14 days around Central/southern Honshu

Hey guys,

I have a couple of questions regarding my upcoming trip to Japan April 28th-May 11th, landing in Narita and departing from Osaka.

I'm going with my gf, and we've both already been to Tokyo/surrounding area as well as Nikko so we'd like to explore a different area such as the Japanese Alps. First question relates to timing/best towns to use as base for visiting the area/sleep in. Our plan would look broadly like this:

Sun 28th morning:arrival in Tokyo
Sun 28th- Fri May 3rd: Tokyo area, mainly for visiting friends and a couple of day trips (side question: is Izu peninsula feasible/worthwhile as a day trip from Tokyo or is it a bit stretching it?)
Fri 3rd AM- Mon 6th: Japanese alps. Plan is to go through Matsumoto, maybe stop there for a couple of hours to see the castle, and head to Takayama. From what I've seen/searched Takayama looks like a nice town to spend the couple of nights and use as a base to visit the surroundings (thinking mainly Shirakawa-go). I know the area's gonna be super crowded around golden week but I guess not more than Kyoto, coastal area etc...
Then we'd leave for Kanazawa to spend a night and visit (gardens, museum, etc...), before heading to Kyoto. Side question: any good ryokan/traditional places to rest in Kanazawa you guys are aware of? For the moment I've seen a lot of business/big international hotels and that's not really what we're looking for.
Mon 6th evening-Fri 10th AM Kyoto and side trips (not sure about day trips, maybe Miyajima, maybe Koyasan)
Fri 10th PM- Sat 11th PM Go to Osaka, spend the night and wander about, fly back next afternoon.

Final question: a 7 day JR pass that kicks in the morning we leave Tokyo sounds like the way to do it right? I haven't done the exact calculations but it would cover a lot of travel.

OK sorry it ended up longer than I expected. happy to hear your comments mostly on the Alps part (enough days, rights towns to sleep in/visit, etc...) and the rest if you have time.

Best,
Mathieu

Izu Peninsula has a number of interesting places and is ideally explored if you can spare a few days in the region. As a day trip from Tokyo you can just go for 1 to 2 sites which is not really doing it full justice, IMO.

Matsumoto has more to offer than just its castle. It deserves an overnight stay with a scenic side trip to Daio Wasabi Farm.

From Matsumoto to Takayama another scenic destination is Kamikochi, a place to go for if the Japanese Alps is your main focus. People make special trip to Kamikochi to do some serious hiking up the mt but even without doing it you can enjoy a relaxing stroll along the riverbank with wonderful view of the Japanese Alps. Without backtracking you can work yourself from Kamikochi to Takayama, then Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa before taking direct train to Kyoto.

Another route you can consider is through the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route. May is a very good time to go for the mighty snow corridor near Murodo. Starting early in Matsumoto you can take in the Alpine Route in a day and bed down in Kanazawa. From Kanazawa take bus to Takayama with an en-route stop in Shirakawa-go. From Takayama to Kyoto by train you need to make a transfer in Nagoya but the rail journey between Takayama and Nagoya is quite scenic.

You won't be using JR if you go for either Kamikochi or the Alpine Route. The only long distance travel by rail would be from Tokyo to Matsumoto and then from either Kanazawa or Takayama to Kyoto. Since you are flying out from Osaka, the rail pass would not be worth buying.