I want to book to japan, thinking 3 weeks. For those who have travelled , is that a good time to sink yourself in and fully absorb the highlights of the country? I don't want to feel like i'm rushing myself.  Would love to seem some outdoor beauty, temples obviously,  and some of the city life, day and night of major cities like tokyo, kyoto and osaka etc. Maybe even okinawa. Is 3 weeks too little?

My first trip to Japan was 2 weeks and I needed more. But it was good amount of time to pack in a bunch of things like Tokyo, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Tokyo again.

My 2nd trip to Japan was 4 or 5 weeks. It made me realize that I just wanted to live in Japan. Hence I now live here.

3 weeks is a great amount of time to start. Okinawa might be difficult, but the flights are cheap, so go for it! It depends how much you pack into your schedule to feel like if you are rushing or not.

I have been there for two weeks last may. Just missed the cherry blossom time. But the heat was not that extreme yet. I found Myajima, Kamakura and Kanazawa to be some of the highlights. Especially Myajima, when most tourists are gone in the evening and you can have a serene walk on the beach, next to some of the most beautiful shrines and landscapes of the country.

I don't like big citys and apart from the arcades in Akihabara, some cute animal cafés and the big tower, Tokyo did not do much for me.

Kobe was a bit of a disappointment. The harbour is nice and the flower/herb-gardens above the city are beautiful. The meat is superb. But the city itself I found to be rather ugly.

Navigation can be tricky and many people don't speak english, including sevice personell in public transport stations. So I would recommend having a phone handy for translation (paired with a travel wlan, to have internet access wherever you go - also to pinpoint your location and find cool spots to check out).

Edit 1: I was 2 weeks and this was enough for me. I would like to come back one day. Perhaps in a few years.

I went 2 and a half weeks last summer. The heat was intense but still I enjoyed every second of it. I was able to do Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto (my fav), Kanazawa, Shirakawa, and Hakone before returning to Tokyo.

It was all beautiful, albeit maybe a tad condensed towards the end, but it was beautiful throughout. The group I went with continue to Okinawa so I would say 3 weeks is a great amount of time to go and let go! You can do quite a lot there, and I would recommend you put some time to explore the country side.

As long as you are organised and have a good schedule and itinerary, you can cover a whole lot in 3 weeks

Many, many years ago I spent a week in Okasaki during a conference.
Curiously this town never shows up in discussions about "where to go in Japan"...
If you know the "Shogun" tv series (with Richard Chamberlain as the English sailor), the tv Shogun's real name was Tokugawa Ieyasu and his castle stands/stood in Okasaki.
Nice town - and not a single word written anywhere in "plain text", Japanese only. Might have changed since. All I know is that the wood tower was replaced with a concrete one soon after Ieft.

3 weeks is great!!
I stayed for only 2 weeks back in Dec 2019, i regret not staying 1 extra week..

The only good thing about 2 weeks is that the round trip train tickets from Airport to Tokyo are cheap lol

Wow that is my dream to live in Japan.  My two questions are what job do you do that you can live in Japan and what is your favorite thing to do in Japan on a daily basis.