Itinerary Suggestions for South-West Japan

Hi There, we'll be arriving in Japan mid-september, staying for an overall of 23 days (this is my second time in Japan, and my girlfriend's first).

We already planned the first 11 days in which we will stay in Tokyo + some day trips to Nikko, Hakone and such.

also, we've purchased the 14 day JR Pass and are planning to use it after leaving Tokyo (is that the best idea?)

after Tokyo, for the remaining 12 days - We're interested in going to Kansai - probably a few days in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe Then we thought we'd visit Kagoshima and Yakushima.

We thought of ending our trip in Kyoto and heading out to Tokyo airport from there.

I'd love to hear your suggestions for this Itinerary, along with additions or changes you would made - Obviously we're interested in making the most out of our 2 week JR Pass so any suggestions in this regard would also be appreciated.

Thank you!

Firstly, Yakushima it out.
Why?
1. JR Pass does not cover it.
2. You require, bare minimum 2 nights to cover the two major hikes.
3. You require more time to visit the waterfalls and what not
4. It is interesting, but South East Asia, Europe, and many other countries have more interesting natural ares. Even Japan has.
5. Food is ridiculously hard to find. Best to stay in a cheap place and buy groceries, or stay in the Yakushima seaside hotel that serves food.
6. Getting around is a pain unless you hired a local tour or rented a car.
All in all, time and cost wise makes it not worth your time.

You only have 12 days. Kansai would take up about half the time and Kyushu the other. So something like this...?
1. Kyoto (Kinkakuji and Ryoanji and Ninnanji) with night at Kyoto Station Mall (JR Line)
2. Arashiyama. After dinner visit Fushimi Inari.
3. Visit Fushimi Inari in the morning. Day and night views differs greatly. Day is welcoming and night is mystical. (K Line) Eastern Kyoto, Higashiyama district with Philosopher's path. Night at Gion/Potoncho/Teramachi dori area.
4. Central Kyoto in the day. Osaka castle in the evening. Domtombori/Namba at night.
5. Day trip to Uji or/and Nara.
6. Leave half your luggage in Kyoto station. Travel light. Take the train to Himeji. See Himeji Castle (2 hours). Take the train to Okayama. See the garden (2 hours). Take the train to Hiroshima. You should be able to reach just before the sunsets. Ferry from Miyajimaguchi station to Miyajima. Night in Miyajima.
7. Take ferry and train to Hiroshima Station. Leave luggage at station. Rent bicycle at station. Take a three to four hour cycling tour. Return to Hiroshima station and pick up luggage. Train to Fukuoka. Spend the night at one of the yatai areas for ramen.
8. Make a day trip to Kumamoto
9. Make a day trip to Kagoshima. First go to Ibusuki for the sand bath. Then to Sakurajima. Kagoshima is famed for beef, black pig, and chicken sashimi. Also known for the onsen hotel. (Think Taiwan)
10. Day trip to Nagasaki.
11. Spend the day and night at Yufuin.
12. Back to Tokyo. Remember to get some souvenirs from Kyushu!

Nagasaki needs two to three days and Kagoshima and Kirishima requires the same time to fully enjoy them. Sadly, time is insufficient.

Not sure I quite understand the suggested itinerary that was proposed to you by the previous poster�c I am going to let others chime in here per your plans for the remaining 12 days of your trip.

That said, 12 days is plenty of time to enjoy the areas you mentioned: "We're interested in going to Kansai - probably a few days in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe Then we thought we'd visit Kagoshima and Yakushima." You can certainly have a few days in each place. Obviously you will not be able to see every single thing. I have traveled to Japan regularly for the last decade, and there is still so much to see.

Per Yakushima, I highly recommend a trip there! Most people who travel there rave about it. It is a very unique place and the effort to get there is worth it.

Also, I always end my trips in Kyoto and then take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo (Narita) the day of my departure. That said, it depends on the time of your return flight. The flight I take departs Tokyo at 5:30 p.m.

Hope this helps:)

I went to Yakushima as a daytrip from Kagoshima. Although there is a ferry, I chose to fly as it saved time (though it was more expensive). Getting around on the buses is no trouble once you understand the timetable. I only did the Shiratani Unsuikyo hike; it was gorgeous and really interesting to see such old-growth cedar forests and little waterfalls. Most people choose to stay at least one night though. If you're really interested, go there, but know that it will limit your time in other places as it is quite far away.

I did spend an afternoon in Kagoshima, but I didn't find it very interesting compared to other places I travelled. I didn't go to Sakurajima though because it was raining.

OK, 2 weeks is a great time, but bear in mind it can still be very hot that time of year. Kyoto in particular is unpleasant in the heat, because it is enclosed by mountains on 3 sides. If you don't mind humidity and temps around 30 Celsius, then you'll be fine.

but if I was to plan around that time, I'd probably look to go to some cooler places. a trip through the mountains would be the pick for me, say Tokyo - Karuizawa or Bessho Onsen - Matsumoto (stop to look at castle only) - Kamikouchi - Takayama/Shirakawa - Hikone (via Nagoya) or Kanazawa - Kyoto. Then I'd try to get down to Hiroshima/Miyajima overnight, then stop at Enoshima/Kamakura before departure (I really like staying there the night before we leave, you finish the trip on a high).

They are all places we've really enjoyed, but then you'll have fun pretty much anywhere in Japan because the people are very nice.

Thank you all so much for your very helpful suggestions and ideas!
actually i'm starting to rethink the Yakushima idea, as we're not THAT interested in hiking, especially if it takes a long time to get there and we'll have to skip other interesting places.

By the way I forgot to ask before - would you book accommodation for the entire trip before you leave?
We have accommodation for Tokyo but were thinking of reserving the rest of the places from Tokyo when we decide on a route.

Lazy Pious, I appreciate your suggestion to get out of the heat of Kyoto, are the places you suggested all included in the JR Pass?

and in general - What would YOU do if you had 12 days in japan after visiting Tokyo? I may be missing something because my default route included Kyoto and the rest of the Kansai region.

Thanks again everyone,

Roy

You can do Yakushima Island as an overnight trip, if you are willing to take the tour bus. I would suggest that your look over the Yakushima Monkey website for more information:

http://www.yakumonkey.com/

Here is the basic plan:

(1) Get the jetfoil and Kotsu tour bus (A & B) tickets in advance in Kagoshima. This can be done at the tour offices in Kagoshima-Chou Shinkansen Station.
(2) Board the 7:45 AM Jetfoil to Yakushima. Arrive at 9:45 AM.
(3) load luggage in tour bus. Tour A starts at 10:00 AM.
(4) When tour A ends, the Tour bus will drop you and your luggage off at your hotel (usually the JR or Green Hotel).
(5) Tour bus picks you up at your hotel around 7:30-8:00AM, and you start tour B.
(6) Dropped off at 13:10 (1:10 PM), 20 minutes before the Jetfoil leaves port (1:30 PM). Jetfoil arrives back in Kagoshima at 15:30 (3:30 PM).

From here, I was able to get back to Kagoshima-Chou station, and catch a limited express to Miyazaki. I wish I had spent three nights in Miyazaki before traveling up the eastern coast to Beppu.

From Miyazaki, I traveled to Nobeoka, and caught a bus to Takachiho for a night. The next day, I took a bus back to Nobeoka, and continued up the coast line to Beppu. I was able to go on the afternoon tour bus of the "Hells of Beppu". I would spend an extra day in Beppu, and possibly visit the monky park and the Aquarium, along with an afternoon trip to Yufuin.

There are a lot of other places in Kyushu to visit. Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima come to mind, but there are also smaller places like Arita, Mount Aso, and Kurokawa to see.

Good Luck on your trip.

Personally, I'd take Chugoku/Nothern Shikoku/Western Kansai over Kyushu. Among other things, you can visit gardens in Okayama and Takamatsu, Japan's oldest mountaintop castle in Takahashi, Hagi, Matsue (the English garden is lovely), Tottori, Amanohashidate, there is also a great castle in Matsuyama, you can cycle the Shimamami Kaido (and visit some smaller islands). Iwakuni is also nice, but you'll be too early for the autumn colors.

And speaking of autumn colors, they are a great sight, so if you don't plan on coming back to Japan in autumn, you should really consider going to see them (which for your dates means Hokkaido/Nothern Tohoku). If you happen to be going to Japan on a OneWorld carrier, you can get very cheap flights to Tohoku, so you could afford to go just for 2 or 3 days. http://www.fr.jal.com/world/en/visittohoku/

I don't really think september has autumn colors unless you are heading north. way north.

But i agree that for a first timer in Japan, and with 12 days to spare I would recommend a Kansai, Chugoku, and chubu. And maybe northern Shikoku like the person above mentioned.

Why i say this is because there are more cities. Meaning English is more prevalent. Only once you traveled to Japan a number of times and get used to it, would i suggest the more local areas.

A trip would consists of Tokyo to Kanazawa via Karuizawa or Nagano. The two mentioned has cool climates in summer and is nice for a break after Tokyo. After which is onto Kyoto. After a few days in Kyoto and some day trips out of Kyoto, spend a day or two in Hiroshima. Along the way you can visit Okayama or northern Shikoku. I would recommend northern Chugoku but the time constraints makes it not feasible.

When returning to Tokyo you can stop by Nagoya or Fuji area. If you find traveling with luggage a pain, you can leave your stuff at the lockers of Tokyo station or/and Kyoto station. Pick them up on the return trip (Coming back from Hiroshima).

Besides the above rough plan, I would also recommend Hokkaido. A place with vast nature and much farmland. This means lakes, rivers, and mountains. Furthermore, the mountains would have autumn colors in September. Some may even have snow! Great for hikes and treks.

Great for food like milk, beef, fish, chocolates, cakes, and fruits & vegetables (especially since it would be harvest season). Great for souvenirs. Also many great hotels and ryokans.

Note that Hokkaido is like the holiday resort prefecture of Japan. Enjoyment comes with a price. This means prices are slightly higher than other parts of Japan.

I would definitely book your accommodation BEFORE your arrival in Japan.

Travel to Japan has increased substantially in the last year+ and rooms sell out in advance, not only in peak seasons, but overall.

Thank you guys, this is very helpful.

joshua hugh and Firas - do you think it might be a good idea to get to Kyoto, spend a few days there and do some day trips, and then move on to Chubu and Northern Chubu - Takayama and Kanazawa including sleeping somewhere in that area, and then return to Tokyo via Nagoya as you suggested?
Is that enough or should I also include Shikoku and Hiroshima?
As I mentioned, we're on a 14 Day JR Pass and I would like to make the most of it but also not rush everything too much.

Thanks again for all your help

I don't really think september has autumn colors unless you are heading north. way north.

Well, he arrives in mid-September and stays for 23 days so he'll be there until mid-October basically.

Well, basically the peak for autumn is early to mid november. So october isn't the best. (Not that there is no colours) And it also depends on what middle september means. 12? 15? 18? If it was a full month of 31 days theres a better chance of fantastic views.

Still I stand by my opinion of Hokkaido. great place.

Hey guys,

So I took some of your advice and did some more research, and am right now thinking of something like this for the 12 days I have left:

Kyoto for around 4 days including day trips around the area (would love to hear your suggestions)

then Kanazawa - Shirakawago - Takayama - Kusatsu (for a Ryokan)

then back to Tokyo

Does this seem reasonable? how long would you spend in Kanazawa-Shirakawago-Takayama-Kusatsu? would you skip / replace anything?

Would really appreciate your thoughts and ideas,
Thanks,
Roy

I could easily all four days in Kyoto... But that's just me.

For day trips... You have the flexibility of choice.
If you want to see gigantic wooden structures; Nara
If you want to see what used to be the summer resort for the Kyoto nobles; Uji
If you want some sea views and to feel solemn; Hiroshima
If you want to see one of the few grand shrines with traditional architecture; Ise
If you want a city similar to but different from Tokyo; Osaka
If you want to see Japan's favorite castle; Himeji
There is also the onsen of Hyogo, Arima

So many choices....

Or you could just play it be ear. See how fast your travel speed is. Depending on how much of Kyoto you can cover, you can decide on your day trips. Better to not have fixed plans, if not, you may feel disappointed that you missed one or two places due to lack of time.

Kanazawa is a great place. A full day or two would be sufficient depending on personal speed. I doubt you are taking the first train out of Kyoto so you probably have to spend a little more than a day there. Shirakawago is good for a day or for a night. Depending on whether you want to switch lodging for the experience of napping in a sleepy farm.

Takayama is a nice place for half a day to a full day.

Kusatsu is good for a night just to pamper yourself. More than that is a luxury. Note that not everyone is comfortable with the onsen bathing cultute, so I am uncertain how you are your partner will feel about it. Add more days if you think you will like it. Every night's hotel dinner is different. After the fourth day, the chef would start to get troubled as he would have to think of new dishes just for you!

The way I see it:
Kyoto days one to four
Kanazawa day five
Takayama day six morning
Shirakawago day six night
Kusatsu day seven

Thank you for your reply joshua hugh, I probably wasn't clear enough regarding my timeframe - I actually have around 12 days for the places iv'e mentioned and not 7.

Does that change the picture? what would you add in this case?

Thanks again!

Since you are trying to make the most of your Rail Pass, I think your original idea of Kyushu is probably still a good idea. The Kanazawa/Matsumoto/etc. area is all very easy to do for any typical Kyoto-Tokyo trip. It's a rather compact area overall. To make the most of your pass going further out is best. Tohoku is also a great place to go with a pass. Without a pass it's more expensive to visit Tohoku than to go abroad most of the time.