🇮🇸 Iceland or 🇯🇵 Japan
Which one, honestly
Japan leads on cities, food and getting around.
A normal day costs about $190 in Iceland and $165 in Japan.
Side by side
- 🇮🇸 Iceland🇯🇵 Japan
- Jun, Jul, Aug, SepBest monthsMar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov
- $190A normal day$165
- 3h 20m to ReykjavikNonstop from London14h to Tokyo
- Not the drawBeaches and seaNot the draw
- GoodCities and cultureExceptional
- GoodFoodExceptional
- ExceptionalNature and hikingExceptional
- Not the drawValue for moneyGood
- Very goodEasy to get aroundExceptional
- A hire car on the ring road, and a four wheel drive for the interiorGetting aroundThe best rail network in the world, buy the pass before you arrive
- Nothing seasonally, but the highland roads are shut from roughly October to JuneWhen to avoidGolden Week in early May, when the whole country travels at once
Pick by what you want
🇮🇸 Choose Iceland if
you want landscape above everything else, and you have accepted in advance that it costs more than anywhere else here.
🇯🇵 Choose Japan if
you want somewhere that feels genuinely different, you like cities and food, and you want everything to work perfectly.
Full Iceland guide →Full Japan guide →
And what the world thinks
Dead even. The next vote breaks the tie.
Compare something else
Written and checked by hand. Nothing here about visas or entry rules: those change often and depend on your passport, so check an official source.