Japan · 7 days · Untravel editors
For the group chat that's actually booking it. Tokyo for the niche bars and the depth, Osaka for the eat-and-drink street energy — later mornings, harder nights, and only the daytime stuff worth getting up for.
7 days and 17 stops — Tokyo and Osaka, with one move between them. It opens with land and launch. Every stop carries the note that put it on the list. Read it all here, no app and no account.
The 7-day Japan itinerary, day by day
Day 01 · Tokyo
Land and launch
Shibuya Crossing
Warm up with the scramble and rooftop drinks for the skyline before dinner.
Banten Ebisu
Dinner in the Ebisu izakaya cluster. Easy first night while the jet lag clears.
Shibuya rooftop bar
One rooftop drink for the skyline before bed — ease into the city without overcooking night one.
Day 02 · Tokyo
Recover, then ramp
Bam Bi Coffee
Recovery coffee and soufflé pancakes near Shinjuku.
Shimokitazawa
Vintage shopping, record bars, day-drinking territory — basically built for a slow afternoon with friends.
Shinjuku Golden Gai
The warren of tiny 6-seat bars — pick ones without a cover-charge sign, bar-hop, talk to strangers. The Tokyo night people remember.
Day 03 · Tokyo
Big day, bigger night
teamLab Planets
Great group activity and the photos are unreal — book ahead.
A9 Ebisu
Wagyu dinner in Ebisu before the cocktail bars — Tokyo does the best bars on earth.
Ebisu/Shibuya cocktail bar
One proper Japanese highball or cocktail bar after dinner — it resets your standards permanently. Find one in Ebisu or Shibuya.
Day 04 · Tokyo
Flex + last Tokyo night
Toyosu Market
Group's choice: a sushi breakfast if anyone can do the 5am start.
Onibus Coffee Nakameguro
A lazy Nakameguro afternoon — canal, coffee, beers — before the last night out.
Last Tokyo izakaya + karaoke
Izakaya into karaoke for the last Tokyo night. Non-negotiable.
Transfer · day 4 → 5397 km apart
Day 05 · Osaka
Straight into Dotonbori
Shinsaibashi
Drop bags and warm up with an afternoon arcade-and-shopping crawl down Shinsaibashi into the Dotonbori area.
Dōtonbori
Osaka's the friendliest, loudest food city in Japan and this is its heart — takoyaki, okonomiyaki, kushikatsu, the Glico sign, the river of neon. The night the trip peaks.
Day 06 · Osaka
Day off your feet, then back out
Osaka Castle
Some daylight and a walk through the castle grounds, or Shinsaibashi arcade shopping.
Ura-Namba
The backstreet izakaya quarter locals actually drink in, away from the Dotonbori tourist crush. Smaller, cheaper, better.
Day 07 · Osaka
Last bites
Kuromon Ichiba Market
A breakfast crawl — fresh uni, grilled scallops, fruit — before flying out of Kansai.
