# South Korea vs Japan for a first trip? **URL:** \ **Category:** Japan\ **Created:** [October 6, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/south-korea-vs-japan-for-a-first-trip/52677 "2026-10-06T03:30:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@janine](https://community.tourradar.com/u/janine)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/south-korea-vs-japan-for-a-first-trip/52677/1 "2026-10-06T03:30:58Z")
We can only do one big Asia trip this year and it’s down to South Korea or Japan, both first-timers for us. We’re after cities, food, history and a bit of nature, at a comfortable pace. For those who’ve done both, which makes the better first trip - and what tipped it for you? ---
**Author:** ![TravelNotes](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/community.tourradar.com/travelnotes/32/4492_2.png) [@TravelNotes](https://community.tourradar.com/u/TravelNotes)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/south-korea-vs-japan-for-a-first-trip/52677/2 "2026-10-06T19:18:20Z")
**Japan**. ![Hiroshima Peace Memorial](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/uploads/tourradar_production/original/2X/1/1d2d101547f1eb9e4cdd27daa02cb4324d40fc8c.jpeg) 🌍 [Michel](https://tnot.es/Visit). ---
**Author:** ![DriftingLouangphabang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@DriftingLouangphabang](https://community.tourradar.com/u/DriftingLouangphabang)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2026, 12:18pm UTC](https://community.tourradar.com/t/south-korea-vs-japan-for-a-first-trip/52677/3 "2026-10-07T12:18:47Z")
Japan would be my suggestion for a first trip. It has a good balance of food, history, cities and nature, and getting around is quite straightforward.