Give Tokyo more nights, and see it first. Tokyo rewards depth — it is a dozen cities in one and you can spend four days without repeating yourself. Kyoto rewards early mornings and unhurried evenings rather than volume; three to five nights is usually enough. Seeing Tokyo first also puts your jet-lagged days in the city that is easiest to enjoy at half capacity.
They reward different things
| Tokyo | Kyoto | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A dozen distinct cities in one | One city with a thousand years of layers |
| Rewards | Depth — more days keep paying | Timing — early and late, not more |
| Best hours | Evening | Before 9am and after 5pm |
| Getting around | Excellent, fast | Slow buses, limited subway |
| Diminishing returns | After about 5 nights | After about 4 nights |
| Rain | Barely matters | Matters a lot |
How to split your nights
Why Tokyo first
Two practical reasons and one that matters more.
You will land at Narita or Haneda, so starting in Tokyo costs no travel. Jet lag is survivable in Tokyo — a wander through Omotesando at half capacity is still a good evening, whereas a jet-lagged temple morning in Kyoto is largely wasted.
And the one that matters: Kyoto is better once Japan has stopped being overwhelming. By the time you arrive you will have learned the trains, the conventions and the rhythm, and Kyoto's quieter pleasures land properly rather than being drowned out.
Where the days actually go
Tokyo
Plan Tokyo by neighbourhood, not attraction. One district per day, on foot. Yanaka or Kagurazaka for old Tokyo, Omotesando and Aoyama for architecture, Shimokitazawa or Nakameguro for the version people live in. Which one you sleep in decides a surprising amount — we set that out in where to stay in Tokyo.
Kyoto
Plan Kyoto by time of day. The famous sites are genuinely wonderful at 7am and genuinely unpleasant at 11am, and that is the whole trick. Base yourself in Higashiyama or Nakagyo so you can walk out into it early, and give one day to the north-west temples with a car — the buses there will otherwise eat the afternoon.
The honest summary
Tokyo is the city you under-plan and end up wishing you had more of. Kyoto is the city people over-plan and end up seeing at the worst hours.
Give Tokyo the nights and Kyoto the mornings.
Want the split decided for you?
Tell me how long you have. I will set the nights, the routing and the tables so neither city gets short-changed.
Plan My Japan Trip