The Golden Route is the route from Tokyo to Osaka, an itinerary often done by first-time visitors to Japan.
Understand
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Dreamed up by tourism marketers in the 1960s, the Golden Route does not have a set list of stops, but it roughly parallels the Tokaido, Japan's historical main artery, and is most commonly travelled using the Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train.
Aside from endpoints Tokyo and Osaka, the most common stops are Hakone, for views of Mount Fuji, and Japan's ancient capital Kyoto. While you can squeeze this into a single rushed week, it's advisable to allow at least two. Some people choose to extend their travels further and continue onto Himeji, Japan's grandest castle, and Hiroshima.
The Golden Route is Japan's main tourist trail and very much on the beaten path. If you're looking for something not quite as mainstream, the New Golden Route along Japan's northern coast is a viable alternative.
Prepare
[edit]The Japan Rail Pass used to be a very popular option for visitors travelling on the Golden Route, as it paid off with the Tokyo-Osaka Shinkansen roundtrip coupled with airport trains to Narita. However, since the 2023 price increases, it's cheaper to buy regular tickets.
The most-popular time to travel this route is spring because cherry blossoms are in season, though it is popular all year-round.
Get in
[edit]- See also: Tokyo#Get in
Although you could do this route in reverse starting in Osaka, most choose to start in Tokyo due to its larger airport. The Tokaido Shinkansen departs from two stations in Tokyo, Tokyo Station and Shinagawa Station.
Go
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Most travellers begin at one of Tokyo's airports, Narita or Haneda. If you purchased your Rail Pass outside of Japan you can exchange your voucher at either airport though various other stations around Tokyo offer this service. It is not worth it to use your Japan Rail Pass just for transport in Tokyo. Most travellers spend about 4-7 days in Tokyo and day-trips to 1 Nikko and 2 Kamakura are also popular among travellers of this route.
- Seeing the iconic 1 Mount Fuji is a near-obligatory pitstop along the route, often combined with an overnight stay at a hot spring ryokan (Japanese inn). Being a mountain, there are many different approaches: Hakone, on the eastern side facing Tokyo, is easily the most popular but the southern route via Fujinomiya is more easily accessed via Shinkansen. Whichever route you pick, bear in mind that Fuji is a notoriously "shy" mountain often hidden behind clouds. Your odds of a picture postcard view are the highest on a crisp winter day.
- 2 Nagoya may be Japan's fourth largest city and every train on the line stops here, but it's best known as an industrial powerhouse and most Golden Route travellers just whizz straight on through.
- 3 Kyoto was Japan's capital for nearly a thousand years. Untouched by bombing in World War 2, it has an unparalleled treasure trove of cultural sites and virtually all Golden Route travellers stop here for a few nights.
The terminus of the Golden Route, 4 Osaka, is Japan's second largest city and is famed for its food and nightlife. Only 30 minutes from Kyoto by train, it's advisable to pick one or the other as your base, or consider other options in the Kansai region. From Osaka, you can fly back directly from Kansai International Airport or take the train back to Tokyo.
Go next
[edit]Most visitors end their trip at Osaka, but if you have the time you can keep going west.
- Kobe, right next door to Osaka, is a cosmopolitan port town best known for its famous beef
- Himeji, home to Japan's most famous castle, half an hour further west from Osaka
- Okayama, often overlooked, has a stunning black castle and one of Japan's Top 3 gardens
- Hiroshima, site of the first atomic bomb, 90 minutes from Osaka