Decide My Itinerary

I have narrowed my itinerary down to two different options and need help deciding between the two! This is what I have so far: 11th May Land in Narita, head to Tokyo
12th Train from Tokyo Kyoto
13th Kyoto
14th Kyoto
15th Kyoto
16th Train to Nara, evening in Osaka
17th Train to Hiroshima/Miyajima
18th Train to Tokyo, stopping in Himeji on the way
19th Tokyo
20th Tokyo
21st Tokyo-Home

OR

11th May Tokyo
12th Tokyo-Kyoto
13th Kyoto
14th Kyoto
15th Kyoto
16th Kyoto-Hiroshima/Miyajima
17th Hiroshima-Himeji-Nara
18th Nara-Tokyo
19th Tokyo
20th Tokyo
21st Tokyo

I'd do the second because it gives you a night in Nara which to my mind is better than Kyoto (less crowds, more green). Also it skips Osaka which I've never warmed to.

I'd also consider spending your last night at Kamakura or Enoshima and taking the NEX back from there. Kamakura and Enoshima are really nice areas especially if the cities wear you out.

Suppose Narita is the only gateway to Japan from your home country, you can fly as well from there to Hiroshima but of course it well depend on your arrival time. Then backtrack from Hiroshima towards Kyoto/Tokyo.

If jetlag kicks in, then better stay first in Tokyo before heading towards Kyoto/Hiroshima.

I did actually consider flying to Hiroshima right away, unfortunately my flight gets in at 3.30 and the flight to Hiroshima leaves at 5.30, which I'm thinking may be a little risky?

http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/japan/e/local/domestic/prepare/checkin/transi...

I think 2 hours is pretty safe for a connecting flight. Depending on what time your departure is, you could also do it the other way - work your way from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and fly back to connect with your departure. You could, also, stay a night in Narita (the town) - I've never done it myself, but I've heard people speak positively of it.

As for your original question, I would pick the second one simply because it breaks up the otherwise very long ride from Hiroshima to Tokyo (and remember, if you're using the JR pass you can't ride the fastest Nozomi.) Regarding Osaka vs Nara, I would personally take a night in Osaka since it's more interesting at night to me (I like photography, so the neon lights and the night cityscapes are attractive to me.) But whichever you prefer, you can easily stay in either as they are very close together (for that matter, you could take night excursions into Osaka while staying in Kyoto, too.)

It looks like some of the responses I had disappeared, anyone know why this would be? They were pretty useful!