2 week Japan itinerary

Hello! Me and my partner are off to Japan at the start of October and due to many factors haven't really been able to plan much yet, so I thought I'd post a very rough itinerary here to see if people agree that it's a good one/suggest changes.

We're very good at moving quickly from place to place on our travels, so it might look like we're rushing a few things, but we plan to get up at the crack of dawn to make the most of each day.

But, however, any tips would be more than welcome! Are we spending too much time in one place/not enough in another? I understand that this comes down to personal opinion but please feel free to comment! Thank you!

October 2 - Arrive in TOKYO
3 - TOKYO
4 - TOKYO (possible side trip to Kamakura/Nikko)
5 - TOKYO (day trip to Fuji - weather dependent)
6 - Travel TOKYO - NAGOYA - TAKAYAMA
7 - TAKAYAMA to KAMICOCHI
8 - MAGOME-TSUMAGO walk
9 - Travel around the Alps then on to KANAZAWA
10 - KANAZAWA to KYOTO
11 - KYOTO - Arashiyama
12 - KYOTO (trip to Nara)
13 - KYOTO (trip to Mount Koya - possibly on to stay in Kumano Kodo)
14 - Travel to HIROSHIMA - stay in MIYAJIMA
15 - KYOTO (day trip to Kinosaki hot springs)
16 - Travel to OSAKA
17 - Fly home from OSAKA

You are not spending enough time in both Kyoto and Kanazawa. I travel fast paced and wake early (4:30 am for Kitano Tenmangu Shrine). Even so, I will take 2.5 days to visit the main attractions of Kyoto (even in summer) and I know my way around. For a first timer, I doubt you will get to experience much of what Kyoto has to offer.

Kanazawa can be covered in 8 hours for the castle, garden, old districts. If you want to visit the musuems it will take more time though.

You might want to consider cutting some Tokyo days.

Considering the length of your trip, I think that you are spending just the right amount of time in Tokyo and Kyoto. You can only see so much after all..

Just a bit confused by this part of your itinerary:
14 - Travel to HIROSHIMA - stay in MIYAJIMA
15 - KYOTO (day trip to Kinosaki hot springs)

Why don't you just travel from Hiroshima to Kinosaki directly rather than go back to Kyoto and travel from there.. Unless, of course, you are planning to return to Kyoto for an overnight stay.

You might consider an overnight stay at Kinosaki and then head to Osaka for the final leg of your trip.

By the way, book your accommodation at your earliest possible convenience to avoid any disappointment. Many places are already booked for October, thus narrowing your choices.

Hope this helps :)

Day 6-9 seem a bit off for me, it's a lot of doubling back in my opinion. I would do:
Day 6: Magome-Tsumago walk, stay the night in Matsumoto.
Day 7: Kamikochi
Day 8: Sightseeing around alps , spend night in Takayama
Day 9: Takayama to Kanazawa

Not sure what exactly you mean by travelling around the alps, depending on your plan I'd suggest making your way to one city on the afternoon of day 7 to help get you closer to where you want to go.

I agree that just one day, maybe one and a half is not enough in Kyoto. 2.5 is really the bare minimum, and that's even packing a lot in to just those couple of days.

10 - KANAZAWA to KYOTO
11 - KYOTO - Arashiyama
12 - KYOTO (trip to Nara)
13 - KYOTO (trip to Mount Koya - possibly on to stay in Kumano Kodo)

You have four days in Kyoto during these dates. If you want to spend more time in Kyoto proper, then you might consider dropping one of the day trips (either to Nara or Koyasan). Nara is far more accessible.

Thank you very much for all your replies!

I understand that "Travel around the Alps" is very, very vague, but we're yet to decide exactly where we'll be going in that area.

So maybe as a revised itinerary, considering all your suggestions, I could consider...

October 2 - Arrive early in TOKYO
3 - TOKYO
4 - TOKYO (possible side trip to Kamakura/Nikko/Fuji)
5 - Travel from Tokyo to Takayama/Matsumoto
Day 6: Magome-Tsumago walk, stay the night in Matsumoto.
Day 7: Kamikochi
Day 8: Sightseeing around alps , spend night in Takayama
Day 9: Takayama to Kanazawa
10 - spend day in KANAZAWA before travelling to KYOTO
11 - KYOTO - Arashiyama
12 - KYOTO (trip to Nara)
13 - KYOTO (trip to Mount Koya - possibly on to stay in Kumano Kodo)
14 - Travel to HIROSHIMA - stay in MIYAJIMA
15 - Travel to Kinosaki before returning to KYOTO to spend the night
16 - Day in Kyoto - travel to OSAKA
17 - Fly home from OSAKA

We're not too fussed about seeing much of Osaka (no offence meant!) and our flight home on day 17 is very late so we can definitely see a bit of it during that day.

My only issue now is - do you think we have enough time to see a bit of Tokyo and do a side trip to Fuji?

Thank you for all your replies to my original post. I have drafted a revised itinerary - do you think this would work alright?

october 2 - arrive early in tokyo
3- tokyo
4- tokyo
5- tokyo (fuji trip)
6- tokyo - nagoya - kanazawa
7- kanazawa to takayama (via shirakawago)
8- takayama to kamicochi
9- magome-tsumago walk then on to kyoto
10- kyoto
11- kyoto
12- kyoto (nara)
13- kyoto
14 - hiroshima - stay in miyajima
15 - miyajima to kinosaki hot springs
16 - kinosaki to osaka
17 - fly home late from osaka

I think we could travel from Kinosaki to Osaka on day 17 (instead of day 16), which means we could add a day somewhere else in the itinerary - any suggestions?

Also, based on this travelling - would the Japan rail pass be recommended?

Thank you again!

There is always Amanohashidate or Okayama

Amonhashidate looks great - thank you!

Do you think we're squeezing too much in? And would it be worth purchasing a 2 week rail pass?

If day 3, 4, or 5 is good sunny day, go to Mt Fuji! Recommend Kawaguchi area. Check weather just before you depart for Japan and then one more time once you arrive in Tokyo

Are you doing anything in Nagoya on day 6? Otherwise you can just take the Shinkansen and be there in about 2.5 hours.

Yeah if you train back to Osaka on 17 morning, you can still get a little taste of Osaka in the Afternoon before your late flight. I would add the extra day in Kyoto. Kyoto is amazing!

Everything else seems pretty good!

Hope this helps!!!
Have fun!!

Yes, I've just realised that there is a new direct train between Tokyo and Kanazawa - thank you!

I'm still a little bit undecided on the Japan Alps itinerary.

I'm thinking something like this:

tokyo - kanazawa
kanazawa to takayama (via shirakawago)
takayama to kamicochi (day in kamicochi, stay in shirahone onsen)
magome-tsumago walk then on to kyoto

Would it be quite easy to get from Shirahone Onsen to Magome? I've tried Googling but didn't have much success!

If you do Kanazawa to Hiroshima and then Hiroshima to Kyoto, instead of the Kanzawa to Kyoto first, a 7 day Pass will pay off.

Your time spent is good. It really depends on the person. Some people can spend weeks in Tokyo and never venture out. Some can do the same for Hiroshima prefecture. For me, I never spend more than 2 nights in those cities. Really depends on person. If you ask me, your pace is average speed. And occasionally, towards slow. If you do get the JR Pass, and say Hiroshima or Tokyo bores you, you can take a train ride to a nearby city/town for a change of pace and scenery.