Itinerary idea

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to piece together what might be a good itinerary approach and I would appreciate some feedback:

1) If what I want to see is too ambitious and I should cut something
2) What might be the best arrangement (especially for my Alps leg)

I have about 2 weeks (more like 13.5 days). First time visit. From end of September to beginning of October.

Day 1: Tokyo Arrival at 6 AM - Checkin and wander around until jetlag wins

Day 2: Tokyo

Day 3: Fuji area - Maybe half day? (it is already a bit off season to try and climb and I am honestly more interested in the chance of a view and was thinking of the 5 Lakes vs, Hakone - FYI I have been to Iceland so I got my fill of geothermal)

Day 4: Tokyo

Day 5: The tricky part - what is the least amount of Travel time - Kamikochi

Day 6: Takayama

Day7: Shirakawa-go head to Kyoto

Day 8,9,10,11: Kyoto & Nara

Day 12, 13: Koyasan & return to Tokyo

Day 14: Half day and flight home.

I am not sure if this is doable and if the hassle to reach Koyasan is worth it or if it is better to do something slightly different. I am up for tips or ideas on how better to arrange my days.

Day 3 - needs to be full day. Fuji 5 Lakes has been chance of Fujisan views.

Day 5/6/7 - This looks rushed due to the slow transport options between them.

Thank you.

1) Fuji area - would it be better to spend the night there then?

2) So you would recommend staying another day in Takayama or would it be better to do a loop through Kanazawa.

For example: Tokyo - Kanazawa (1 day + night) - Shirakawa-go & arrive at Takayama - Kamikochi (return to Takayama) - Takayama and in the evening to Kyoto

I'd do it the other way around - Tokyo to Matsumoto (see castle) - Kamikouchi (stay night, Onsen Hotel is awesome) - Takayama (I'd stay the night but the morning markets are meh and I wouldnt waste my time, though the squirrel park is fun if you like animals - Shirakawa (wouldnt count on more than 3 hours or so unless you are staying overnight) - Kanazawa overnight, then the Thunderbird back to Kyoto.

Very nice part of the country, though I'd try to squeeze in Hikone too which is a lovely town.

Some points to note:
The suburbs of Takayama has onsen hotels. Soba is good in this region.

My list of cities- duration of stay priority:
Kyoto
Kanazawa
Shirakawa-go (3 hours? Half of that time for me)
Takayama (just that really small lane, some stroll about the town, and the meh morning market)

Actually I agree with you on Shirakawa, though we had lunch and there are some local treats that are worth having. And you might have to hustle to get to the top for the view and then back down again, though we did it in a foot of snow which slowed us down.

Thanks for the ideas, but I honestly have no interest in Matsumoto. It was never a consideration in my research. Kanazawa I am slightly hesitant. It has more to do, but I do not know if it is as interesting I initially thought from blogs I checked out.

Day 1 Arrive 6:30ish to Tokyo, Check in, wander the city

Day 2 Tokyo - Hopefully jet lag will reduce

Day 3 Tokyo - Evening head to 5 Lakes to spend the night

Day 4: 5 Lakes Head up for a view with the Ropeway if a good day, return to Tokyo for the night (Day 3 and 4 could be reversed)

Day 5,6,7,8,9: Kyoto + Nara (maybe push for an evening at Koyasan from Nara)

Day 10: Takayama (shaves an hour of travel of time or so instead of direct from Tokyo if from Kyoto)

Day 11: Kamikochi

Day 12: Shirakawa-go & anything else I felt like seeing in Takayama

Day 13: In the morning, make my way back to Tokyo, spend the afternoon in Tokyo

Day 14: Any last minute things I want to see in the morning & head to airport for my afternoon flight.

I am honestly interested in reducing how much time I have to travel between locations and the need to constantly check-in & checkout since that also eats up time. I would rather create 'hubs' to go in and out from.

The one main thing I have been debating after reading through somethings in the end is if Kamikochi is worth it or if I should give more time for the experience to get to Koyasan and stay maybe another day in Kyoto instead. While I wanted to get also some non temple experiences, I am wondering if just a short day trip is worth it since I wouldn't have that much time to properly hike Kamikochi or if I should use that travel time for the travel and experience of an evening at Koyasan.

I really enjoyed Kamikouchi for a few days relaxing with the onsens and the food is great, but if it is only a day trip I wouldnt bother. It is jammed full of very noisy tourists during the day and is best early morning and late afternoon, IMO. Really it is better as a place to unwind at your leisure and watch the monkeys, after the buses go.

I am doing a trip which includes all your destinations excluding Fuji. I have been to all these locations before (except Kamikochi). I would recommend the following order of operations:

Day 1: Tokyo Arrival at 6 AM - Checkin and wander around until jetlag wins but STAY IN YOKOHAMA that night so you can take first bullet train at 6am from Shin-Yokohama station.

Day 2: Koyasan Looks like this:
05:13 Depart Yokohama Station (‰¡•l‰w):
JR Keihintohoku Line Še’âOmiya
4min (next stop)
05:15 Arrive Higashikanagawa Station (“Œ�_“Þ�ì‰w):
2min to transfer
05:17 Depart Higashikanagawa Station (“Œ�_“Þ�ì‰w):
JR Yokohama Line Še’âHachioji
9min (3 stops)
05:26 Arrive Shinyokohama Station (�V‰¡•l‰w):
34min to transfer and get food
06:00 Depart Shinyokohama Station (�V‰¡•l‰w):
SHINKANSEN HIKARI 493
2h 12min
08:12 Arrive Shinosaka Station (�V‘å�ã‰w): (21)
11min to transfer
08:23 Depart Shinosaka Station (�V‘å�ã‰w): (16)
JR Tokaido-Sanyo Line �V‰õ‘¬Himeji (Special Rapid Service)
4min
08:27 Arrive Osaka Station (‘å�ã‰w): (5)
7min to transfer
08:34 Depart Osaka Station (‘å�ã‰w): (1)
JR Osaka Loop Line Še’âCounter-Clockwise
18 min (8 stops)
08:52 Arrive Shinimamiya Station (�V�¡‹{‰w):
09:02 Depart Shinimamiya Station (�V�¡‹{‰w): (1)
Nankai Koya Line Exp. for GOKURAKUBASHI
1h 29min
10:31 Arrive Gokurakubashi Station (‹ÉŠy‹´‰w):
6min to transfer to cable car
11:37 Depart Gokurakubashi Station (‹ÉŠy‹´‰w):
NANKAI KOYASAN CABLE for KOYASAN
5min
10:42 Arrive Koyasan Station (�‚–ìŽR‰w):

As you can see you arrive in Koyasan with plenty of time to drop bags off at hotel and see everything all day.

Day 3 - Koyasan to Kyoto via Nara. You go back to Osaka and to Nara from there (it is faster) leave bags in luggage locker in Nara or have them forwarded to Kyoto ect. Leaving Koyasan Station at 8:37 you can be in Nara by 11:05 which is plenty to see everything and get back to Kyoto with time to spare. You could easily toss in a trip to Horyuji Temple as you pass it on your way to central Nara via Osaka.

Day 4-8 Kyoto -do not forget you can take advantage of the bullet trains to easily see distant places of Japan from here on a day trip. This can be useful for a simple day trip down to visit Miyajima or just to get out of town to avoid some bad weather.

Day 9 Takayama -leaving kyoto at 06:42 you can be there by 10:02 and have plenty of time to enjoy the city that day.

Day 10 Shirakawa-go -day trip from Takayama or stay here overnight and go directly to Kamikochi the next day is possible.

Day 11 Kamikochi -but your going to stay in Matsumoto. If you stayed in Takayama you might be able to get to Matsumoto early enough in the day to visit the castle or if arriving later you could aways visit it the next morning first thing.

Day 12 Fuji area -a limited express train can take you all the way to where the private line starts leaving Matsumoto at 06:08 and arriving KAWAGUCHIKO at 09:12 You can easily spend most of the day here and then head on to Tokyo to spend the night.

Day 13 Tokyo

Day 14: Half day and flight home.

Also Matsumoto is known for horse meat so you can try some while in the area. Also look forward to Hida beef when in Gifu.

Thanks for the ideas. One thing that I am curious about is the experience of Koya-san. Is it worth the distance. I have read mixed reviews and I am not sure if the Temple experience is too... Disneyland. Also, is there any recommended Ryokan/Onsen within the routes that would be recommended?

Nono. Disneyland is for tourist and crowds and fun.
Koya san is for amazing peacefulness and calm. Crowds are basically non-existent.
It is homely and nice to chill. There is little to see but the tall trees and the general atmosphere of the place helps to relax. Furthermore the food is very different from what you can get from disney. Much more Japanese, including traditional Japanese monk cuisine (Higher class than the gruel that they eat though).

Kanazawa has a nice garden and some museums. Though I love it, I can understand that it is not for everyone. It is not the typical impression people have of Japan. (Neon lights, bars, traditional temples/shrines) The garden is a landscape garden that is very different from the zen stone rake gardens or the western world's parks. The historical lanes are much smaller compared to Kyoto. The castle is large and grand as compared to the compact ones of Osaka, Himeji... etc

Well I am hoping it won't be too crowded and overly touristy. I would definitely like the experience to spend overnight. I was told by a Japanese acquaintance that it was really about the overnight stay, not the place as you said.

Nono. The place is important. You can sleep anywhere!! But sleeping in a temple lodge is special. Place is important. The attractions however, are few and takes a bit of a walk to get too (there are buses though not in time for the sunrise).

It is the general atmospherics of the place that is important.

The overnight stay means you get to stay in a temple lode, eat a great and unique vegetarian dinner/breakfast and wake to the soft humming of chanting monks. So the place is very important too!

As for crowds, they are few. The most I've seen are bus loads of pilgrims or religious. Though they usually head straight to the meditative halls and won't be in the central area /attractions.
Most Japanese I've met haven't and do not have planes to go to Koya San.