Japan rewards curiosity more than any checklist. Beyond the famous sights, the best things to do here are experiential — soaking in a hot spring under snowfall, watching a sumo bout, or eating standing up at a six-seat ramen counter at midnight. Here are 20 experiences worth building a first trip from India around, with typical costs in rupees and where to book each one.
Quick Answer: The Activities Worth Booking
The best things to do in Japan are riding the Shinkansen bullet train, soaking in an onsen, staying in a ryokan, watching sumo wrestling, visiting a teamLab digital art museum, eating at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, and hiking Mt Fuji (July–August only). Most of these slot into a 10–14 day Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka circuit.
Culture and History
1. Stay one night in a traditional ryokan
Futon bedding on tatami, a multi-course kaiseki dinner, and a private or communal onsen bath. Budget ₹15,000–₹40,000 per night for a good mid-range inn. Hakone is the classic insert between Tokyo and Kyoto. Book vegetarian or no-dashi kaiseki in advance — many inns can do it, not all.
2. Try a tea ceremony
A formal, meditative matcha ceremony in Kyoto, often inside a centuries-old teahouse. Expect ₹1,500–₹3,000 per person for 45–90 minutes. Gion shops sell English-language slots; book a day or two ahead in sakura and maple weeks. Say if kneeling is hard — many hosts offer a chair.
3. Watch a sumo tournament
Grand tournaments run in Tokyo (January, May, September), Osaka (March), Nagoya (July), and Fukuoka (November). Tickets from about ₹2,500. Buy from the official Japan Sumo Association site; same-day unreserved seats mean queueing early. If your dates miss a basho, book a Tokyo stable morning practice through a tour.
4. Wear a kimono for a day
Rental shops in Kyoto’s Gion and Asakusa in Tokyo offer full dressing for temple walks. ₹2,500–₹5,000 including hair for many women’s sets; men’s packages sit lower. Photograph at Fushimi Inari or Senso-ji, then change before a long metro hop. Reserve online in cherry-blossom weeks.
5. Visit a Shinto shrine at dawn
Fushimi Inari in Kyoto and Meiji Jingu in Tokyo are free, open 24 hours, and completely different before the crowds. Thirty minutes covers Fushimi’s lower gates; the summit hike is 2–3 hours. These are working shrines — bow, and do not block the path for a photograph. Things to do in Kyoto → · Things to do in Tokyo →
Food Experiences
6. Eat at a conveyor-belt (kaiten) sushi restaurant
Plates start at ¥100 (about ₹55). It is a genuinely fun, low-cost way to try a huge variety of fish without an omakase reservation. Chains such as Sushiro and Kura run nationwide — a busy Tokyo or Osaka lunch is the move. Vegetarian plates exist (tamago, inari, cucumber) but are limited.
7. Take a ramen-making or sushi-making class
Widely available in Tokyo and Osaka, typically ₹3,000–₹6,000 for two to three hours, English instruction, and a meal you made. Book a week ahead in high season. Ramen classes assume pork broth; sushi classes suit pescatarians more than strict vegetarians.
8. Try an izakaya crawl
Japanese gastropubs serving small plates and cold beer — yakitori, edamame, a highball — are how locals spend a weeknight. Shinjuku’s Omoide Yokocho and Osaka’s Dotonbori side streets are the starts; two or three stops beat one tourist board. Many still prefer cash. Vegetarians: ask, and expect gaps.
9. Visit a depachika (department-store food basement)
Tokyo’s Isetan and Takashimaya basements are a food-lover’s hour: bento, wagyu, seasonal wagashi. Go hungry at 11am or after 6pm for marked-down packs. No reservation. One of the best things to do in Japan on a jet-lagged first evening.
10. Drink at a themed café
Owl cafés, cat cafés, and the robot-restaurant circuit are uniquely Tokyo, and genuinely fun for a couple of hours. Time slots are 30–60 minutes; book same-day. About ₹1,500–₹3,000 including a drink is typical. Pick a licensed café in Harajuku or Ikebukuro, and skip if the room feels crowded for the animals.
Nature and Adventure
11. Soak in an onsen with a Mt Fuji view
Hakone’s outdoor baths (rotenburo) are the classic version. Wash thoroughly first; most pools are gender-separated and nude. Tattoo policies vary — email ahead, or book a private family bath. A day visit is about ₹1,500–₹4,000; a ryokan night bundles the bath with dinner. Hakone and more hidden gems →
12. Hike Mt Fuji
Official climbing season is strictly July to early September. Permits and huts should be booked in advance; sleepless “bullet climbs” are discouraged. Outside that window, view the mountain from Hakone or the Shinkansen instead — see Best Time to Visit Japan before you build a summit into the itinerary.
13. Ride the Shinkansen bullet train
Up to 320 km/h, and an experience in itself, not just transport. Tokyo–Kyoto is about 2 hours 15 minutes. Window seats on the right (Tokyo–Osaka) offer Fuji views when the weather co-operates. A JR Pass does not cover Nozomi — use Hikari or Sakura. After the 2023 price rise, add up your hops before you buy the pass.
14. Cycle through Kyoto’s Arashiyama bamboo grove
Rental bikes let you outrun the tour-bus crowds on Kyoto’s western edge. Hire near the station, ride the grove at opening, then continue along the river. About ₹1,000–₹2,000 for a half-day. Do not stack this with Fushimi Inari and Kinkaku-ji before lunch.
15. See wild deer bow at Nara Park
Buy deer crackers for about ¥200 and watch them literally bow for food — then hold the packet high. Todai-ji’s Great Buddha is why you give the park a full day, not a lunch raid from Kyoto (about 45 minutes on JR). A unique experience in Japan that still fits a first-timer’s Golden Route.
Modern Japan
16. Visit a teamLab digital art museum
TeamLab Planets (Toyosu) and TeamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills) are immersive and genuinely impressive. Tickets ₹1,800–₹2,500; book well ahead — weekends sell out. Planets involves water; Borderless is the wandering-room version. One museum is enough on a three-night Tokyo stay.
17. Explore Akihabara’s anime and retro gaming arcades
Tokyo’s Electric Town is the heart of otaku culture: multi-floor arcades, figure shops, and retro consoles. A half-afternoon is plenty. Super Potato and the larger arcade buildings are the start. No reservation; cash still helps.
18. Karaoke in a private room
Widely available and cheap — about ₹300–₹600 per hour per person in chains such as Big Echo, often with a drink package. Rooms are private. English catalogues are standard in Shibuya and Namba. Book 60–90 minutes after dinner.
19. Shop in Shinsaibashi or Shibuya 109
Japan’s fashion retail is its own category, from streetwear to luxury flagship architecture. Shibuya 109 is youth fashion as theatre; Shinsaibashi in Osaka is the covered-arcade crawl with takoyaki between shops. Keep your passport for tax-free counters. One half-day beats shopping bags through a temple morning.
20. Cross Shibuya Scramble Crossing
The world’s busiest pedestrian crossing — up to 3,000 people move at once when the light turns green. Watch it from the Starbucks above, then walk it yourself. Combine with Meiji Jingu in the same west-Tokyo day. Things to do in Tokyo →
Building These Into Your Itinerary
Most of these fit naturally into a 10–14 day Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka circuit from India. Direct Delhi–Tokyo flights take about 8–10 hours; Indians need a tourist visa (about 5–7 business days). Put the Shinkansen, one ryokan/onsen night, kaiten sushi, and a dawn shrine on the non-negotiable list. Add sumo only if a basho falls on your dates; add Fuji’s summit only in July–early September; add teamLab as the Tokyo indoor slot.
- Tokyo (3 nights): scramble, dawn shrine or Senso-ji, depachika, teamLab or Akihabara, karaoke.
- Hakone (1 night): onsen, Fuji view, ryokan kaiseki.
- Kyoto (3 nights): dawn Fushimi, tea ceremony or kimono morning, Arashiyama by bike, Nara day for the deer.
- Osaka (2 nights): izakaya and kaiten sushi, Shinsaibashi, a cooking class if it rains.
See the Japan travel itineraries for day-by-day placement, or check Must Visit Places in Japan and Best Time to Visit Japan to plan around seasonal activities such as sumo tournaments and Mt Fuji hiking season.
Frequently Asked Questions
Japan is famous for its bullet trains (Shinkansen), hot-spring bathing (onsen), sushi and ramen culture, sumo wrestling, cherry-blossom viewing (hanami), and a blend of ancient temples with futuristic technology.
Fun, low-cost activities include conveyor-belt sushi, themed cafés, karaoke, arcade gaming in Akihabara, and teamLab digital art museums. For a more immersive experience, try a kimono rental day or a ryokan stay with onsen bathing.
Yes — an onsen (natural hot-spring bath) is one of Japan’s most recommended experiences. Most are gender-separated and require bathing nude after a thorough wash; tattoo policies vary, so check ahead if you have visible tattoos.
First-time visitors should prioritise a Tokyo neighbourhood walk (Shibuya, Asakusa), a Kyoto temple morning (Fushimi Inari, Kinkaku-ji), one ryokan night with onsen, and a conveyor-belt sushi meal — these cover Japan’s core appeal in a manageable way.
Yes — Grand Sumo Tournaments are open to the public in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka across six annual tournaments. Tickets can be bought online in advance or, for same-day unreserved seats, by queueing early.
A teamLab digital art museum is widely considered Japan’s most unique modern experience — a fully immersive, technology-driven art installation unlike anything elsewhere in the world.