Itinerary advice: 2 weeks Trip in December

Hi all, 3 of us will be in Japan from 28 Nov to 11 Dec, and are currently in the midst of planning. We have a first-timer to Japan, and 2 of us have been to Kyoto & Osaka in 2011. We will not be driving, and tend to take things relatively slow. We would appreciate some advice on our itinerary please.

Top priorities in our intinerary include: Viewing of Mt Fuji & autumn foliage, Tsukiji Market, Gion, Arashiyama (bamboo forest), Fushimi Inari, Korakuen, Himeji Jo, Kankakei Gorge.

Below is our tentative itinerary:

(Confirmed lodging near Shinagawa Station)

Sat 28 Nov (Tokyo): Arrive at Haneda Airport late afternoon. Purchase PASMO / SUICA card. Take Keikyu Main/Airport Line Rapid Ltd. Exp to Shinagawa Station, spend night at Shibuya (Christmas illumination).

Sun 29 Nov (Tokyo): Shibuya (Farmers Market @ UNU) / Harajuku (Yoyogi Park, Meiji Shrine) / Shinjuku (Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo Metropolitan Govt Building, Omoide Yokocho)

Mon 30 Nov (Tokyo): Depending on weather, full day at Kawaguchiko to see Mt Fuji.

Tue 1 Dec (Tokyo): Tsukiji Market / Asakusabashi Bead Town / Asakusa, (Nakamise, Asakusa Culture and Tourism Center, Hoppy-doori).

(Activate 7 Day JR Rail pass)

Day 1: Wed 2 Dec (Kyoto): Morning train to Kyoto, drop bags and have lunch. JR train to Tofukuji (JR Nara Line) / Bus to Higashiyama District & Kiyomizu-dera.

Day 2: Thu 3 Dec (Kyoto): JR train to Arashiyama area. Train to Okayama in evening.

Day 3: Fri 4 Dec (Okayama / Takamatsu): Visit Korakuen before taking train to Takamatsu (JR Marine Liner). Eat Sanuki Udon.Visit Ritsurinkoen / Shikokumura.

Day 4: Sat 5 Dec (Takamatsu / Shodoshima): Take ferry from Takamatsu to Kusakabe Port (60 minutes, Y690). Catch bus to Ropeway to Kankakei Gorge.

Day 5: Sun 6 Dec (Takamatsu / Naoshima / Teshima): Unsure of plans currently.

Day 6: Mon 7 Dec (Himeji): Train to Himeiji in morning to visit Himeji Jo and Kokoen Garden. Dinner at Himeji / Kobe.

Day 7: Tue 8 Dec (Kyoto): Train back to Kyoto. Visit either Nishiki market, or Demachi market (Masugata Shotengai). Visit other nearby sights, and Gion.

(End of 7 Day JR Rail Pass)

Wed 9 Dec (Kyoto): Explore Fushimi Inari and Nara.

Thu 10 Dec (Osaka): Train to Osaka. Maybe visit USJ.

Fri 11 Dec (Osaka): 11:00 flight at Kansai airport.

Queries:

1) We had thought to wait for weather forecast before deciding if we should go see Mt Fuji on Mon or Tue. However, we read that we should book Fujigoko Enjoy Ticket (Y4320) in advance online. Is it necessary to book 1 month in advance, or if we could wait till a few days prior to the trip?

2) We broke up the Kyoto section into 2, with autumn foliage as main focus for 2-3 Dec. Would like some advice on how we can plan this part better please. We seem to be doing some backtracking. We put Tofukuji on 2 Dec, instead of 9 Dec, as we read that it is a good place to view autumn foliage.

3) The opening hours for Kiyomizu-dera are 06:00 - 18:00, 18:30 - 21:30. Does that mean we need to get out at 18:00, and then queue & pay separate entrance fees for the night illumination?

4) We are not too certain how we should plan our 2.5 days in Shikoku. We have read that it would take more time to travel between locations, but are still unsure if we have tried to put in too little or too much each day. Should we use Takamatsu as the base? Or change hotels each night? We are a bit concerned about hotel-changing because of our luggage, as this would mean 5 nights of dragging our luggage to different hotels (Okayama, Shikoku, Himeji). Not sure if Takkuybin will be useful, or if we should ask to leave our big luggage at one of the hotels, and just carry a backpack to Shikoku?

5) Will half day at Kankakei Gorge be sufficient? Thinking of taking the 09:30 - 10:30 ferry, then catch the 10:50 bus to the ropeway. There are buses at 12:35 and 13:35 back to the port. Is it possible to fit in another sight at Shodoshima, or should we spend more time at Takamatsu?

6) If we miss the bus to and fro the ropeway, where can we get a taxi, and how much should we prepare for the taxi fare?

7) It appears that it may be impossible to fit both Naoshima and Teshima in one day. Should we pick one over the other, or drop both and spend our time at another area in Shikoku? We are not exactly the arty sort, but the museums look so good!

8) Should we plan to stay over at Himeji on 7 Dec? We are not sure if we want to explore the city of Okayama / Himeji / Kobe. Is it worthwhile to travel to Kobe just to try some Kobe beef?

9) In general, are there ways to improve our itinerary? We are open to changes, except that we have confirmed lodging for the first 4 nights in Tokyo, and hopefully be able to see everything in our top priority list.

Thank you for reading this rather lengthy post and thank you in advance for your advice :)

That's a lot, but I'll cover from top.

For Okayama-Takamatsu section, I recommend you to drop by at Marugame first for their castle and Nakasu Bansouen (I feel they are more beautiful garden than Riritsu and Okayama garden, I have been to both and the one in Kanazawa).


2. Advantage here is you could always leave your bag at Kyoto hotel and travel light for next few days.

4. I would just leave my bags at Kyoto hotel and travel light for next few days (which I always did, or send my bag to next hotel which is few days down the itinerary list etc).
I have only been to Kagawa as far as Shikoku is concerned but I would probably go for easier destination in that 2.5 days, eg. use Kochi as base for example. Though, this will make it longer trip to your Himeji section..

8. It is good idea to start early in Himeji if you don't want to deal with crowds of people pouring in, I went early before it opened and when I left, tourists started to pour into the castle..
As for Kobe, I actually enjoy Kobe a lot more than Osaka, however, it is more of modern city (like Osaka) and remains of Western culture in Japan (Kitano area).

Depending on what you might be interested with, there is another destination from Okayama, Bitchu-Matsuyama castle at Takahashi station (train ride from Okayama, about 30min if I remember right), it is a hill top castle which you literally have to climb through mountain trek to visit.

Apart from the Shikoku section that I am not familiar with, your itinerary seems decently pace, I don't see any glaring issue with it, though I highly recommend to check on Nakasu Bansouen if you are into garden.

I think that 2 December will be a little late for the peak of the autumn foliage in Kyoto. I've been there a few times on that date, and while people sneer at me, my experience has been that things brown off almost like clockwork from the last few days of November.

But Tofukuji would be the place to see it, get down to that then catch the train on to Fushimi Inari which I think these days is a much nicer part of town than Kiyomizudera. It seems to me that Kiyomizudera and Higashiyama is just crawling with tourists and cheap knick knacks whereas Tofukuji is pretty much like what Kiyomizudera was 10 years ago with nice little restaurants and some shops selling quality stuff. Not that all of Higashiyama is now bad, but it has lost its fun IMO. Or maybe I'm just getting grumpy in my old age. Anyway, it is an easy trip back to the Kiyomizudera train stop from Fushimi Inari, if you still want to go.

Arashiyama should still have some colour at that time. Think about staying at Westin Miyako. The Japanese style rooms are great, and you can walk up the hill through the forest and get views of Kyoto. It is really pretty that time of year. But you have to crack a good room, either the Japanese style ones, or one of the rooms with views over the city.

Agreed with Lazy Pious on Kiyomizudera and Higashiyama, been there once, my only impression was "Holy sheet, that's a LOTTTTTT of tourists, this is as bad as Kaminarinomon or worse!"

And since then, I haven't been back there yet, it probably is good location back then, but now... there are better area to check in Kyoto, personal preference.

I agree with the kiyomizudera sentiments. But only if you go during the peak periods. When i went in early winter, the crowd was thin and was a really pleasant walk. Since you will be there in December, the majority of the tourist would have left thanks to the end of the peak autumn season.

As for your itinerary it is more normal pace than the slow pace that you prefer. Just to point out, in case you suddenly feel exhuasted while following the said plan.

Thank you all for the replies! Will do more research on the suggested places for Shikoku.

Definitely going to Fushimi Inari. May add in or drop some items depending on our energy levels. :)

Cheers. Just rereading my post, it is Fushimi Inari town which is really nice, what Kiyomizudera used to be like - not Tofukuji. Sorry about that. But if you like grilled eel, Fushimi Inari is the place to be.

Tofukuji is the next stop on the train. It is pretty much our favorite part of Kyoto now, though it is all pretty good.

@LP: do you mean the shrine or the town that is famed for grilled unagi? Im getting ?? here