Japan

Japan rewards almost any kind of trip. Tokyo and Osaka for cities and food at every price point, Kyoto for temples and gardens, Hokkaido for skiing and nature, the southern islands for warmer beaches. The infrastructure makes everything easy; the depth of the culture means you could come back ten times.

The classic first trip runs Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka on the Shinkansen, with a night at a Hakone ryokan in the middle. Days alternate between intensity and calm: a temple garden at opening time, an afternoon lost in Shibuya or Dotonbori, a bowl of ramen that embarrasses restaurants at five times the price. Even the convenience stores are good. Lodging is the main cost; food scales from cheap standing bars to once-a-trip kaiseki, and both ends are worth it.

The honest part: Kyoto's headline sights — Fushimi Inari, the Arashiyama bamboo grove, Kinkaku-ji — are mobbed from mid-morning, and cherry blossom season means booking months ahead and paying for the privilege. English is thin outside the cities, some rural spots remain cash-only, and June through August is humid enough to flatten an itinerary. Wing it in peak season and you'll suffer. But everything works, everyone is courteous, and the gap between expectation and reality runs in your favor almost everywhere.