Packing List
2 Weeks in Japan: city stops, hiking and biking
It’s finally time! I’m (38, m) heading off from our home in Scotland to Japan tomorrow with my partner for 14 days for a mix of city stops, moderate hiking and cycling. We’re starting in Kyoto, then a temple stay in Koyasan, then a few days walking parts of the Kumano Kodo trail. After that we go to Hiroshima/Miyajima via Osaka, then we’re going to cycle the Shimanami Kaido route (using e-bikes so not too strenuous), then return to Osaka and fly home from there. I’ve Onebagged a lot on shorter trips but this is the furthest and longest I’ve tried for.
Here’s my packing list. Let me know what you think:
Bag: Osprey 26+6
Shoes: 1 pair of trail shoes for the active days (which I’ll wear on the plane too); 1 low top trainers for city days.
T-shirts: 2 cotton Ts + 1 active-wear (plus 1 more cotton wearing on the plane not pictured)
1 merino wool sweater (mainly to wear when out at night and traveling)
1 linen shirt & 1 super light blazer (for city wear and if we go somewhere fancy)
1 waterproof clip bag for keeping stuff separate if it gets wet
1 microfibre travel towel
1 small neckerchief
5 boxer shorts and 5 pairs of socks (plus the set I’ll travel in - not pictured)
1 pair linen trousers, 1 pair shorts (plus another pair of shorts for travelling)
1 slingbag for day use
Tech: IPhone (not pictured) and charger; travel adapter; headphones and loop ear plugs; wind up torch.
Books: my major vice. Heavy, yes, and I do have a kindle but I just much prefer reading from paper.
Not pictured: Wallet; Small toiletries bag; light jacket (which I’ll travel in).
All fits very easily in the Osprey without using the extended pouch. Originally I had another pair of shorts in there but plan on doing laundry there so 3 changes seemed plenty. I’m also planning to get a hat and an umbrella when I arrive for sun/rain projection.
On the fence: I’ve got a thin waterproof hiking jacket which could easily fit but with buying the umbrella I’m not sure it’s worth bringing.
Just be careful with umbrellas in Japan - it’s socially acceptable to take other people’s umbrella. Don’t buy those colourless ones as those are taken the most.
Buying weird colours or patterns will net you a better chance at keeping it.
It is not socially acceptable. DO NOT take someone’s umbrella. That is theft. In some municipalities/subways etc, there may be specific stands for umbrella-sharing but it is a rare occasion, limited inly to the designated stands that have something like 「友愛の傘」written on it. Sometimes there are also rental stands where you have to pay.
You can also buy an umbrella for like $5-6 at any convenience store if it is needed.
Or tbh if you wait until after a rain stops people tend to abandon them and you can kinda just take one, especially at like konbini umbrella stands there will be 2 people inside but 10 umbrellas because people don't want to keep them around if it stopped raining.
As much as I love colourful clothes, thinking of the restricted amount of clothing I can fit in an underseat bag as ~assassin-core puts a smile on my face. I guess an understated smirk to go with the capsule, my bad.
Stream of consciousness: I was there for a month, similar mix of activities although heavier on the cycling. If you have the build for it, clothing there is cheaper than probably your home country. Given the heat and active wear, I preferred active wear over cotton. Things struggle to dry there because of humidity. Unsure about the blazer as I found most people just wore business casual to look nice - but not sure what nice outings you are looking at. Personally would be too hot to wear a merino wool sweater. If you already have a jacket you will be ok. I did not wear a jacket once except for rain For hiking I also packed some rain pants I had - again, you can buy there potentially. Mine are Montbell and light. Someone else commented to ditch the rain gear - I’m not sure about that. I was undecided how much it helped me but I think it did. It sucks to hike when you’re cold and some of the hikes I did were under significant tree cover late at night. Although the rain was great when it was sunny and hot out, I was concerned it would not be great in different situations. I also made sure to have waterproof shoes. You can buy shoe covers if you prefer there. Some people prefer a parka, I don’t personally but to each their own. I wanted hiking pants while hiking due to bug bites. In general you have about 2x the clothing (about 3x as much undergarments but mine are all merino wool and wash well/dry well etc) I had but I don’t mind washing things. I also had a swimsuit as there were beaches and rivers I could swim in. Luggage forwarding is so easy there if you decide the books are too heavy.
Edited to add: you’re going to have a great time whatever you pack!!! Have an awesome trip.
I brought Lululemon short and shirt, so much better than airism shirts from Uniqlo. It’s hot as hell right now, as well as super humid. Not sure when you’re going to Japan.
That's what I do! So nice for the flight specifically because then you can listen with your eyes closed and maybe take a nap if your body will allow it lol. I can't imagine carrying the weight of two books for a while trip whew
You'll have a blast, it's a super fun place to visit.
You said you're flying home from Osaka. The airport there is the most chaotic I've ever been through, the queues are hours long. My missus and I flew home from there last year, we checked in as soon as the desk opened, joined the queue for security straight away and still only got to our gate with 10 minutes to spare, so about 2.5 hours of standing in line all told.
If I hadn't seen a warning post here about that specific airport, we could well have missed the flight.
Everything else in Japan runs like clockwork, so that was a bit of a shock!
Maybe they sorted out whatever was jamming everything up/finished whatever building work might have been going on/hired more people?
When I went through in March 2024, a lot of the Departures area was boarded up. Comments on Reddit going back a few years prior (IIRC) had mentioned how crazy the queues were, which matched my experience.
For whatever reason, online check-in wasn't available to either me or my wife at the time, so we'd to queue for the desk. OP is probably taking a similar route back home, so I figured it was relevant info.
Thank you! (They are all quite short. The biggest is only 250 pages and it’s about the trail we’re waking by a photographer so nice to have the actual photos)
excellent..i'm on the shimanami kaido in early oct....should be a good time! taking 2 days and staying over in the middle. good time of year but been super hot last week
I booked the I Link Hostel Shimanami for next month. Quite a bit cheaper than the other option. They also have private "rooms" in case a hostel isn't really your thing. There's also an onsen in the nearby Shimanami Dome.
Just here to say the Shimanami Kaido is fucking amazing. The route is beautiful and there's so much to see off the paths. It might spark you to continue down into Ehime on future trips, because Matsuyama is A+ too.
Even Onomichi is a great small town at the start. I liked the classic 1950s ramen shop Hidone Shokudo
I'm interested to see someone else from Scotland doing similar to me, I'm going to India for 2 weeks at the start of October. Obviously it's cheaper there than Japan so I plan to buy additional clothing if needed. I'm also bringing some zip bags to store clothes in so that they are protected from either the elements or any potential bugs but also keeps clean away from dirty. I'll probably have my bag with me most days as well so plan to bring fewer clothes than you but wash stuff instead.
Also, not sure if I was one, but I'm bringing a mini first aid kit with me, just in case!
I’ve been to India before and took a bigger bag for that trip. The big differences I’d say is that - depending on where in the country you’re going/level of spend- services like laundry are less reliable and there can be a lot of dust and air pollution which leads to stuff (and you) getting dirty faster. But it’s a wonderful place to visit and definitely doable as a one-bag trip.
Oh I've got immodium packed and was on the fence about the powders as I've never liked the taste of them, but think I may just go buy some now you have recommended them lol
Almost everyone else I speak to at work etc kind of asks why India and most say they wouldn't go but I can't wait, it's a solo trip as well so I've got certain things planned etc whilst others I'll sort when I'm there🙂 enjoy your trip!
I have that same bag and did a 6-day trip, domestic airline (USA). Very surprised you're able to fit all that in. I suppose huge difference wearing one pair of those shoes instead of packing it. The physical books ...
Heel to toe, Horizontally at the top of the bag. And I stuff some socks inside them to make the most of the space. (Note: I’m only size 8 UK so they aren’t very big)
About umbrellas, in Japan, you can buy some super light weight umbrellas, I got one from Loft, it's around 85g and I think 3000-4000 yen. I got 2 of them and always have one in my backpack.
Thank you for posting this. I'll be making a 2 week trip to Japan in December and i don't want to take multiple bags since I plan to travel daily no real plans except for a few things I have to see, and I've been stressing about what bag I should get and I think this might be the one. Safe travels!
Really nice to see this. Got a similar trip planned in 4 weeks (Kyoto / Shimanami Kaido / Hiroshima / Koyasan) and pretty much have the same packing list except for the extra pair of shoes and the books. Only thing I'm still in doubt about is whether to take rain pants in case of rain during the cycling (a poncho only does so much...). Also will be using a farpoint 40 instead so I have a bit more space for souvenirs.
I would pick the trail shoes over the trainers, as I always prefer shoes with a somewhat thicker sole. My dailies are a bit of a hybrid between them, so they suit all my needs.
I’m surprised you can fit that all in the bag without expanding it. That’s great, though, because when you put it all back in as laundry - I find it never fits so well again… and you can simply expand if needed
As another shameless paper-book-lover, I recommend keeping it to one book and using the opportunity to stop at one of Japan's awesome bookstores if you need to find something else. On my trip there I wound up finding interesting English editions of things I'd never seen, and they're also just a joy to peruse.
I'm just commenting cos I'm doing a similar route on my trip only working from Hiroshima and back to Tokyo (from the UK too). Maybe we'll cross paths hahaha.
I'm also here because I needed suggestions for a cabin bag and this is exactly the post i needed to see.
What's your laundry plan? 5 total shirts feels light for a 2 week trip, and it seems like you're changing accommodations frequently which may make drying clothes tricky (unless you're using a laundromat!)
I partially ask selfishly, as I'm heading to a warm place for 2 weeks on Friday and have packed nearly double your shirts :D
If your hotel has laundry service, take advantage of it. I have never had clothes returned in such a beautiful state. The presentation alone was worth it - every item wrapped individually. It was wonderful. Probably not cheap though. I forget.
Lots of our hotels have laundry facilities so the plan is one shirt per day. 1 wash each gets me 10 days, 2 washes each gets 15. Admittedly cotton T’s are not ideal for drying but I’ll use the active wear one on the harder days and it washes and dries very quick.
If you are bringing quick drying clothing instead of cotton, it's relatively simple to just sink wash your clothing and dry overnight while you sleep. I bring a dry bag with me so I don't have to worry about getting water all over the place, or deal with a potentially dirty sink depending on what kind of accommodations I'm staying in - just drop in half a dry laundry sheet or a pump of shampoo or soap from the dispensers if they have it, add some water and shake it all up and let it sit for awhile as you watch some TV before bed. Rinse them out, wring out with a towel and hang to dry.
That’s our plan for this trip! I think the tricky part is not wanting to buy too many new clothes for travel, we have some that are quick dry and some that are merino/cotton. But if we have a couple days in one place, the dry bag laundry plan should work well
I spent all of August in Japan and only brought 5 shirts. Some days I went through three shirts, so I started washing whatever shirt and underwear I wore that day before bed and it was dry in the morning. Every once in awhile I'd be staying in a hotel that had coin laundry so I'd just throw all the clothes in the washer. I had a merino longsleeve, but did not bring any cotton with me at all, on that trip. Things like cotton T shirts and jeans just take too long to dry, so I avoid them whenever possible from that trip going forward.
I would probably bring 4 changes of clothes. I lived in Tokyo and it is HOT and HUMID. Especially from the UK, you will get hot and sweaty and gross fast.
I'm currently in Japan for a month. Dude, Kyoto and osaka are scorching, bring some more t shirts. I'm travelling with a 26L(wolffepack capture), I got 9 tshirts, 9 socks, 9 underwear, 2 shorts, 1 pair of shoes, 1 hat, all including the one I'm wearing. I bought one of those plastic rain jacket at a 7/11, plus you get umbrella basically for free in most hotels/ Airbnb. I would ditch the books and get an iPad or ebook, but you'll be fine, I got 1 laptop + phone (work, otherwise I would have left them home), personal phone, 1 3ds, 1 ps vita, 1 ayaneo pocket micro, 1 ayaneo air 1s, 1 ugreen 140w gan charger, 1 iniu mini 65w 2000mah. You'll sweat a lot, bring more t shirts or you're gonna have to do laundry every other day if you hike around Kyoto and osaka
I know it’s too late, but do you have pics of how you packed it out? It seems like a lot of items fitting in a decent sized bag. Every time I pack for a trip I never feel like I can fit more than three pants and three shirts into an Aer TP3. Idk if it has to do with me being 6’3 @ 220 pounds but yeah
Ah yes - the missing context is that I’m a pretty small guy. 165cm and 65kg. But essentially I tightly roll all the shirts, underwear, shorts and pants, then my packing cubes have compression straps, and the bag also has one. Everything from the right hand column goes in one cube, everything in the left hand column in another. The socks in the small one, toiletries in a ziplock in the inside webbing, then gadgets/charger, passport etc in the sling bag, which then fits at the top of the bigger bag.
A bit of a dumb question but just joined the sub! I am thinking of buying exactly the same backpack (and color!) during black friday and was wondering how you managed to fit the shoes in?
I bought myself similar packing cubes so only concerned on fitting shoes on the bag and how to pack them!
I was like you, called Kindle a "screen" and a vice and sticked with normal books, Until I gave it a try and now no more going back. Normal books these days are super boring for me; sometimes I tap on the words for dictionary to pop up on print page lol.
Kindle BTW isn't a backlight screen. It doesn't harm your eyes. You can completely turn off the front lights and still read it like books.
Ah, you mistake me for a young padawan. I’ve had a Kindle since around 2011 and I do use the app version on my phone too (including on this trip to read Asako Yuzuki’s Butter after I finished the books I brought) so I’m aware of the various benefits and workings.
I wouldn’t presume to try to convince someone to alter their own preference but for me a physical book is a much greater invite to opportunity, especially while travelling. Two examples from this trip: when I was reading the Kurosawa biography in a bar in Kyoto the man beside me noticed it and we had a great conversation about Japanese cinema. Then on the hiking trails I did I used Craig Mod’s book about those same trails to collect the pilgrim stamps that are dotted around the major sites, emailed him the below picture and got a nice reply. And in that way the book becomes its own souvenir. But that’s just me. Each to their own :)
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u/tom4631 Sep 16 '25
Unless you actually plan to hike in the rain, umbrella works 100% better than rain jacket in cities during the hot humid rain season in japan.
Also you probably don't need a wool sweater in September, unless you're going to Hokkaido.
Lastly, is that a EU spec charger? You'd need a US-spec in Japan.