2 week trip to Japan, location question

Hi everyone!

I am planning a two week trip to Japan and would have some questions regarding the locations which some of you Japan experts might be able to answer. The route would be roughly: Tokyo - Nikko - Maybe Kamakura - Kyoto - Nara - Himeji

- Now I am struggeling if it is better to include Takayama or Hiroshima/Majima to the route?
- Is there something like a shrine / temple overdose or are all those places very unique? - Are there nature related (except Mt. Fuji) places where you can e.g. go hiking along my route?
- As an alternative to Takayama, is there a nice village which has a vintage touch on the south cost near the Tokyo - Kyoto - Hiroshima route?

Answers would be very much appreciated! Thanks!

Hi! The places that you are going are very nice (except Himeji which is pretty drab save for the castle). If you like nature, Nara is awesome. Kamakura and especially Enoshima are nice too. I'm not as wild on Nikko but it is pretty enough.

I'd try to squeeze in a night at Takayama. Walking to the top of the park is great, and there is also a squirrel park a 10 minute taxi ride away that is a huge amount of fun. But for my money, I think that the train ride from Nagoya to Takayama on the wideview hida is the best train trip in Japan, and that by itself makes it worthwhile.

If I had to "lose" a place it would be Himeji, first. The castle is pretty but the lines are so long and there is nothing much else to do there. I actually prefer the castle at Hikone which is just off Maibara, the shinkansen stop before Kyoto. It has much nicer grounds and lovely views over lake Biwa and the town itself is fun.

Nara is our favorite town. I'd try to stay the night, we try to stay a few at the Nara Hotel. Morning walks in the park and forests with the deer and the hike up Wakakasayama (I butchered that but it is something like it) hill are awesome. The temples there are different to Kyoto sites.

So then how would I work the trip? It depends on whether you are leaving through Narita or Haneda. If so, I'd leave Kamakura/Enoshima for the return and stay the night before departure. So something like Tokyo (day trip to Nikko) - Takayama (via Nagoya) - Maibara/Hikone (or you could go on to Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go and see Kenrokuen, then take the Thunderbird to Kyoto via Maibara) - Nara etc. That would be a really nice trip seeing a lot of different parts of Japan, from the coast to the mountains. If you arent departing via Tokyo, you could squeeze in Kamakura/Enoshima in your beginning stay at Tokyo as it only takes an hour or so by local train to get there.

have fun!

Thanks a lot for you answer, that really helps me out!

Maybe you or someone else could give me some more hints, I don't want to be annoying but I want to be sure to have a nice route as it probably is the only time being in Japan.

- So should I drop Hiroshima / Miyajima Island /Himeji in favour of Takayama?
- Is there something like a small underdog vintage village near Tokio / Kyoto, something nice but not so well known to tourists?
- Is Osaka worth a visit?

My rough plan would be
- 6 days Tokyo with a trip to Nikko and Kamakura / Enoshima
- 1 day / night in Takayama
- 1 day in Kanazawa, move on to Kyoto
- 4 days Kyoto with a trip to Hikone
- 1 day / night in Nara, drive back to Tokyo
- Last day in Tokyo

Comments, reviews of the travel plan are very welcome!

That looks like a nice trip to me. As for Hiroshima/Miyajima, I personally really like Miyajima (nice hikes available) - Hiroshima not so much though the dome and Peace Park were a lot more "significant" to see than I was expecting. But if I was to choose between Nara or Miyajima, it would be Nara every time. I've been to Osaka a few times, some people love it but it isnt my cup of tea at all.

For little towns near Kyoto, Uji is very pleasant. It is between Nara and Kyoto. Fushimi Inari village is really nice too but more touristy. Much nicer these days than the Kiymizudera area which is always too crowded.

Are you driving most of this? I think you will have a very hard time finding parking in some of these places, if you have a rail pass you might be better off taking the train, it's not that far from Nara back to JR Kyoto station to catch the shinkansen and honestly, the tolls on the expressways can cost a lot and not taking the expressways makes the trip quite long. It's also possible to fly from KIX to Narita/Haneda.

Kamakura has a few small hikes. If you go all the way to the back of Kennchoji you can hike to Zuisenji I think? I did it once and it was pleasant and fun. Time of year can be very important, and I didn't see that in your post. Some places with some nice hikes are not really accessible depending on time of year. (Kamikochi and Oirase come to mind.)

There are certainly lots of small towns or smaller cities in Japan, but a lot of them are harder to reach which is one of the reasons they remain smaller. It's not unknown to tourists, but when I went to Hiraizumi, it was pretty quiet and it's a lovely town to bicycle through. I also biked the Kibi Plain which was pretty fun and other than my husband didn't see anyone else on the course. Again, the closer you are to Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka the more likely that it is heavily touristed. I saw someone on this board recommend Taiyoji on this board: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/spend-the-night-at-a-temple

I suspect it is not as heavily touristed. When I went to Kawanakajima, it was pretty quiet, though it was a short local bus or long walk from Nagano Station. Sakata has some great rice storehouses, a few small museums and local parks and is so quiet it's not even on the Japan-Guide map. It's close to Tsuroka, which is the jumping off point to the Dewa Sanzan. But it's a very long trip from Tokyo and not really near anything. If it's not Plum Season, Mito is not as heavily touristed as Kanazawa despite it's garden being one of the big 3. (Kairakuen) I thought it was quite attractive in the Fall even though it's big draw is plum blossoms.

Not far from Kanazawa, I think Tojinbo is not quite as touristed. It's in Fukui which didn't seem to have a ton of foreign tourists, but I was last there in '01 I think? I had a friend who use to live there so she drove me to Tojinbo.

We went to Nagaoka Tenman-Gu to se the SanGaKu and even though it is very close to Kyoto, it's not so popular with foreign tourists. The azaleas in season are gorgeous.

I visit Osaka to shop and see my friends. If my friends didn't live there, I probably wouldn't go, but then I mostly go to Tokyo to shop and see friends. Though I also will use Tokyo as a hub because it is just very convenient to many places.

Thanks a lot for your comments! I will certainly further study those small villages / towns you guys named and pick out one or two and put them into my travel plans.

I think I will miss out on Hiroshima and Myajima. Although I would love to see Myajima, I think Takayama gives me more of a variety on my trip. Himeji and Osaka are also cancelled.

I plan to travel by train / bus and the journey will already start mid July. I think I will get the rail pass too, although leaving out Hiroshima might make it less expensive to buy the tickets individually. Still have to do my hotel bookings, only the flight is bought so far.

Taking a bike to do some tours also sounds very attractive to me, I will have a look what destinations would be within bike reach and if there are bike rentals available locally.

Hi again. If it is a mid July trip, bear in mind the heat. Kyoto and Tokyo in particular get very nasty. If you are used to temps over 30 celsius with high humidity - eg if you come from Singapore - it shouldnt be an issue for you but if you arent, then I'd plan for cooler areas - mainly the mountains, eg Nikko, Kamikouchi, Karuizawa etc and work around that.

I don't think you need to cut Osaka. If you're staying in Kyoto for 4 days, you can easily take the train to Osaka for a dinner (30 min). The Shinsaibashi/Dotonbori area is a nice area for shopping/food and the night view of Dotonbori is magnificent in my opinion.

Sometimes after visiting so many temples/shrines, it is nice to be back in a city, and it has a different feel than Tokyo.

If you have a JR pass, I personally would cut Nikko and keep Hiroshima/Miyajima for a day trip. It would be a long day, but I think it's worthwhile and quite different from some of the other places on the list.

With that said, it is your trip and you should see which places interest you the most.

If you have even the slightest interest in man's inhumanity to man, reconsider Hiroshima.
It's not fun, but it's a life experience- and can be lightened by a night in Miyajima.

Personally, if I only had two weeks, was going in mid-July and specifically had an interest in hiking and less touristed areas, I'd scrap the whole Kansai thing and just do Tohoku. The temperatures will be cooler, there are lots of destinations that do not get as many tourists and there is plenty to see and do. It also has a lot of areas only open during the Summer. I'd have loved to visit Gas-san and Yudono-san but neither was open when I visited.

If you have a JPR, then I would second the suggestion of visiting Tohoku region. Of course, I can imagine that there are some places in your initial plan that are must-visit for you. Still, Tohoku is less touristy and you can see some lovely nature and Ifm sure you could also find some of those vintage villages there, though I wouldnft know any in particular. I know I would have liked spending more time there when we went to Japan. And, you know, it would be cooler. If itfs too hot, you probably donft feel like doing too much sightseeing and hiking anyway and with the shinkansen you can be there in a few hours from Tokyo, so if Tokyo is your must-visit place you can just skip Kansai as suggested above and go to Tohoku from there, keeping your daytrips to Nikko and Kamakura intact.

Or if Kyoto is your must-visit place, well, that would make things more complicated as I expect youfre flying in from Narita or Haneda. Maybe you could reduce the number of days in Tokyo, leave out Nikko (therefs already temples in Kyoto and nature in Tohoku) and possibly leave out Takayama and Kanazawa if you can find a good alternative in Tohoku to visit. Perhaps Hiraizumi or Hirosaki? Ifve never been to either, though.

Ifd keep Nara, because I love Nara, and the deer park with its temples and shrines is mostly shadowed with trees but Ifm not sure how that would stand up to these temperatures – Ifve only been in late-September.

Aside from the Tohoku suggestion and back to your original question: I didnft think Osaka was that special, if youfre already visiting Tokyo and Kyoto Ifd leave it out. Especially since itfs no longer on your way as you left Hiroshima out. I also didnft think Himeji was a must-visit – the castle looks great and the garden was pretty nice, but not exactly a must. My preferences go to less crowded attractions than that one.