where dozens of bars each seat six or eight people and the walls are covered in signed photographs and old film posters. Best explored slowly and without a plan.

Day 7: West Tokyo and Food

• Meiji Shrine and Harajuku — Start in the forested calm of Meiji Shrine, then step directly out into the adjacent spectacle of Harajuku's Takeshita Street. The Omotesando boulevard beyond is architecturally extraordinary — a sequence of flagship buildings designed by some of the world's leading architects, including Tadao Ando and Herzog & de Meuron.

• Akihabara — Multi-storey electronics shops, floors of anime and manga merchandise, retro game arcades, maid cafes. Even if none of that is your primary interest, it is unlike anywhere else on earth and worth an hour.

• Tonkatsu, wagyu, monjayaki, or Tokyo-style sushi — Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any city in the world. At the other end of the spectrum, the city's standing ramen bars, conveyor-belt sushi counters, and basement tonkatsu shops are some of the best-value meals in Japan. Monjayaki — the runnier, more complex cousin of okonomiyaki — is a Tokyo invention worth trying in Tsukishima, the neighbourhood that effectively invented it.

Where to Stay in Tokyo

Stay near Tokyo Station or Shinjuku for easy Shinkansen connections to Hikone tomorrow. Search Tokyo hotels near Tokyo Station

Day 8: Hikone — Japan's Most Overlooked Original Castle

Take the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Maibara (about two hours on the Hikari), then a short local JR train to Hikone — about ten minutes. Hikone sits on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, in Shiga Prefecture. It is one of the most peaceful and undervisited stops on this entire itinerary, and it contains one of the greatest things in Japan that most visitors never see.

For a full guide to visiting, see our Hikone Castle travel guide.

• Hikone Castle — One of only twelve original (non-reconstructed) feudal castles remaining in Japan, and widely regarded as the finest. It was built between 1601 and 1622 by the Ii clan, who governed this corner of Japan for the entire Edo period, and its three-storey white keep is remarkably well-preserved — the interior wooden staircases, tatami rooms, and defensive architecture are intact in a way that reconstructed castles simply cannot replicate. In spring, the surrounding moat is ringed with cherry blossom. In autumn, the maple trees within the grounds turn red and gold. In any season, it is extraordinary.

• Genkyuen Garden — A beautiful Edo-period strolling garden directly adjacent to the castle, with the keep reflected in the central pond. One of the more serene spots on the entire route.

• Omi Beef — Shiga Prefecture produces Omi beef, one of Japan's three great wagyu varieties alongside Kobe and Matsusaka. It is less internationally famous than Kobe, which means it is less expensive and, in the view of many Japanese food lovers, equally good. Try it as a lunch set at one of the restaurants near the castle — thinly sliced and grilled, or as sukiyaki.

Continue to Kyoto in the evening — about 50 minutes by local JR train.

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Days 9–10: Kyoto — Two Days in Japan's Cultural Capital

Kyoto was Japan's imperial capital for over a thousand years. It has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the highest concentration of traditional machiya townhouses in the country, a food culture considered Japan's most refined, and a density of temples, shrines, and gardens that rewards every hour you give it. Two days here is the minimum — use them well.

Day 9: The Western and Northern Hills

• Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) — The three-storey Zen temple covered in gold leaf, reflected in the mirror pond, is one of those images that exceeds its own photographs in person. Go first thing in the morning.

• Ryoan-ji — Japan's most famous rock garden: fifteen stones in raked white gravel, with no two visible simultaneously from any angle. Sit with it on the wooden veranda for a while. It does not resolve — it opens up.

• Arashiyama — The bamboo grove, Tenryu-ji garden, and the forested hills on the western edge of the city. Allow a full half-day — the surrounding district, with its riverside restaurants and hillside temples, is worth as much of your time as the famous grove itself.

• Fushimi Inari Taisha — The shrine of ten thousand vermillion torii gates. Late afternoon, when the day-trippers thin and the light turns golden through the gates, is the ideal time. Free, open at all hours.

Day 10: The Eastern Hills, Gion, and Nishiki

• Philosopher's Path — Walk the two-kilometre stone canal path through the eastern hills to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, whose moss garden is the quiet counterpoint to the Golden Pavilion's theatricality.

• Nijo Castle — The Tokugawa shogunate's Kyoto residence, famous for its 'nightingale floors' — boards engineered to squeak as an anti-intruder alarm. The painted sliding doors in the main audience chambers are among the finest examples of Momoyama-period art in Japan.

• Gion — Kyoto's most famous geisha district is best walked in the early evening when the ochaya lanterns are lit. Walk Hanamikoji Street and then into the stone-paved side lanes around Shirakawa Canal.

• Nishiki Market — Five blocks of Kyoto's covered kitchen market. Buy pickled vegetables, fresh tofu, grilled skewers, and matcha everything.

• Kaiseki dinner — Kyoto is the home of kaiseki, Japan's most refined culinary tradition. Book at least one dinner during your time here. The yudofu (hot tofu) restaurants of the Nanzen-ji area are a more accessible entry point if full kaiseki feels too formal or expensive.

Where to Stay in Kyoto

Stay centrally near Kyoto Station or in Gion for both nights. A traditional ryokan for at least one night is strongly recommended. Search Kyoto hotels and ryokan

Day 11: Nara — Ancient Capital, Sacred Deer, and the Great Buddha

Take the JR Nara Line from Kyoto to Nara — under an hour, fully covered by the JR Pass. The Kintetsu line is faster but is a private operator and not covered by the pass — check the platform sign before boarding. For a full guide to what to see and how to get around, read our guide to the best of Nara by train.

Nara was Japan's first permanent capital in the 8th century, and its central park is still dominated by the temples and shrines built during that brief period of imperial power — plus approximately 1,200 sika deer who have roamed freely here since the 8th century, hold official status as national treasures, and have absolutely no fear of humans.

• Todai-ji Temple and the Daibutsu — The Great Buddha Hall is the largest wooden building in the world. The 15-metre bronze Buddha inside it has sat here since the 8th century, and its serene scale in the dim hall is genuinely overwhelming. The deer wander right up to the entrance.

• Nara Park — Buy shika senbei (deer crackers) from vendors and feed the deer by hand. They bow to ask — a behaviour apparently learned from observing humans — and will nudge, nibble, and headbutt you if you take too long. It is simultaneously chaotic and completely wonderful.

• Kasuga Taisha — One of Japan's most important Shinto shrines, set in cedar forest at the eastern edge of the park. Its thousands of stone and bronze lanterns give the approach paths a deeply atmospheric quality.

• Naramachi — The preserved Edo-period merchant district south of the main sights: machiya townhouses converted into craft shops and cafes, and a good place for lunch before the train onward.

• Kakinoha sushi — Nara's most distinctive food: small portions of salted mackerel or salmon on rice, wrapped in persimmon leaves, which lightly pickle the fish over time. It is subtle, delicate, and genuinely unlike sushi you will find elsewhere.

Continue to Osaka in the evening — about 45 minutes by JR Yamatoji Line.

Day 12: Osaka — Japan's Most Enthusiastic Food City

Osaka is Japan's third-largest city and its most hedonistic. A trading port that has spent centuries eating, drinking, and getting on with things, it has very little patience for Kyoto's refinement or Tokyo's formality. The city's philosophy of kuidaore — 'eat until you drop' — is both a warning and an aspiration.

• Dotonbori — The neon-lit canal district is Osaka's most famous neighbourhood and its most concentrated. Eat takoyaki (octopus balls, invented here), okonomiyaki, and kushikatsu (breaded skewers — no double-dipping in the communal sauce, and they mean it). The giant mechanical crab over the restaurant entrance is the most photographed thing in Osaka.

• Osaka Castle — The magnificent white and green castle towers over a large park in the city centre. The interior museum traces the castle's history through the Warring States period and Tokugawa unification, and the view from the top floor is excellent.

• Kuromon Ichiba Market — 580 metres of covered market known as 'Osaka's Kitchen'. Go in the late morning for fresh seafood, grilled skewers, and the full theatre of a Japanese food market in full operation.

• Dotonbori at night — Osaka after dark is a different city: the neon brighter, the streets louder, the food stalls more numerous. The canal reflections at night are genuinely beautiful in a way that the daytime crowds make easy to miss.

Where to Stay in Osaka

Stay in Namba or Shinsaibashi for the best access to food and nightlife. Search Osaka hotels

Day 13: Osaka → Himeji → Hiroshima — A Castle, a City, and One of Japan's Great Journeys

Himeji sits almost exactly halfway between Osaka and Hiroshima on the Sanyo Shinkansen line — just fifteen minutes west of Osaka and about fifty minutes east of Hiroshima. This makes it a natural morning stopover rather than a standalone day, and structuring it that way is one of the most satisfying moves on the whole itinerary: a morning at Japan's most beautiful castle, then into Hiroshima for the afternoon and evening.

Himeji (Morning)

Take the Sanyo Shinkansen from Osaka to Himeji — about fifteen minutes. The castle is within walking distance of the station. Arrive early, give it a full morning, then reboard the Shinkansen to Hiroshima after lunch.

• Himeji Castle (White Heron Castle) — Consistently ranked as Japan's most beautiful castle, and one of only twelve original (non-reconstructed) feudal castles in the entire country. The brilliant white walls, complex of interconnected towers, and defensive maze of gates earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1993. Walk slowly through the main keep — the interior wooden architecture, the shooting galleries, the steep stairways between floors — and take time in the grounds to view the exterior from multiple angles. In spring, the castle is framed by cherry blossoms that rival any in Japan.

• Kokoen Garden — A series of nine Edo-period-style connected gardens immediately adjacent to the castle grounds. A good place to decompress after the crowds of the main keep, and beautifully maintained in every season.

• Himeji Oden — The city's most distinctive local dish: oden (a simmered hotpot of vegetables, tofu, and fish cakes) served with a ginger soy dipping sauce rather than the mustard used elsewhere in Japan. A good lunch at a restaurant near the castle before boarding the afternoon Shinkansen.

Hiroshima (Afternoon and Evening)

The Sanyo Shinkansen from Himeji to Hiroshima takes about fifty minutes. Arriving in the early afternoon gives you enough time for the Peace Memorial Park and Museum before evening — which is exactly the right amount of time. Hiroshima was the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon, on August 6th, 1945. What makes visiting so unexpectedly moving is not only the memorials but the city itself: a thriving, warm, and modern place rebuilt on the same ground, carrying its history with quiet grace.

• Peace Memorial Park and Museum — The park sits at the hypocentre of the blast. The Atomic Bomb Dome — the skeletal ruins of the former Industrial Promotion Hall, preserved unrepaired — stands at the river's edge. The museum is graphic, honest, and essential. Allow at least two hours and do not rush it.

• Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki — Hiroshima's version layers noodles, cabbage, pork, and egg in a distinct sequence, and it is by many accounts better than the Osaka version. The Okonomi-mura building near Hondori Street has three floors of okonomiyaki restaurants, each serving their own variation. A good dinner after the weight of the Peace Park.

Where to Stay in Hiroshima

If you stay in Hiroshima, we recommend HOTEL GRANVIA HIROSHIMA SOUTH GATE which is directly connected to Hiroshima Station.

Day 14: Miyajima — The Floating Torii and a Sacred Island

Take the JR Sanyo Line from Hiroshima to Miyajimaguchi Station (about 25 minutes, covered by the JR Pass), walk three minutes to the ferry terminal, and board the JR West Miyajima Ferry to the island (10 minutes, also covered). Total journey time is about 45 minutes. For full step-by-step directions and tide timing advice, see our Miyajima from Hiroshima Station guide.

Miyajima — officially Itsukushima Island — is one of those rare places that earns every photograph ever taken of it. The sacred island has been a site of Shinto worship since the 6th century, and its atmosphere of quiet reverence survives even the considerable tourist traffic. After a full day on the Peace Park yesterday, the island's forested hills and gentle pace offer a welcome counterbalance.

• Itsukushima Shrine and the Floating Torii — The shrine is built over the water on stilts and accessible via a covered walkway. Its enormous vermillion torii gate appears to float at high tide. Check tide times before you go: high tide gives the floating effect, low tide lets you walk out to the base on the sand. Both are worth experiencing if you can time your visit across the tidal shift.

• Mount Misen — A ropeway takes you most of the way up the sacred mountain, with a short hike from the top station to the summit at 535 metres. The panoramic views over the Seto Inland Sea and its scattered islands are breathtaking. Allow two to three hours for the full experience.

• Daisho-in Temple — On the descent from Misen, stop at this peaceful Buddhist temple complex filled with prayer wheels, stone statues, and small shrines. It receives far fewer visitors than Itsukushima Shrine and is considerably more tranquil.

• Momiji manju and grilled oysters — Miyajima's two signature foods. The maple-leaf cakes are best eaten warm from a waterfront stall. The grilled oysters — Hiroshima Prefecture produces more oysters than anywhere else in Japan — are served on the half-shell and are some of the best in the country.

Return to Hiroshima in the late afternoon, then continue by Shinkansen to Fukuoka — about one hour.

Day 15: Fukuoka — The Perfect End to a North-to-South Journey

Fukuoka is a fitting finale. After two weeks of temples, castles, museums, and mountain views, it is the most liveable and relaxed city on the entire itinerary — warm, small enough to walk, and completely devoted to eating and drinking well. It is the largest city on Kyushu, the closest major Japanese city to the Korean Peninsula, and the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen.

• Ohori Park — A beautiful lakeside park in the centre of the city, perfect for a morning stroll to decompress from two weeks of sightseeing. Rent a rowboat if the weather is good.

• Kushida Shrine — Fukuoka's most important Shinto shrine, right in the heart of Hakata. Free to enter. The enormous Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival float displayed inside is extraordinary — a seven-tonne decorated structure carried through the streets each July.

• Canal City Hakata — The sprawling indoor shopping complex with a canal running through the middle is good for last-minute souvenirs and has a strong selection of restaurants across multiple floors.

• Hakata Ramen — Fukuoka is the birthplace of tonkotsu ramen: the rich, milky pork-bone broth that has taken over the world. The Shin-Shin and Ichiran branches near Hakata Station are reliable; smaller local shops are better. Order extra noodles (kaedama) when your bowl is nearly done — it is free at most places and essential etiquette.

• Nakasu Yatai Food Stalls — As darkness falls, head to the Nakasu riverside and pull up a stool at one of Fukuoka's famous open-air yatai stalls. Order yakitori, mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and whatever the chef recommends. After 15 days of travelling the full length of Japan, ending the journey at a riverside food stall in Fukuoka, eating and watching the city go by, is exactly the right conclusion.

Getting Home from Fukuoka

Fukuoka Airport is two subway stops from Hakata Station — about ten minutes door to door, one of the most convenient airport connections in Japan. Direct flights serve Tokyo Haneda and Narita, as well as many international destinations across Asia. Alternatively, board the Kyushu Shinkansen south to Kagoshima, or continue your Japan journey with a separate JR All Kyushu Pass.

Where to Stay in Fukuoka

Stay near Hakata Station for easy airport access. Search Fukuoka hotels

Practical Tips for the Full North-to-South Route

• Activate on Day 2 — Do not activate your JR Pass on Day 1 in Sapporo. Use a Suica IC card for local transport, and save the pass for when the long-distance travel begins on Day 2.

• Nozomi and Mizuho are NOT covered — On the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines, always book Hikari or Sakura services. On the Hokkaido Shinkansen, all services (Hayabusa, Hayate, Hokuto) are covered.

• JR Nara Line only — Travel Kyoto to Nara on the JR Nara Line (covered), not the Kintetsu line (not covered). Check the platform sign before boarding.

• Reserve all Shinkansen in advance — This itinerary has more long-distance Shinkansen legs than any other on the site. Reserve every seat before leaving home, especially during peak season. See our guide on how to reserve Shinkansen seats online.

• Luggage forwarding (Takkyubin) — Moving between twelve cities in 15 days with large bags is exhausting. Use luggage forwarding to send bags ahead to your next hotel overnight. Most hotels and convenience stores offer the service for around 1,500–2,000 yen per bag.

• IC card for city travel — Load a Suica card at New Chitose Airport for local transport within cities throughout the trip. It works on every transit system in Japan.

• Check tide times for Miyajima — The floating torii gate looks best at high tide. Look up tide tables online before Day 13 and time your ferry crossing accordingly.

• Best season — This itinerary works in every season but is exceptional in spring (cherry blossoms, late March to early April — the fort at Hakodate, the castle at Hikone, and Himeji Castle are all spectacular) and in winter (Otaru and Sapporo in snow are among the most beautiful urban scenes in Asia).

Ready to Book?

The 14-day JR Pass is available online before you travel and exchanged for the physical pass at any major JR station on arrival. Buy the 14-day JR Pass here

Fifteen days from Sapporo to Fukuoka. The full length of Japan, end to end, on one pass. The snow crab at Otaru market. The night view from Mount Hakodate. Gyutan in Sendai. The rice fields seen from the Shinkansen window. Hikone Castle on a quiet Tuesday morning with almost nobody else there. The floating torii at high tide. Himeji in any season. Yakitori at a Fukuoka yatai as the city settles into its evening. Some trips cover distance. This one covers the whole country.

👉 For a complete guide to Japan train travel, visit our homepage.

Happy travels.