1. Decide on your budget, and length of the trip
How much money you are willing to splurge on your trip will be a decisive factor in everything. If you are willing to take domestic flights, you can go from one end of Japan to the other end within one day; if not, it is impractical to hope to cover the whole of Japan within the same span.

Also how many days you are willing to fork out is another important point. The more days away from work/studies, the more you have to sacrifice. Even if you have holidays, the more days you spend travelling the more you will have to pay for your time here.

2. List your areas of interest
Japan has much to offer to suit any traveller’s taste, from its rich cultural heritage to its vasts swathes of nature and its top-notch cities. One can never have too much of Japan, and therefore it is important to prioritise your interests. List those areas (or activities) that you are interested in, and on top of that, circle the ones that you will regret if you don’t go (or do).

Here’s a brief list:
– Cultural heritages: shrines/temples, castles, Japanese-style gardens, etc
– Nature: mountains, rivers, sea, fields, etc
– Shopping: fashion apparel, electronics, anime merchandise, etc
– Museums: art museums, open-air museums, Ghibli museum

Japan-Guide.com is a good place to start.
For the totally clueless, try the following: Click all the links listed under all the prefectures, and note down those that spark your interest.

3. Plan your travel route
It is not a smart move to fly from Tokyo to Hokkaido, then back to Tokyo, then travel to Osaka and then back to Tokyo. Unless if you have an irrational love for Tokyo’s airport/train stations, they are not worth your repeat visits. Travel in a circle as much as possible without returning to any one place.

Also, you should decide on how you want to travel within Japan. Japan’s transport system is highly developed in the major cities, but in the countryside, there are places where the bus comes only once a day, so take note. You have a wide range of transport options:
– Trains (Shinkansen for those who are willing to splurge, or the normal subway trains for travelling within a city)
– Highway buses (Cheap and especially common with native travellers with Tokyo as their starting point/destination)
– Planes (Especially recommended for those going Hokkaido)
– Renting your own car (Useful if you’re going off the beaten path)

Use Google Maps to mark your destinations, and to gauge the travelling time required between each place.
Jorudan Train Route Finder is another useful site for planning the details of your train routes.

4. Book your accommodation
This is where your budget plays a huge role. Japan has a wide variety of accommodation choices, ranging from high-class hotels to the minshuku – Japan’s equivalent of the bed and breakfast. For those who are more daring, try a night at an internet cafe. Most Japanese internet cafes come equipped with shower rooms and offer drinks and snacks on top of internet access and free reading of a wide selection of Japanese manga, and you can expect a night of light sleep in exchange for its cheap cost.

Check out Jalan.net (Japanese) or other similar online sites to book your hotels.

5. Print your itinerary
You can save your plans in your smartphone too, but a hard copy is your safest bet against dead batteries.

Ying Tong (planning a trip is as fun as going on the trip itself)