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3 weeks in japan itinerary 2017/3/3 07:28
Hi, we (a couple) are visiting Japan for the first time. Landing 12th April in Osaka Kansai and departing from Tokyo on 1st May. I would really appreciate your advice on my itinerary. We are keen to experience the japanese culture, see some nice towns/villages, nature, hiking, flowers/cherry blossoms, and food.

12th April: Land 9am. Head to Kyoto
13th April: Kyoto
14th: Kyoto(day trip to Yoshino)
15th April: Kyoto(day trip to Nara)
16th April: Koyasan temple stay
17th April: Miyajima (stay in Ryokan)
18th April: Miyajima to Kanazawa (possibly stopover at Hiroshima and/or Himeji)
19th April: Kanazawa
20th April: Kanazawa to Shirakawago (stay at farmhouse or as day trip)
21st April: Takeyama
22nd April: Takeyama. Stay in onsen ryokan near shin hotaka or kamkuchi
23rd April: Hiking in Kamakochi. Bus to Matsumoto.
24th April: Matsumoto to Magome-Tsumago Hiking trail (stay in Kiso valley or matsumoto)
25th April: Toyama Alpine route. Late train from toyama to tokyo
26th April: Tokyo to Nikko
27th April: Tokyo
28th April: Tokyo
29th April: Fuji five lakes and/or hakone (onsen stay)
30th April: Fuji Five Lakes and/or Hakone, back to Tokyo
1st May: Fly back home

I plan to use a local pass for kyoto area and a 2 week japan rail pass from 16th April. Any suggestions on what to keep, remove or add is appreciated. Thank you.
by JamesDF (guest)  

Re: 3 weeks in japan itinerary 2017/3/3 18:33
Sakura forecasts:
https://n-kishou.com/corp/news-contents/sakura/news2017.html
http://sakura.weathermap.jp/

If there are still sakura in Yoshino on the 14th then good. If the pattern this year is on average (although none yet published for Yoshino) or the same as 2016, 4.12 is considered already as the end of season there:
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura16/160412_yoshino.html

Else, you would want to see sakura in last hurrah in Hokkaido on last week of April until first week of May but you do not want that. More info here in Cherry Blossoms Report 2016 here in Japan Guide.

You're itinerary is good yet you are moving way too much of your luggage from one place to another. Well, it is your choice. Mind you that the travel alone takes a lot of time, especially Yoshino-Miyajima and Miyajima-Kanazawa among others.

If I have to do your travel, I will consider first Koyasan then tour to Yoshino or forego one of them before settling in Osaka. I will have Osaka as my base as I can move freely from there to Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima/Miyajima and Himeji as day tour prior going to Kanazawa.

From Kanazawa, bus is the best way to get to Shirakawago and to Takayama then take the bus from Takayama to Matsumoto/Kamikochi or even Fujisan but there is Alpine Route along the way. So instead of moving to Kanazawa, I will have to move first from Osaka to Takayama (train or bus), then bus to Shirakawago and eventually to Kanazawa.

If ever I stay in Shirakawago after Takayama, my next base will be in Toyama as the travel from Kanazawa to Toyama or vice versa is already a breeze via shinkansen and for early start option of Alpine Route in the following day/s. Since I only wanted to move as little as possible, I will only have day tour in Shirakawago after Takayama, arrive in Kanazawa by bus and travel from there to Toyama. Buses from (if ever, Osaka to) Takayama to Shirakawago to Kanazawa is not included in JR Pass.

As I start Alpine Route from Toyama, I will end up in Nagano or Matsumoto after. I will have the base of Matsumoto to travel to Kamikochi then go down to Nakatsugawa for Magome-Tsumago trail the next day before getting down to Nagoya or eventually to Odawara or Tokyo for Fuji/Hakone Tour.
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