Comment on our Itinerary

Hi Guys,My Family of 4.2 adults and 2 kids(ages 6 & 4) have booked our tickets to Japan.We will be there from Oct 27-Nov 8 via Narita.Can you guys comment on our tentative I.T.. Any suggestions would be very much welcome.Thanks.

DAY 1-TOKYO-10:35AM ARRIVAL OCT 27
Arrival at Tokyo-Narita Airport transfer to hotel in Tokyo for check-in. After Lunch,Check out Shinjuku,Shibuya area.Overnight at TOKYO

DAY 2-TOKYO OCT 28
Commence Tokyo�fs new parts of Tokyo. Visit to Meiji Shrine constructed in 1920, Harajuku & Omotesando High Fashion Street, Oriental Bazaar where you can check Asian taste goods, Roppongi Hills opened in 2003 with elegant shops 360 degree observation lounge, Ginza-Tokyo�fs most celebrated shopping and amusement area, etc. Overnight at TOKYO.

DAY 3- TOKYO OCT 29
Commence old parts of Tokyo sightseeing of downtown Tokyo Visit to Edo Tokyo Museum showing chronicles of tumultuous history of Tokyo, Asakusa, traditional Tokyo�fs downtown. Akihabara-Electronics town, Imperial Palace Plaza, etc.Check out Odaiba. Overnight at TOKYO

DAY 4-TOKYO-HAKONE(FREE PASS) OCT 30
Transfer to Hakone for Full Day Hakone Tour. Cruise on Lake Ashi, Hakone Aerial Ropeway ride to Owakudani, etc. After sightseeing, you will be transferred to today�fs highlight, Gora Kadan, a traditional-style inn that boasts a reputation of excellence among high-end guests from both Japan and overseas. Relax in a room that provides beautiful mountains view and its own private hot spring bath. Overnight at HAKONE.

DAY 5-KYOTO (JR PASS DAY 1) OCT 31
Check-out Hakone Hotel and transfer to Odawara Station to take Shinkansen bullet train to Kyoto. Upon arrival at Kyoto Station, commence half day Kyoto Sightseeing starting from Nijo Castle, built in 1603 as Kyoto residence of Ieyasu Tokugawa, First Shogun of Edo era. Kinkaku-ji Temple- The Golden Pavilion, originally built in 1394, villa of a court noble, later changed to temple, burned down in 1950, reconstructed in 1955. Overnight at KYOTO

DAY 6-KYOTO(JR PASS DAY 2) NOV 1
Full Day Kyoto Sightseeing starting from Sanju-san-gendo, containing 1001 Buddhist statues, Kiyomizu Temple, a massive grand structure at the top of cliff overlooking the neatly lined streets of Kyoto. Heian Shrine, commemorate 1100th year anniversary, Ryoanji Temple with most beautiful stone garden and Gion District to shop for antiques and crafts. Overnight at KYOTO.

DAY 7 KYOTO-NARRA(JR PASS DAY 3) NOV 2
Transfer to Nara, and commence Half Day sightseeing of Nara, going to Todaiji Temple completed in 752, with one of the largest bronze statues in the world. Kasuga Shrine founded in 710, with 3000 lanterns in line, Nara Park, 1,100 tame deer roaming around. Returning back to Kyoto, and rest of the day will be free to enjoy at your leisure. Overnight at KYOTO.

DAY 8 KYOTO-HIROSHIMA-MIYAJIMA(JR PASS DAY 4) NOV 3
Check out Kyoto Hotel and Transfer to Hiroshima.Commence whole day Day sightseeing of Hiroshima starting from Atomic Bomb Dome first place to suffer an actual atomic bombing, Peace Memorial Park, Peace Memorial Museum. Transfer to down to western part of Hiroshima, getting aboard a ferry to Miyajima, home of Itsukushima Shrine, which is famous for its Floating Torii Gate and was designated as a World Heritage site in 1996.Overnight at HIROSHIMA

DAY 8 HIROSHIMA-HIMEJI-OSAKA(JR PASS DAY 5) NOV 4
Check out Hiroshima Hotel,Train to Himeji then Transfer to Osaka visit to Osaka Castle originally constructed 1583, but completely destroyed by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Now the castle was rebuilt in 1931. Shitenno-ji Temple built in 593 A.D. by Shotokutaishi, now the buildings are rebuilt many times, preserving traditional Buddhism since ancient style, etc. Overnight at OSAKA

DAY 10 OSAKA-(JR PASS DAY 6) NOV 5
Full Day at OSAKA.(UNIVERSAL) or Full Day at OSAKA.. Overnight at OSAKA

DAY 11-OSAKA-TOKYO-DISNEY LAND -(JR PASS DAY 7) NOV 6
Check out Osaka Hotel and travel to Tokyo.Halfday at Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo City

DAY 12-TOKYO-DISNEY SEA NOV 7
Enjoy a fun action packed day at Tokyo Disney Sea.
Tokyo Disney Sea's attractions include: Mediterranean Harbour, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon & Mysterious Island. Overnight at Tokyo

DAY 13 TOKYO-NARITA-11:45AM FLIGHT (JR PASS DAY 7) NOV 8
Check Out Hotel,Take train to airport 8AM for Flight out

Is this an itinerary a travel company has planned for you or just something you've found online and like the look of?

Some of the days are not well thought out, for example Day 5 has you visiting Nijo Castle & Kinkakuji, which are nowhere near each other and then on Day 6 you're got some sightseeing in central and eastern Kyoto but also have Ryoanji included, which is really close to Kinkakuji in NW Kyoto. Better to do Kinkakuji & Ryoanji (and also Ninnaji) on the day of arrival and add Nijo Castle to Day 6.

Also, it says "...Gion District to shop for antiques and crafts" but Gion is the geisha district and not the ideal place for antiques and crafts shopping.

On Day 7, I also suggest that you return to Kyoto via Fushimi Inari.

Day 8 is really packed and you'll need to rush around in Hiroshima in order to have enough time to then get to Miyajima and see the sights properly and then go back to the mainland. I would have suggested staying on the island instead of in Hiroshima to give yourselves a more leisurely pace. Best to set off very early from Kyoto to give yourselves more time.

Check the times of ferries to & from the island here:
http://www.jr-miyajimaferry.co.jp/time.html

The column with the light blue heading is FROM Miyajima to the mainland and the green column is TO Miyajima

On Day 9, the itinerary has you going via Himeji to visit Osaka castle, but completely forgets to mention that Himeji has probably Japan's most impressive castle and you'd be much better off visiting that than Osaka's, IMO...

Overall, I'm slightly hoping that this wasn't an itinerary made by a company that you paid lots of money to as in all honesty, it's not very well thought out and doesn't suggest that the person who made it even really knows or has been to the places suggested.

At any rate, if this IS your confirmed itinerary, at least you're staying at Gora Kadan, which you will be sure to enjoy!

Hi,
I think your itinerary is too packed with activities , especially when you have 2 young kids with you. You will have to spend too much time traveling rather than enjoying the sites.

It's seems that you are trying to maximize the usage of the JR pass to cover as many places as possible but it will likely be a touch and go trip if that is your intention.

Be prepared for a hectic trip if you intend to cover all the places which you have mentioned.

Hello,

I would like to give my opinion on your trip based on my personal experience.

1) The castle of Himeji is currently under renovation until march 2015. I was there in april this year, and the main building could not be seen well (sad for pictures), and also you cannot access the main building for visiting.

2) You plan a half day at DisneyLand. It might be quite crowded, so in a half day you might not do many attractions.
You say you plan to go to DisneySea the next day. Are you stying in a hotel very close ? Because the theme park is quite far away from the center of Tokyo.

What montueron says is partly true but progress has been made since April and since there's another month or so before you go, it's likely to be improved still. As he says though, you won't be able to access the main donjon until next year.

This page shows the current state:

http://www.city.himeji.lg.jp/s60/2851146/_21909/siro-weekly-photo.html

Of course, whether to jump off the train to go to visit when you arrive in Himeji is up to you...

Thank a lot for the response,I really appreciate it.To be honest,most of it was just lifted off the net since I'm just starting out on my own research and have no clue about the orientation of the said sites.Anyway,Here's a revised I.t..Do you guys still think its still too cramped?

DAY 1-TOKYO-10:35AM ARRIVAL OCT 27
Arrival at Tokyo-Narita Airport transfer to hotel in Shinjuku,Tokyo for check-in. After Lunch,Check out Western Tokyo area.Overnight at TOKYO

DAY 2-TOKYO OCT 28
Whole Day at Tokyo.Check out Central Tokyo. Overnight at TOKYO.

DAY 3- TOKYO OCT 29
Whole Day at Tokyo. Check out Northern and Southern Tokyo.Overnight at TOKYO

DAY 4-TOKYO-HAKONE(FREE PASS) OCT 30
Travel to Hakone,Do the Hakone Loop.Overnight at Ryokan/Onsen in HAKONE.

DAY 5-KYOTO (JR PASS DAY 1) OCT 31
Check out Hakone then travel to Kyoto.Half day Kyoto city tour.Overnight at KYOTO

DAY 6-KYOTO(JR PASS DAY 2) NV 1
Full Day Kyoto.Full day Kyoto sightseeing.Overnight at KYOTO.

DAY 7 KYOTO-NARRA(JR PASS DAY 3) NOV 2
Day trip to Narra. Overnight at KYOTO.

DAY 8 KYOTO-HIROSHIMA-MIYAJIMA(JR PASS DAY 4) NOV 3
Check out Kyoto Hotel and Transfer to Hiroshima.Tour Hiroshima and Miyajima. Overnight at MIYAJIMA

DAY 8 MIYAJIMA-HIMEJI-OSAKA(JR PASS DAY 5) NOV 4
Check out Miyajima Hotel,Train to Himeji.Transfer to Osaka. Overnight at OSAKA

DAY 10 OSAKA-(JR PASS DAY 6) NOV 5
Full Day at OSAKA.(UNIVERSAL) or Full Day OSAKA city tour.. Overnight at OSAKA

DAY 11-OSAKA-TOKYO-DISNEY LAND -(JR PASS DAY 7) NOV 6
Check out Osaka Hotel and travel to Tokyo.Halfday at Tokyo Disneyland.Overnight Tokyo

DAY 12-TOKYO-DISNEY SEA NOV 7
Whole day at Disney Sea.Overnight Tokyo

DAY 13 TOKYO-NARITA-11:45AM FLIGHT (JR PASS DAY 7) NOV 8
Check Out Hotel,Take train to airport 8AM for Flight out