Feedback on 15 day itinerary

This would be my second trip to Japan-- the first was a two week trip with a group during hanami and we went to Kyoto (3 days), Osaka (1 day), Takayama (1 day), Shirakawago (1 day), Kamakura (1 day) and Tokyo (8 days: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Disney Sea, Tsukiji Fish Market, Ome). We stayed in a mix of places; airbnb, ryokans, and a gassho-zukkuri.

During my last trip I discovered I prefer traveling at a medium-slow pace-- we tried to stuff our itinerary with a lot of things the first time, to cater to the interests of a large group! This time I'm traveling solo during mid-late November. I'm interested in onsens, architecture, gardens, food, shopping, and photography.

Day 1 - (Saturday)
TOKYO
Arriving from MNL-NRT by noon. Check in at Claska and rest (red eye flight); explore Gakugei-daigaku.

Day 2 - (Sunday)
TOKYO
Explore Daikanyama, ask staff for ta-q-bin help, forward luggage to Kyoto.

Day 3 - (Monday)
GINZAN ONSEN*
Check out. Activate JR Pass and head to Ginzan Onsen. ETA by 2PM; check in at Fujiya Ginza.

Day 4 - (Tuesday)
EN ROUTE to KYOTO*
ETA by late afternoon. Check in at Anteroom Kyoto. Explore surrounding neighborhood.

Day 5 - (Wednesday)
OSAKA*
USJ- Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (I'm a big fan!)

Day 6 - (Thursday)
KYOTO*
Easter Kyoto - full day

Day 7 - (Friday)
KYOTO*
Arashiyama

Day 8 - (Saturday)
TOKYO*
Check out, take Shinkansen to Tokyo. ETA by noon. Possibly staying somewhere near Shinjuku station via airbnb. Shop a bit at Lumine Est.

Day 9 - (Sunday)
KAMAKURA*
End of JR Pass.

Day 10 - (Monday)
Omotesando and Harajuku

Day 11 - (Tuesday)
Rikugien Garden + Ikebukuro

Day 12 - (Wednesday)
Tokyo Disney Sea

Day 13 - (Thursday)
Koishikawa Korakuen + Ginza

Day 14 - (Friday)
Ebisu Garden Place, Nakano Broadway

Day 15 - (Saturday)
Last minute shopping + packing, leave in the afternoon for NRT.

Notes:
I know basic Japanese and will have pocket wifi with me for the whole trip. Also, I know I structured the itinerary oddly by looping back to Tokyo, but I wanted to keep the theme park days on less busy days (going by the crowd calendar, usually Wednesdays). And putting in the Ginzan Onsen trip after Kyoto and Osaka meant I would arrive by dark, and I'm comfortable navigating big cities by myself at night, but not rural areas.

My feedback is
Day 9 is you can visit Yokohama also if you have a interest.
http://www.minatomirai21.com/eng/
You don't visit Shibuya, Asakusa, Akihabara,Tokyo skytree, Tokyo tower etc?
I think you can visit more places with mid-slow pace.
http://japanpockettravelguide.weebly.com/
Also you should visit Meiji Jingu Gaien as autumn view during mid-late November.
http://www.meijijingugaien.jp/english/
http://autumnjapan.weebly.com/tokyo-area.html

This is just a suggestion, but if you've spent 8 days in Tokyo your last trip, and you're planning on spending another 6 full days (not counting Disney Sea), you'll be going to a lot of the same places.

How about adding in some day trips instead? Places such as Nikko, the Railway Museum in Saitama, Ashikaga or Utsunomiya in Tochigi, Kiryu in Gunma, Mito in Ibaraki, etc. will give you a lot of chances for all of your interests.

There's nothing wrong with spending all that time in Tokyo of course!

In case you are really into gardens, I would take the opportunity to visit Okayama with your JR pass from Osaka. They have a nice garden, and it won't consume a whole lot of time traveling by Shinkansen. You can add Kurashiki if interested. This way you will see something that is not in everyone and their brother's itinerary :)

I agree with scarreddragon - a day trip or two out of Tōkyō might be a good idea. Nikkō is a great place for a quick out-of-towner, unless you've been there before as part of your first trip.

Based on your interest in gardens and architecture, you might also consider setting aside a couple of hours for Tōkyō's Kōtō ward. Start the morning with a relaxing stoll through Kiyosumi Teien . . .

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3034_006.html
http://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/field-report-to...

. . . and hop over to the nearby Fukagawa Edo Museum to experience Edo-period life at close quarters.

http://www.tripadvisor.com.ph/Attraction_Review-g1066449-d555343-Revie...
http://animeaffairs.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/diegos-day-at-the-fukagaw...

Regarding Benjamin's suggestion re: Okayama - I certainly agree that the garden there is quite impressive and worth seeing if you're into Japanese landscaping.

http://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/field-report-ok...

Having said that, it could take about 45-90 minutes to get there if you're travelling from Ōsaka or Kyōto. Not an overly long trip and very doable, but multiply that by two for a round trip and it could eat a wee bit into your schedule.

Moving a little off topic (but relevant to this point), if you're planning a third trip to Japan at some point in the near future, you could probably add Okayama as part of a broader exploration of the Chūgoku region. There's plenty to see there, including well-known stops like Hiroshima (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2160.html) and lesser-known places like Tsuyama (no Japan Guide entry - here's a peek: http://withinstrikingdistance.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/field-report-ts...).

As the photos in the above Okayama and Tsuyama links might suggest, this might form a good foundation for a springtime trip.

Cheers.

One more suggestion for day 6/7. Not sure if you've been to Uji (wasn't mentioned in your post), but if not, it's an easy side trip from Kyōto - 20-30 minutes by JR - and probably worth doing even for Byōdō-in alone.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3975.html

Planning to go there myself this November. Byōdō-in has just emerged from a major restoration project and I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

Nara also wasn't mentioned above - in case you haven't been there it could be worth looking into as a day trip from Kyōto:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html

Cheers.

Wow, didn't expect to get such excellent suggestions, thanks everybody! I'll definitely take a look at my current itinerary and make some changes- really intrigued by some of the day trip options that were pointed out. I initially wanted some more days in Tokyo because it was part of the trip where our group tried to do a lot of things, so I felt like I didn't get a chance to thoroughly explore the area.

I am planning a third trip, winter next year-- have to replenish my travel funds first!