2.5 week itinerary - does this look ok?

Hi. It will be my first visit to japan but my partner's 5th (!)

I'm organising the itinerary as he did it all 4 other times and they were exactly the same so we said I'll plan the itinerary how I would do it.

We have 2.5 weeks, at the moment it looks like this:

Day 1 (arrive Tokyo at 5.30am) So I thought we should just on a bullet train first to Takayama and do tokyo last as everything will be closed anyway?

Day 2 - Kanazawa

Day 3 to 5 (3 nights) - Kyoto (day trip to Arashiyama)

Day 6 to 9 (4 nights)- Osaka (day trips to Nara, Kobe and Hiroshima)

Day 7 & 8 - Hakone for hot springs

7 days in Tokyo (7th day we leave at 10pm for flight back to Sydney)

Does the itinerary look ok? I'm not sure about the one night in Takayama then overnight in Kanazawa - seems a lot of moving once we get there. Perhaps I should stay 2 nights in one and day trip the other? Are these places worth going? I'm open to suggestions, just that I read a lot of mentions with these two places between going to Kyoto from Tokyo so thought I'd fit them in.

I'm not sure about the one night in Takayama then overnight in Kanazawa - seems a lot of moving once we get there.

Indeed, I recommend to allocate additional time to that part of your itinerary.

Are these places worth going?

They are very popular places and generally worth going. But in the end it comes down to personal interest and preferences. I recommend to read a lot about the two places and then decide yourself whether the two cities sound interesting enough for you.

I personally think the addition of Takayama to your itinerary is nice because otherwise you would be visiting nothing but large cities (except Hakone). Takayama is also a city, but at least it gives you a taste of a more rural Japan. I also recommend considering a stop-over in Shirakawago between Takayama and Kanazawa.

Arriving at 5.30am and then going to Takayama- seems like a very long night/day unless you are a good plane sleeper. Maybe 1st day in Tokyo. By the time you get into the city it will probably be 8-9am. Then you could re-arrange your trip to go to Kanazawa first, then to Kyoto via Takayama. Day trip to Nara then back to Osaka. Hiroshima (Miyajima) needs a couple of days. Then back to Hakone and Tokyo. If you have been four times before, why the long stay in Tokyo at the end?