Most people would want to visit Japan at least once in their life and enjoy the beautiful country. It’s an amazing opportunity to travel to Japan, but some people might not know how long you can stay in Japan and how long you should stay in Japan.
Keep reading and you’d find the answer to them.
Find out how long you can actually stay in Japan, how long you should stay, ways to make your travel in Japan even more interesting, and more through this article.
To travel to Japan, you need to do the basic things, like purchasing an airplane ticket, booking an accommodation, make a visa if your country is required to, and so on. But how long can and should you actually stay in Japan?
How long can I stay in Japan?
When you enter Japan, you are to receive a status of residence. There are around 20 statuses of residence, including “temporary visitor” for tourists, and various others for workers, students, residents, etc. Each of them has a different limit or maximum length of stay.
Japan required a visa for most countries, but Japan has a general visa exemption arrangement for these 68 countries (as of March 5, 2018). Meaning that you don’t need to create a visa, you just need a valid passport to enter Japan as a “temporary visitor”. Temporary visitors from most countries are allowed to stay in Japan up to 90 days.
For citizens from United States, Canada, most countries in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, some Latin American countries, some Asian countries, and more, which you can check by clicking here, you can stay up to 90 days without visa requirements.
But get this:
For countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, and Thailand, even though you are not required a visa (if you have ePassport), you can only stay up to 15 days. And also 30 days for the United Arab Emirates.
For certain countries like Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Liechtenstein or the United Kingdom, temporary visitors are allowed to extend their stay up to six months by applying an for an extension at the immigration bureau in Japan.
And guess what?
If you are a citizen of one of the 68 countries (as of March 5, 2018) and have savings of over 30 million yen (~US $284,000), you can extend your and your spouse’s stay in Japan up to 1 year, with no engagement in paid activities.
Bottom line is…
You can stay in Japan up to 90 days for temporary visitor status (for most countries). But, you can stay longer in Japan if you have a student visa, working visa, working holiday visa and some other types of visa.
How long should I stay in Japan?
Japan is a wonderful country and is not only limited to the major destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka. There are many more beautiful places in Japan you can visit!
How long you should stay in Japan, of course, depends on the type of visa you have, or how many days are you allowed to stay by the government. But, there is no clear answer to how long you should stay in Japan. My recommendation would stay as long as you can, but again it depends on how much time you have to travel and your preferences.
Staying in Japan for around 2 weeks is enough to visit the major cities like Osaka, Tokyo, and Kyoto and its popular destinations. You will also have time for day trips to places like maybe Chiba, Nikko, Yokohama, Hakone or some other cities.
But, if you have more time, you can visit the other endless beautiful prefectures and cities in Japan, each with its own charm and culture.
Where to go in Japan?
Well, definitely visit Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto if it’s your first time in Japan and you want to experience the major destinations in Japan. You can check this itinerary for your Tokyo trip.
However, if you visited before or want to experience something different other than these 3 major cities, you can visit a place like Kyushu, an island located in the southernmost Japan to visit the famous hot springs, waterfalls, sand baths, ryokans (Japanese inn), and many historic treasures and the incredible natural beauty.
I also recommend visiting Hokkaido with the popular cities in the island being Sapporo, Hakodate, Asahikawa, Otaru, and many others. It’s the perfect place to ski or snowboard during the winter season. Its charms include its natural beauty, hot springs, lakes, parks, and many more beautiful sights.
If you are looking for day trips, not far from Tokyo, here are some of my recommendations.
- Kamakura- for your guide in Kamakura, click here.
- Hakone- for your guide in Hakone, click here.
- Chiba- for your guide in Chiba, click here.
- Yokohama- for your guide in Yokohama, click here.
- Nikko- for your guide in Nikko, click here.
- Saitama- for your guide in Saitama, click here.
How to make your Japan trip even more interesting and memorable?
Go on a private tour with a private guide! While in Japan, you can have an enhanced trip by having a deeper understanding and also having a better experience with a private guide by your side.
Advantages of going on a private tour with a private guide →
- You can have a great and hassle-free Japan experience (no getting lost, no language difficulty, etc).
- You can have itineraries tailor-made just for you to match your preferences and interests.
- An enhanced and more interesting trip by discovering off-the-beaten-path spots.
- Extra safety.
- Local insights (personal suggestions by guides for great food, etc.)
- A deeper understanding of the places and culture in Japan.
- Endless ideas of where to go and what to do.
- So many more.
Where to go on a private tour with private guides?
The thing is…
There are many places on the web where you can hire a private guide or join a private tour, but you don’t know whether they are trustworthy and good websites or not.
That’s why I’m recommending you GoWithGuide. You can check the website for many qualified tour guides options in many areas of Japan from which you can choose according to your needs and preferences.
Through the website, you can watch the guides’ personalized videos, read the reviews of each guide, check their availability and service cost to help you find the right guide.
Recommended tour guides in Japan
You don’t have to look very hard to find a great private guide for you. Here is a list of great tour guides in Tokyo. And click here for guides in Kyoto, and for other areas of Japan, you may want to click here.
If you are not necessarily looking for a specific private tour guide but would like to choose from private tour options, here are some other useful links if you are looking for private tours in Tokyo and Kyoto private tours and also private tours in other areas of Japan.
I hope this article provides useful information on how long you can and should stay in Japan, some places to go for your Japan trip, and more recommendation. I hope you have a great time exploring Japan!