In March, with the planner's pick for each leg; you can switch any leg in the plan. Flying into Japan and home from South Korea; the legs that cross a border are marked.
Delhi → TokyoFlight · 10h 48m · Air India / ANA / JAL non-stop to Haneda
Tokyo → KyotoTrain · 2h 42m · Tokaido Shinkansen (Nozomi)
Kyoto → SeoulFlight via Osaka · 7h 48m · Train to Osaka, then Peach / Jeju Air / Korean Air / Asiana, KIX–ICN (non-stop)Into South Korea
Seoul → DelhiFlight · 11h · Korean Air / Air India (non-stop)
About this circuit
Japan's capital, its old one and Korea's: four days in Tokyo for Senso-ji, Meiji Jingu, Shibuya and Shinjuku; the Nozomi shinkansen to Kyoto for Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera, the Golden Pavilion and Gion; then from Kansai airport to Seoul for the Joseon palaces, the hanok lanes of Bukchon and Gwangjang Market, and home on a non-stop flight.
Why it matters
Kyoto was the imperial capital for over a thousand years and has 17 UNESCO-listed temples, shrines and castles, and Seoul's Joseon palaces include Changdeokgung and its Secret Garden. Indian restaurants are everywhere in Tokyo (Nishi-Kasai is its Little India) and cluster in Seoul's Itaewon, and Kyoto's temple cuisine (shojin ryori) and the temple-food restaurants of Insadong are vegetarian.
Stop by stop
How the 11 days split across the 3 stops, and what each one costs on the ground for two.
Japan's capital and the landing city for every non-stop flight from India: Senso-ji in old Asakusa, the forest shrine of Meiji Jingu, the Shibuya crossing, Shinjuku's skyscrapers and lanes of tiny bars, and a different neighbourhood for every interest, from Akihabara's electronics to Ginza's department stores. Trains and subways reach everything. Indian restaurants are everywhere, and Nishi-Kasai in the east is Tokyo's Little India.
Don't miss: Senso-ji and Nakamise street in Asakusa · Meiji Jingu forest shrine.
How long: 4 days, which is the recommended stay.
Haneda Airport (HND), 15 km
4 days for two from ₹61,716 · ₹1,30,752 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
The imperial capital for over a thousand years, with 17 UNESCO-listed temples, shrines and castles: the thousands of vermilion gates at Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera on its wooden stage, the Golden Pavilion, the Arashiyama bamboo grove and the wooden lanes of Gion. Kyoto is Japan's most crowded city in cherry-blossom and autumn-leaf weeks; go to the big sights at opening time. Temple vegetarian cuisine (shojin ryori) is a real option here.
Korea's capital and the arrival city for flights from India. Stay around Myeongdong or Jongno for the Joseon palaces (Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and its Secret Garden), the hanok lanes of Bukchon and Insadong, Gwangjang Market and N Seoul Tower; Hongdae is the student quarter for street performers, cafes and nightlife. The DMZ, the border with North Korea, is a day trip by tour bus. Indian restaurants cluster in Itaewon; temple food restaurants in Insadong serve fully vegan meals.
Don't miss: Changing of the guard at Gyeongbokgung · Changdeokgung's Secret Garden.
How long: 4 days, which is the recommended stay.
Incheon International Airport (ICN), 52 km
4 days for two from ₹43,407 · ₹1,00,232 mid-range — stay, food, local travel and entry; the journey here is extra
What it costs
from ₹1,58,046 a person
The whole 11-day trip as the planner prices it in March, for two sharing at budget stays: flights from India and back, travel between the stops and across the borders, stays, food, getting around, entry fees and the planner's buffer.
The two visas for an Indian passport, about ₹5,800 a person in all, are on top.
When to go
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March to May and October to November suit both countries; the cherry-blossom weeks (late March to mid-April) and the autumn leaves (mid-November) are the dearest and most crowded of the year in Kyoto, June and July are the rainy season, and typhoons can stop trains and flights from August to October
Entry rules: two visas
Japan
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹1,300
Book an appointment at the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) for your area and apply for the single-entry tourist visa, no more than three months before you travel. Walk-ins ended in February 2026. The visa fee is ₹500, plus VFS's service charge of ₹800.
Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹4,500
Apply for a C-3-9 short-term tourist visa at the Korea Visa Application Centre (run by VFS Global) for your state, about a month before you fly: ₹3,400 visa fee plus ₹1,100 service charge. Allow about 10 working days; express processing is not offered at the Delhi and Kolkata centres.
·Indian passports need two visas: Japan's, from the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS) 3-4 weeks ahead and no earlier than three months, which comes as an eVISA, and South Korea's C-3-9 tourist visa from the Korea Visa Application Centre about a month ahead (about 10 working days); the K-ETA is not for Indian passports
·Tokyo to Kyoto is the Tokaido shinkansen (Nozomi); from Kyoto, take the train to Kansai airport for the flight to Incheon
·In Kyoto reach Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu-dera and Arashiyama before 08:00; photographing in Gion's private lanes is banned
·Golden Week (29 April to 5 May 2027) fills Japan's shinkansen and hotels, and from late winter to spring fine dust can haze Seoul: check AirKorea and carry a KF94 mask
·Before you fly, fill in Visit Japan Web for one immigration and customs QR code, and Korea's free e-Arrival Card on the official government site
