15-17 Days in Japan - Any insights?

Hi everybody,

This itinerary is based on three anchors: Tokyo – Japan Alps – Kyoto. I�fve built it mainly using lonely-planet guide and some forum reading. I would greatly appreciate your feedback, especially if there�fs something in the itinerary you think I can strike (or replace with something else). Incidentally, you are more than welcome to add stuff you think are a must that are not on the list at the moment.

A few things to consider:
1. Our trip will last from Oct. 1st to Oct. 18th. A total of 15 full days and a couple of half days (day of arrival and day of departure). So autumn orientation is on.
2. We are a couple of 30-year-olds, in good shape.
3. We�fre not the biggest fans of Museums, Galleries, etc. We do love Nature, Food, Culture and City/Village local vibe.
4. Generally, we prefer off-the-beaten-track destinations when travelling abroad. Unfortunately, we only have a 15 days allowance for this trip and we didn�ft want to miss on important stuff.
5. We�fre backpacking and trying to avoid high costs. That�fs why, for example, we�fre still considering if it will be right for us to take the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route (being a pricey AND crowded alternative).

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or insights!

**Day 1 – Kyoto** (Arrive afternoon)
Land in Tokyo at 11 am
*JR Train to Kyoto (Narita Express + Shinkassen) (4 hours)*
Suggested itinerary: , Kyoto Station, Getting settled, Dinner, evening stroll at Gion district.
**Day 2 – Kyoto**
Suggested itinerary:
(1) Southern Higashiyama: Kiyomizu-dera (Buddhist temple), Kasagi-ya (tea house), Ishibei-koji (street), Kodai-ji (Buddhist temple) Maruyama-koen (park), Yasaka-jinja (Shinto shrine);
(2) Northern Higashiyama: Walking the path of Philosophy – Nanzen-ji (Buddhist temple), Eikan-do (Buddhist temple), Honen-in (Buddhist temple), Ginkaku-ji (Buddhist temple).
Remarks: Do not intend to visit each and every temple on the suggested itinerary. Suggestions?
**Day 3 - Kyoto**
Suggested itinerary:
(1) Northwest Kyoto: Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pagoda, Buddhist temple).
(2) Ararshiyama & Sagano area: Arashiyama Bamboo Groove (park), Kameyama-koen (park), Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama (park);
(3) Downtown Kyoto: Nishiki Market + Ponto-cho (neighborhood)
**Day 4 – Nara + Osaka (day trip)**
*JR Train to Nara (1 hour)*
Suggested itinerary: Nara-koen main attractions walk (lonely planet itinerary, 5km, 3-4 hours).
*JR Train to Osaka (1 hour)*
Suggested itinerary: Amerika- Mura (neighborhood), Sinshaibashi-suji (market street), Ebisu-bashi bridge, Dotombori Arcade (lonely planet City Walk – Sights of Mianami, 2.2km, 2.5 hours).
Optional: Umeda Sky Building (Kita area).
*JR Train to Kyoto (30 mins)*
**Day 5 – Kyoto (half day)**
Suggested itinerary: Fushimi-Inari Taisha (Shinto shrine) at Southeast Kyoto.
Optional: Go to Fushini-Inari Taisha on Day 2/3 and use Day 5 for half a day visit at the Kurama & Kibune area (Kurama-dera, Kurama Onsen, Kibune-jinja).
*JR Train to Takayama (5 hours)*
**Day 6 – Takayama**
Suggested itinerary: Morning Markets; Sanmachi-suji (neighborhood); Teramachi & Shirotama-Koen (neighborhood); Hida Folk Village.
Optional: JR Train to Hida Furukawa (30 minutes) to visit Seto-kawa & Shirakabe-dozo (historic district).
**Day 7 – Shirakawa-go & Gokayama**
*Rent a car for a day (1-2 hrs drive)*
Suggested itinerary: Ogimachi (Shiroyama Tenbodai Observation Point); Shiramizu-no-Yu (onsen); Oshirakawa Rotemburo (onsen), Suganuma (historic building); Kuroba Onsen.
**Day 8 – Tateyama – Kurobe Alpine Route**
*Train to Tateyama (JR to Toyama + Chitetsu / Unazuki to Tateyama) (4 hours)*
Optional: Stop at Toyoma for lunch/dinner, visit Choke-ji Temple and stroll the bayside Iwase neighbourhood.
*JR Train from to Matsumoto (1 hour)*
Optional: Earn an extra day by giving up the Alpine Route and taking the 1 hour Takayama – Kamikochi bus (and reverse next days order: Days 8 & 9 – Kamikochi, Day 10 – Matsumoto, Day 11 – extra).
**Day 9 – Matsumoto**
Suggested itinerary: Matsumoto-jo (castle); Nawate-dori (street); Nakkamachi (neighbourhood); By bus / rental car – Utsukushi-ga-hara-Kogen (Plateau, 1 hour); Dai-o-wasabi- Nojo (Daio Wasabi Farm) (30 mins) Utsukushi-ga-hara Onsen (15 mins).
Optional: Adding a day trip to Hakuba (hiking & onsen) (1 hour JR train).
**Day 10 & 11 – Kamikochi (not on weekend!)**
*Bus to Kamikochi (1 hour)*
Suggested itinerary: Sightseeing (Kappabashi, Myojin Pond, Taisho Pond); Hiking trails & Onsens (Shin-Hotaka Shirahone, Hirayu, Fukuchi).
**Day 12 – Magome**
*Bus to Matsumoto (1 hour) + JR Train to Nakatsugawa (1 hour 30 mins) + Bus to Magome (30 mins)*
Optional: Stop at Kiso-Fukushima (on the JR route) for lunch and stroll at the Ue-no-dan historic district.
Suggested itinerary: Transport to Magome (3-4 hours) + afternoon at the village
**Day 13 – Magome – Tsumago Trail (7.8 km, 3-6 hours)**
*Bus from Tsumago to Nagiso (10 mins) + JR Trains from Nagiso to Otsuki (3 hours) + Fujikyuko Line to Kawaguchiko (1 hour)*
**Day 14 – Around Mt. Fuji (5 Lakes Area)**
Suggested itinerary: Kawaguchiko (onsen village), Maple Corridor & Tokyo Tunnel (route by bicycle), Panorama-dai (short hike), Koyo-dai (short hike).
Optional: Kachi-Kachi Ropeway, Mt. Tenjo to Mt. Mitutouge hike.
*Fujikyuko Line to Otsuki (1 hour) + JR Train to Tokyo (1 hour)*
**Day 15 – Tokyo**
Suggested itinerary: Takeshita-dori (bazar), Harajuku Gyoza Ro (lunch), Omote-sando (architecture), Tokyo Metropolitan Government (city view – best), Shinjuku NS Building / Shinjuku Center Building (more nearby city views), Isetan (department store), Shinjuku Golden Gai (evening/night stroll).
**Day 16 – Tokyo**
Suggested itinerary: Tsukiji Fish Market, Daiwa Sushi, Hama-rikyu Onshi-teien, Sony Building, Ueno, Tokyo National Museum, Yanaka Neighborhooud, Shibuya (evening/night stroll).
Optional: Bunkyo Civic Center (city view).
**Day 17 – Tokyo (Flying at noon)**
Packing, breakfast, bye�c
*Train to Narita airport*

When you mentioned Suggestion (1)(2)(3) do you want someone to pick one for you? Cause doing them all in a day seems perfectly fine to me.
Not sure how the Autumn is like in Oct. If there are colors, go Eikando. If not, skip it.
Dont find Ginkakuji any interesting.
Honen-in and Chono-in are interesting architecturally.
Find Kiyomizu to be over rated but it does have some views of Kyoto city though the hike there makes it so not worth it. If you are a history/culture buff things may be different though.

You can do more on Day 3 Kyoto. Add in Ryoan-ji in the early morning for some quiet meditation in the rock garden.

Since Fushimi Inari is open 24/7 any time is fine. I like to do it after the sunsets. The place feels much more mystical. Others prefer the wee hours of the morning for a morning sweat it out.

As for Kibune/Kurama: The onsen isn't anything special. The hike is good fun if you are fit (I wasn't). The floating platform restaurants was fun too. Though all in all it shouldn't take more than half a day to see both sides of and the mountain. Note that the walk from the train station to Kibune town is a nice 20 minute walk along a nice river.

Rest of plans seems fine, though your leg would probably be giving way soon. Do spend some time just letting go in an onsen somewhere.

Most important question: Why no Kanazawa?

Hi, Thanks for the quick reply!

(1) Kanazawa is a bit of a detour for the current itinerary. I wouldn't mind (and even love) doing it, but since the time frame is limited - which day / destination would you give up for it?

(2) Have you been to the alpine route? still debating whether I should do it or skip it and take the direct bus from Takayama to Matsumoto.

When you're in Tokyo I recommend a day trip to Kamakura. It's an hour train ride and is beautiful - temples, beaches, traditional Japanese cuisine. It's very nice in the summer.

Geoff

I would make Takayama a morning thing, and Shirakawa-go an evening thing. Either stay overnight in Shirakawa-go or return to homely Takayama. Either way this frees a day for Kanazawa. Enough time to see the castle & garden, one historic district, and perhaps a museum.

The route is good for some autumn colors and the usage of various transportation methods can be fun (or tiring). I would go for it as it is something different from the usual Japan. Kurobe Dam is very large and not something one usually see in Japan. Though if you've been to other dams around the world, you may not be so impressed. Still the autumn colors are nice if you managed to catch it. (You can check the internet or your hotel on the day's morning how the autumn condition is like.

I'm confused with Suggestion (1) (2). Does this mean you're planning to do both or are you asking us which of the 2 we would recommend?

For Kyoto Day 2, I'm sure you can't do both suggestions on the same day. Realistically you can only do 4-5 temples a day.