10-day trip in April 2013

Hi everyone,

Three of us will visit Japan for ten full days, 6-15 April. During this time, we plan tour Tokyo (second visit) for three days and spend the rest in the Kansai area. We'll use the 7-day JR pass of course.

Our tentative schedule is as follows:

TOKYO: Stay at Hotel Monterey Ginza
6 April: Edo-Tokyo Museum, Shinjuku Gyoen garden, Yasukuni Shrine & Chidorigafuchi, Roppongi or Odaiba.
7 April: Tsujiki fish market, Kamakura (Daibutsu and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu), Yokohama (Motomachi-Chinatown and Minato Mirai 21)

OSAKA 8-10 April: Stay at Hotel Universal Port
8 April: Osaka Bay Area (Osaka Aquarium, Santa Maria cruise, Naniwa Food Theme Park), Osaka Castle then Aqua-Liner, Kita
9 April: Universal Studios Japan, Spa World
10 April: Hiroshima (Peace Memorial Park, Miyajima - Itsukushima Shrine)

OSAKA 11-14 April: Stay at Nikko Hotel Osaka
11 April: Kyoto (Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji, Gion, Higashiyama, Kiyomizudera Temple/Ginkakuji)
12 April: Kyoto (Fushimi Inari Shrine), Nara (Todaiji Temple, Isuien Garden or Yoshikien Garden)
13 April: Himeji (Castle) or Okayama (Korakuen Garden, Crow Castle), and Kobe (Kitano-cho, Harbourland, Kobe Ropeway)
14 April - morning: Light activities before trip back to Tokyo (by 3pm)

Tokyo: Sotetsu Fresa Inn Hamamatsucho Daimon
14 April - evening: Odaiba/Roppongi
15 April: Fuji Five Lakes (Lake Kawaguchiko, Chureito Pagoda, Fuji-Q Highland) or Nikko (Toshogu Shrine, Rinnoji Temple, Futarasan Shrine, Lake Chuzenji)

1) Do you think this itinerary is a good mix of Japan - historic sights, city life, nature, cherry blossoms, and is feasible? Please let me know if any day is too packed, so that I can re-work the itinerary.

2) Would you have any suggestion to make it better - in terms of what to see/do, and the sequencing? I have read up a lot on this site to see what we should do. But no amount of reading can beat local knowledge :)

Thank you very much!
Tuan

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html

where is Spa World in Osaka?

Yes, it seems too packed...You will get exhausted in first 5 days.


I would skip:
- Himeji (I guess the castle is still covered for repairing), Kobe, Okayama
- Fushimi inari
- Universal S and spa


I would spend more time in Nara. My recommendation is to visit Horyu-ji temple in Ikaruga. Usually it is a bit away from Nara central and people tend to avoid it when time is limited. You can drop by at Yakushi-ji temple as well on the way back.

http://www.horyuji.or.jp/horyuji_e.htm

http://nara-yakushiji.com/index.html

I will go to Hakone/Ashi lake area instead of Fuji five lakes or Nikko as well.

When you get to MIyajima, do not forget to climb up Mt. Misen by the ropeway + walking.

http://miyajima-ropeway.info/en/index.html

I've noticed a running theme in these "Japan itineraries"; insanely over-scheduled.

I mean, some of it is okay, and completely doable. But you're going to burn out real quick.

First things first; I'd just skip Roppongi entirely. It really is the worst part of Tokyo, in my opinion. Unless you are dead-set on seeing Tokyo Tower, I'd skip it. Go to Odaiba instead.

BUT, that opens up new problems as Odaiba is a bit out of the way, and not something you can breeze through in a matter of hours.

Also, April 11th? No way. Won't happen. And if you do manage to pull it off, you sure as heck won't enjoy it. Unless you enjoy running through all of these places as fast as possible.

You have to keep in mind the majority of these temples close very early. 4-5pm tops. And they are not really in close proximity to each other.

I realize you want to get the most out of your trip. But don't think of your trip as some sort of check-list. These places should be enjoyed and experienced. Pick the ones you absolutely want to see and TAKE YOUR TIME. You will thank yourself for actually putting the vacation in your...vacation.

Hi everyone! I really appreciate your advice here :) Some of my thoughts after having gone through your comments:

1) I will "downsize" this itinerary by 30-40%! Even when I know I won't be able to cover that much, I tend to still want to know about available options so that in case one thing does not work out, we can easily switch to another. But I totally agree that a holiday is to be enjoyed and not checklisted :) Thank you Taipan1975!

2) Based on Jay Kay's and Frr's sharing, I will leave out Himeji.

3) But Jay Kay, USJ is a must for us! My girlfriend and I are big theme park fans (though we're already in our mid 20s). The last time we visited Tokyo, we spent two full days at Tokyo Disney Resorts :)) And I second your recommendation of Hakone and Lake Aishi. We went there the last time too, and loved it! Separately, I didn't plan to go up Mt. Misen in Miyajima, but I will give it a try :) I'll look more into Nara as well.

4) Dear leukosbasilias, Spa World is in Osaka. Its English website is here, http://www.spaworld.co.jp/english/access.html, for your convenience.

Have a good day / night everyone!

I do no agree in skipping Kobe. I think Kobe is way better then Osaka and I have I have been to both multiple times.

I would do USJ over spa world. There is no way you can do both in one day without not enjoying either one.

In Kyoto my picks on that list would be Kinkakuji and Kiyomizudera. The Gion goes with Kiyomizudera.
When I have had visitors we take the bus to Kinkakuji then go to Kiyomizudera. There was no way we could have ever done anymore then that. I would suggest no more then three in a day.