Questions about the suggested 14 days trip

Hello!

I'm going to visit Japan with my girlfriend on February (8th to 24th) Yeah it`ll be cold we know!.

We really liked the 14 day trip suggested on the site (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_best.html) and we'll add a few things we want to visit since we have more days (16 nights overall)

This is what we want to do:

HAKONE 1n
NAGOYA 1n
KYOTO 3n 1 day in Nara
OSAKA 3n
MIYAJIMA - himeji 1n Miyajima
KANAZAWA 2n
SHIRAKAWA 1n
TOKYO (This is actuallly a day in Takayama and then leaving to Tokyo)
Tokyo 4n (We really want to be the last days in Tokyo since we want to go shopping, etc and carrying all that extra-luggage across the country seems pointless)


We are going to get the JR Rail pass but i'm a bit confused about Shirakawa-go-Takayama-Tokyo. You have to go back to Nagoya and then head to Tokyo? is there any other way? (seems a bit awkard to me)

How much time is that trip going to take? (Takayama-Nagoya-Tokyo) Is there any cheap alternative?

-Do you think it is a good itinerary given the weather? Are we gonna face troubles due snow/bad weather/closed stuff

-Is it better to do it the other way? (going from Nagoya to Takayama -- Shirakawa-go -- Kanazawa -- Kyoto rather than what we are doing?

- Or we can also do Tokyo- Hiroshima- Miyajima the first day (rather than doing it the last day and losing time in Tokyo)

Feel free to show us what you think might be the best itinerary, we are open to ideas! Thank you so much!

For the Kanazawa/Shirakawago/Takayama section there's two options: you could just stay in Kanazawa for all that time, and do a day trip to Shirakawago and Takayama. It's pretty common to do half a day of each in the one day trip.
Or you can go from Nagoya to Takayama first, then Shirakawago on the way to Kanazawa.
Then with either of these you can just take the shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo. Seeing you want to spend a night in Nagoya and Shirakawago, the second option is more logical.

So based on what you want to do (and I understand the Tokyo last thing, I like to put it last as well!), you could plan your trip out like so:

Day 1: Tokyo to Hakone (get 14 day JR pass and start from today)
Day 2: Hakone to Kyoto
Day 3: Kyoto
Day 4: Kyoto (nara day trip)
Day 5: Kyoto to Miyajima
Day 6: Miyajima to Osaka via Himeji
Day 7: Osaka
Day 8: Osaka
Day 9: Osaka to Nagoya
Day 10: Nagoya to Shirakawago, via Takayama
Day 11: Shirakawago to Kanazawa
Day 12: Kanazawa
Day 13: Kanazawa to Tokyo
Day 14: Tokyo (Jr Pass ends)
Day 15: Tokyo
Day 16: Tokyo

Your trip looks mostly fine, the only thing I would suggest is cutting out a day in Osaka and adding it to Kyoto, or doing your day trip to Nara from Osaka. You haven't allowed much time to see things, 1.5 days is certainly not enough, you need at least another day.
Some people might suggest staying in Kyoto for 6 nights and doing day trips to Osaka, which is ideal as it cuts down on changing hotels and such, but if you're wanting to stay in Miyajima it's nice to break up the travel. Another option is staying 7 nights in Kyoto and doing Miyajima as a day trip, and Himeji as a half day trip.

The only area where snow might be an issue is in Takayama/Shirakawago/Kanazawa.

I see you cut one day in Kyoto for Nara, gave three days to Osaka, and scrapped Hiroshima. I am not sure that is a good idea.

You can take the shinkansen from Kanazawa to Tokyo. Kanazawa is near Takayama.

It will take a very long time. For price, you are covered mostly by the rail pass.

Shirakawago and Takayama would have extreme snow (taller than you). Can't say whether it would affect roads.

Not good idea. You are already spending sufficient time in Tokyo. Traveling all the way to Miyajima from Tokyo takes like 6 hours. What is there to do then?

Qn: Are you more interested in shopping than sightseeing?

My idea would be to cut one or two day in Osaka. Give this to Koya san and/or Himeji + Kobe.
As stated previously use one less day in Tokyo so you can have three full Kyoto days. Since Kyoto has green tea and other Japanese traditional snacks and Kanazawa has gold leaf and pottery you may want some shopping time.

Thanks for the answers! You guys are awesome!.

When you say "taking one day from Osaka and giving it to Kyoto" it's because there is more to see in Kyoto? Or because the sidetrips from Kyoto?

We wanted to see Osaka because a friend of my girlfriend went there last year and told us it was the favorite part of her trip and we are really alike so it might like us aswell.

What we are not 100% sure is about Nagoya since we are going because a friend lives there but she might have to work/etc otherwise it'll be a local experience and worth the time!. If we end up not going to Nagoya we can take another day in Kyoto or Osaka and go to Koya San (i really liked it, thanks jh!)

She doesn't want to take more days of Tokyo so i guess we are good to go!

Okay. Osaka is a major city but Tokyo is still the major metropolis. Osaka does have its unique charms but nothing to warrant 3 days if you are touring other parts of Japan. Especially if you are also going to Tokyo. Furthermore, seeing the time allocated for doing Hiroshima + Miyajima, I see you are a fast pace traveller. If so, unless you are into clubbing and drinking that amount of time in Osaka is not advisable. Again, such activities can be found in Tokyo.

Nagoya has little of interest. The advantage comes from being a city and near an international airport. This means it has the advantages and comfort of technology. Additionally, Nagoya is not as bustling as Osaka or Tokyo. You can really just chill in the city, do some light shopping or visiting the science museum. More for fun and relaxation than viewing sites and going photo crazy.

Kyoto is a great city. Well, it is pretty small and you can cycle the perimeter in a day. That said, it is a very zen place. This is not just because of the temples there but because of the people and culture of the city. You feel refreshed and calm when you are there. Taking strolls from one attraction to another takes time. Sure, you can rush through the many attractions but sometimes getting inner peace is wonderful. Going for a tea ceremony or just visit a temple to meditate in its garden. Kyoto needs 3 days at the very least and 5 days if you are visiting places like Nara...

Hey! Even tho we think our schedule is good, we are a bit afraid that our day (and night) in Hakone might not worth it due weather.

What do you think? The main goal of staying in Hakone is watching MT.Fuji is it closed due bad weather/snow/in winter?

Do you guys recommend it? Has any of you visited it in that season?


Thanks in advance!!

is it closed due bad weather/snow/in winter?

In general, no; rather, winter is a good season to see Mt Fuji. In the past (1970-80) when the pollution in Japan was intense, Mt Fuji was seen only 3 days a month in Dec from Tokyo. Today, we can see almost 20 days a month in December from Tokyo.

http://bylines.news.yahoo.co.jp/mikajiritomoko/20131206-00030419/

http://www.hakonenavi.jp/basics/mt-fuji/

However, even in winter, you will have a risk of not seeing Fuji. So, if you have JR Pass, you may want to stay in Tokyo, Nagoya or even Kyoto to day-trip to Fuji (Kawaguchiko, Hakone etc.) using Shinkansen or JR chuo line limited express when the weather will be fine.