22 days itinerary from Osaka to Tokyo

Hey :)

I'm going to Japan in April for the first time by arriving at Osaka and flies off from Tokyo and I have some difficulty to finalize my itinerary...

I've done a lot and research and was originally planning this trip:

D1 : Arrival at Osaka at 07:00am - Night in Osaka
D2 : Osaka - Night in Osaka
D3 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D4 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D5 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D6 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D7 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D8 : Kyoto / Nara - Night in Kyoto
D9 : Himeji / Hiroshima (JR Pass 7 days activation) - Night in Hiroshima
D10 : Hiroshima / Miyajima - Night Hiroshima
D11 : Hiroshima - Night in Osaka (in order to reduce the train time for Hakone the day after ?)
D12 : Hakone - Night in Hakone
D13 : Kawaguchiko - Night in Kawaguchiko
D14 : Fuji-Q Highland (?) - Night in Kawaguchiko or Tokyo ?
D15 : Tokyo (JR Pass ends)
D16 : Tokyo
D17 : Tokyo
D18 : Tokyo
D19 : Tokyo
D20 : Tokyo
D21 : Tokyo
D22 : Tokyo - flight at 2:00pm

I planned to do day trip from Tokyo to Nikko and Kamakura.


But after reading some others topics, I now think about Takayama/Kanazawa... and it seems I maybe planned too much days in Kyoto..

Do you think it'll be possible to remove one day from Kyoto and the day 14 (Fuji-Q land is not mandatory for me, I just planned it because I didn't really know where to go....) to go in Kanazawa or Takayama instead ?

I can maybe also remove a day from Tokyo ?

Its seems that the Hiroshima - Kanazawa / Takayama and Kanazawa / Takayama - Hakone train journey is really really long !


Do think I can improve my itinerary to add the Japanese Alps ?
If it's too short for Takayama or Kanazawa, do you think of other destinations ?

Thanks a lot for your help anyway :)


ps: sorry if my english is not always correct, I'm french

I planned to do day trip from Tokyo to Nikko and Kamakura.

Please do so. There are a few days too many for Tokyo. If you love shopping, you could spend weeks in Tokyo. But as a tourist wanting to see sights, you could cut three days from Tokyo and still enjoy the experience.
2 day Nikko
1 day Kamakura
Or instead of Kamakura you could go to Karuizawa.

But after reading some others topics, I now think about Takayama/Kanazawa... and it seems I maybe planned too much days in Kyoto..

Most people who love Kyoto, have said that they could spend a week there and it wouldn't be enough. As a fellow Kyoto crazy person, I cannot help but agree.
However, my opinion might not be the same as you. I recommend 3 full days if you are a fast pace traveller or 4 full days if you are a moderate/slow pace traveller.


Do you think it'll be possible to remove one day from Kyoto and the day 14 (Fuji-Q land is not mandatory for me, I just planned it because I didn't really know where to go....) to go in Kanazawa or Takayama instead ?

There is much to do in Fuji Five Lakes. What your trip is missing is hot springs and Fuji Lakes has a couple. The small streets are fun to explore too. But if it is not your scene, feel free to remove Fuji Q and spend the time trying to go somewhere else.

Kanazawa is a beautiful place. However, compared to Kyoto it is a bit out of the way. You do have the time and as long as you take the Limited Express from Kyoto/Nagoya the train trip is comfortable. Hence, I recommend you to take one day out of Kyoto and one day out of Nara. Kanazawa is more interesting than Nara. (Unless you are going during the festival period)

So Kyoto train to Kanazawa. Best use of JR Pass. From Tokyo use a hakone or some other pass for viewing of the F mountain.

Skip Takayama if you can. Kanazawa is better than it. With Kyoto and Nikko, there is little need to go to Takayama.

I can maybe also remove a day from Tokyo ?
Yes. This works too. It all depends on how you want to play around with your rail pass.

Its seems that the Hiroshima - Kanazawa / Takayama and Kanazawa / Takayama - Hakone train journey is really really long !

Indeed. Fortunately, there exist THE shinkansen. They have comfortable seats. They are similar to an airplane; just with wider spaces.


Do think I can improve my itinerary to add the Japanese Alps ?

Yes.
From Kanazawa take a coach or train to Toyama. Then onto Nagano or Gunma or Nikko. From there head to Tokyo.

If it's too short for Takayama or Kanazawa, do you think of other destinations ?

As said earlier, skip Takayama. Not because it is bad but because there are better places around.

From Tokyo you could go to Nagano and Karuizawa. They are practically next to each other and both are wonderful.

From Kyoto, Kinosaki ; Arima ; Ise ; Koya are good side trips.
They have the charm of olden Japan. Plus a few surprises.

Hiroshima needs half a day and Miyajima a full day (if you decide to hike Mt Misen and not use the cable car), you can go island hopping around Hiroshima (Okunoshima) or pop by Okayama for one of Japan's famed gardens (Kanazawa's Kenrokuen is still superior but Okayama's made in a different style)

I concur re no Takayama, and include Kanazawa:
Suggestions:
1. definitely add in 2 nights/1full day in Kanazawa, so removing one night from Kyoto and one night from Tokyo.
2. by the time you go, (April 2015) the new Shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo via Nagano (in the Alps) will be running.
I would suggest
3. Kyoto to Himeji to Hiroshima etc as planned
4. Hiroshima-Kanazawa for 2 nights
5. Kanazawa-Nagano:
[POSSIBLY consider a detour to Matsumoto: (Alps) can then go to Tokyo via Super Asuza to Shinjuku Tokyo: may need to send your luggage on by Takuhaibin]
6. next day : Use your pass for Nikko: you don�ft need a JR Pass for Hakone/Kawacguchiko
Then
7. Go from Shinkjuku to Hakone etc at the end using the Hakone Free Pass and whatever else to get to and back from Fuji 5 Lakes, and either back to Tokyo somewhere,
OR maybe even out to a Narita Airport hotel for your last night:
[with a 2 pm flight you will need to be at the airport by 11am: you could have a last relaxing night: some hotels have cocktail lounges with views over the airport: a relaxing breakfast and check out, then off to fly home. Just a suggestion]
ALSO: maybe
8. consider Koyasan, even if for a day trip, while in Kyoto/Osaka, using the Koyasan World Heritage Pass
Good luck!

Thanks for your advises!!

I modified my itinerary:

D1 : Arrival at Osaka at 07:00am - Night in Osaka
D2 : KOyasan- Night in Osaka
D3 : Osaka / Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D4 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D5 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D6 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D7 : Kyoto - Night in Kyoto
D8 : Kyoto / Nara - Night in Kyoto
D9 : Himeji / Hiroshima (JR Pass 7 days activation) - Night in Hiroshima
D10 : Hiroshima / Miyajima - Night Hiroshima
D11 : Hiroshima / Kanazawa- Night in Kanazawa
D12 : Kanazawa - Night in Kanazawa
D13 : Tokyo / Kamakura (?)- Night in Tokyo
D14 : Nikko - Night in Tokyo
D15 : Hakone - Night in Hakone (JR Pass ends and i think the route to Odawara will be covered)
D16 : Kawaguchiko - Night in kawaguchiko
D17 : Tokyo
D18 : Tokyo
D19 : Tokyo
D20 : Tokyo
D21 : Tokyo
D22 : Tokyo - flight at 2:00pm (with maybe the last night at this airport)


I preferred finishing by Tokyo (and not Fuji Lakes) since I planned to do some shopping here and it's best to do it at the end (for the luggage).

I also hope that Koyasan is feasible in one day from Osaka.

I think that looks fine!
I would maybe leave Kamakura for another day though: it is only about 700 to 800 yen each way to go there : not worth worrying about overly much with the Pass.
Buy an ICOCOA card in Osaka: you will need to add more to it later on it will cover subways, buses, JR trains to Kyoto, transport in Hiroshima, and transport in Tokyo.
Have a great time.

Koyasan is definitely feasible in one day from Osaka, and is one of my favourite places in Kansai! You should consider using the Koyasan World Heritage Ticket when going there, it provides discounts on rail and bus fares as well as admission to various attractions. You can find information about it here:

http://www.nankaikoya.jp/en/stations/ticket.html

It might be worth considering visiting Yoshino whilst you're in Kansai, as you will be coming in Hanami season and Yoshino is one of the most famous viewing spots. But your schedule actually looks pretty great already and you will be visiting lots of places with nice sakura viewing opportunities (plus Yoshino can get pretty crowded at that time) so I think you will be good without it, but I just thought I'd suggest it!