What You NEED to Book in Advance for Japan (And How)

If there’s one thing I learned while planning my recent trip to Japan, it’s that the country runs on efficiency… and advance reservations.

In this article I’m sharing what reservations to make in advance for your Japan trip, specifically for Tokyo and Kyoto. Of course, you may not want to visit every museum and viewpoint or book every experience, but I hope this article helps you plan your trip more efficiently—and keeps you from having to wait in long lines or miss out completely!

🚞 Reserving Trains:

If you don’t speak Japanese, I highly recommend reserving your Shinkansen (long-distance train) tickets in advance on Klook. It costs $2-5 more per ticket, but everything is in English and far more straightforward! Train ticket bookings open up 30 days in advance. I share more about reserving train tickets in Japan at the end of this article!

Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, you don't need a reservation to visit but I recommend booking a tour, which you do need to reserve in advance

Walking through the streets of Kyoto at night

🍱 Restaurant Reservations in Japan:

Many restaurants in Japan (especially Tokyo) expect you to make reservations. Tabelog is the most common way to book a table, but some restaurants take bookings on their websites or by phone. If you aren’t able to get a reservation, I had luck showing up right before opening time for an early dinner!

☀️🌺🌿 Article Outline (Jump Ahead)

Tokyo

Ghibli Museum

⏰ Reserve at 10:00am Japan time on the 10th of the month before (tickets sell out in minutes!!)

Make reservations on the official English site at 10am on the 10th day of the month before visiting (1,000 JPY per adult)
OR book this Studio Ghibli Museum guided tour (plus other Ghibli sites) for a guaranteed entry ticket

If you’re a big Studio Ghibli fan like I am, the whimsical Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is a must-visit when you’re in Tokyo! But its obnoxiously difficult to get a ticket, you have to wait in an online queue the month before and just hope you’re lucky enough to score a ticket before they sell out.

I visited the Ghibli Museum back on my first trip to Japan, and was able to get tickets through my local friend (folks with Japanese phone numbers can get tickets more easily). And if I went again, I’d join this Tokyo Studio Ghibli tour, which gets you a Studio Ghibli Museum without the hassle of reserving it yourself, plus you get to visit some of the spots that inspire Miyazaki himself!

TeamLab Planets & TeamLab Borderless

⏰ Reserve 2-4 weeks in advance

TeamLab Planets: Make reservations on Klook for discount tickets or the official site
TeamLab Borderless: Make reservations on Klook for discount tickets or the official site

Wandering through a dreamlike living art installation at TeamLab has quickly become one of the most popular things to do in Tokyo, and tickets sell out weeks in advance!

TeamLab Borderless is located near Tokyo Tower and is known for its maze-like rooms where the art flows around you. Meanwhile, TeamLab Planets is outside of the main tourist areas, but still draws a crowd daily for its sensory art experiences like water-filled walkways and the floating flower room.

Tokyo Skytree

⏰ Reserve 2-3 weeks in advance

Buy tickets on Klook

At 634 meters, Tokyo Skytree is the tallest building in all of Japan! There are two observation decks, both of which offer panoramic views of Tokyo’s endless skyscrapers, and on a clear day, Mt. Fuji!

Tokyo Skytree is a short train ride away from Asakusa, so I recommend exploring both areas in the same day to maximize your time. As with other popular viewpoints in Japan, you really do need to reserve a ticket in advance, especially if you’re visiting in the springtime or at sunset.

Shibuya Sky

⏰ Reserve 2-3 weeks in advance

Buy tickets on Klook

Located on the 47th floor of the Shibuya Scramble Building (with a view of the famous Shibuya Crossing below), Shibuya Sky also has an excellent view of the Tokyo skyline.

Unlike Skytree, Shibuya Sky has an open-air observation deck, which feels totally different! But honestly, the real reason Shibuya Sky is so popular is because its conveniently located in the heart of Shibuya. Because of that, Shibuya Sky tends to be even busier than Skytree, so be sure to make a reservation!

Yakatabune Dinner Cruise

⏰ Reserve 1-2 weeks in advance

Make a reservation on Viator

For another one-of-a-kind experience, cruise along Tokyo Bay aboard a yakatabune, a traditional Japanese party boat lit by glowing lantern. It feels like its straight out of Spirited Away!

For around $43 per person, you’ll enjoy a sukiyaki (hot pot) dinner, live shamisen music, and views of Tokyo’s skyline while cruising along Tokyo Bay and Sumida River. If you have dietary restrictions like me, make sure to request a special meal when you make your reservation!

Sumo Wrestling

⏰ Reserve 1-2 weeks in advance

Shinjuku Sumo Show: Reserve here
Sumida City Sumo Show: Reserve here

If seeing sumo wrestling is on your Japan bucket-list, be sure to book a seat in advance as its popular!

Either book at show at Shinjuku Sumo Club, which includes a bilingual host (so you can understand what’s happening!), AND an opportunity to challenge a sumo wrestler if you’re so brave! Or book this one in Sumida (across the river from Asakusa) which also includes explanations from an English-speaking guide.

Also See: Where to Stay in Tokyo for First Timers: Convenience & Charm

Kyoto

Heading to Kyoto? Check out my Kyoto itinerary to see how we squeezed in all the best highlights an hidden gems of Kyoto with limited time!

Captain pointing on a river boat on the Hozugawa River in Kyoto, Japan

Hozugawa River Boat Ride

⏰ Reserve 1-2 weeks in advance

Make a reservation on Kook

Riding a traditional boat down the Hozugawa River was probably my favorite thing we did in Kyoto (and that’s saying something!) You journey along gentle rapids through the mountains before arriving in tranquil Arashiyama, home to Kyoto’s famous bamboo forest and dozens of charming shrines.

When we got off the boat in Arashiyama, it felt like we’d traveled through time to another era! Since exploring Arashiyama is already on most visitor’s Japan bucket-list, I highly recommend adding on this river boat ride to that part of your Kyoto itinerary!

Tea ceremony in Kyoto is one of the reservations to make for Japan trips

Kyoto tea ceremony photo via Viator

Tea Ceremony & Kimono Rental

⏰ Reserve 1-2 weeks in advance

Make a reservation here

Dressing up in a ornately decorated kimono (or yukata) and attending a traditional tea ceremony is one of the most popular things to do in Kyoto, and for good reason!

It’s a cultural experience like no other—and truly traditional, so much so that photo and video are often limited to only before and after the ceremony, so it feels less like a performance and more like a sacred ancient practice (which it is!) But don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of time to get some lovely photos all dressed up!

Gion Night Tour

⏰ Reserve 1-2 weeks in advance

Make a reservation here

This one’s a bit of a hidden gem, but you still need to reserve it in advance because tickets sell out! If you’re unfamiliar, Gion is one of Kyoto’s most charming Edo-era neighborhoods, but its also incredibly crowded in the daytime.

After dark, Gion transforms—it’s just as enchanting (if not more), and this $33 night walking tour takes you around the neighborhood with a local guide who points out real life geisha and tells the history of Gion!

Red torri gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan

Hidden Fushimi Inari Hiking Tour

⏰ Reserve 2-4 weeks in advance

Make a reservation here

Fushimi Inari is Japan’s most famous Shinto Shrine, home to the ten thousand red torii gates that wind up and down Mount Inari. It’s also incredibly crowded, so we decided to explore the lesser known parts of the shrine on this Hidden Fushimi Inari Hiking Tour. It was absolutely spectacular!

Our guide, Louis, was perhaps the best tour guide I’ve ever had and really made us feel like we were on a private tour even though we were in a small group. In addition to learning about this sacred site and exploring it the way the locals do, we also got to walk through Tofuku-ji Temple, a stunning Buddhist temple I would have missed if I went on my own!

Hidden Kyoto E-Bike Tour

⏰ Reserve 2-4 weeks in advance

Make a reservation here

This Hidden Kyoto E-Bike Tour is one of the highest-rated local-led tours in Kyoto, with 1,700+ 5-star reviews and a 2025 award from Viator. You get to explore the lesser known parts of Kyoto on an e-bike with an exceptional local guide. Along the way, you stop at Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion).

This is another one of those experiences I wish I’d booked in Kyoto, but we simply did not have enough time to do it all and I’d visited already Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) on my last Japan trip. But if you’re interested, it really needs to be booked further in advance as its quite popular!

View out the window during my train journey in Japan

Booking Japan Train Tickets

⏰ Reserve 25-30 days in advance on Klook!

If you’re visiting numerous cities or regions in Japan, you’ll likely end up taking a high speed Shinkansen train, or maybe a limited express! The most common Shinkansen route is the line that connects Tokyo to Kyoto in just 2 hours (vs 6 hours driving).

Although you can book Shinkansens on the day of your travel, we chose to reserve all our trains for two reasons:

You’re not guaranteed an actual seat if you don’t have a reservation (which also means you’re not guaranteed luggage storage)
It kept us on track during our trip to have everything pre-reserved

You can also save money by making reservations in advance, which is another reason I recommend doing it!

But reserving train tickets (and even navigating train stations) can be incredibly confusing if you don’t speak Japanese. Each region of Japan has a different train booking system, and the ‘official’ website can feel quite outdated… and worst of all, they can be buggy when you’re trying to book with a non-Japanese credit card.

Thankfully, there’s an easy solution: Book your tickets on Klook, which is an official and widely trusted third-party booking site. The entire booking process is in English, and you can even choose your seats. The only disadvantages is that tickets booked via Klook usually cost $2-5 extra. For me, its worth those extra dollars for the convenience!

But keep in mind that whether you book with the official train sites or Klook, you’ll typically (depending on the region) need to pick up your tickets in person at the train station with the QR code provided when booking. Klook has detailed instructions for picking these tickets up, which is another reason I’d recommend it over the Japanese sites. Either way, make sure you give yourself enough time to pick up your tickets before your train departs!