Itinerary for 3 weeks in Japan, suggestions?

Hi everyone,

In october I will be traveling to Japan for the first time. I'm very excited and I'm already planning my trip itinerary!
I would really appreciate your advice on my itinerary. I would like to experience the japanese culture, see some nice towns/villages, nature and nightlife.

My itinerary so far:
Day 1: Tokyo: arrival in the evening
Day 2: Tokyo
Day 3: Tokyo
Day 4: Tokyo: Daytrip Nikko
Day 5: Takayama
Day 6: Takayama: Daytrip Shirakawa-go
Day 7: Kyoto
Day 8: Kyoto: Daytrip Nara
Day 9: Kyoto
Day 10: Kyoto
Day 11: Kyoto
Day 12: Koya-san
Day 13: Koya-san
Day 14: Hiroshima/Miyajima
Day 15: Hiroshima/Miyajima
Day 16: Nagasaki
Day 17: Nagasaki
Day 18: Nagasaki
Day 19: Tokyo
Day 20: Tokyo: Daytrip Fuji
Day 21: Tokyo: Departure

Is this doable?

Is there anything that anyone thinks is a must see that I should swap with something else or anywhere I could stay shorter/longer?

Thank you for your help!

It is a very doable plan. 3 days in Nagasaki may be too much. Consider spending some of those 3 days in Hakata.

How are you traveling from Nagasaki to Tokyo?

I would drop a night of Koyasan and Nagasaki. And use it for somewhere in between Nagasaki and Tokyo. Breaks up the trip. It is 8-9 hours if you plan to use trains.

Other than that, you itinerary is completely doable.

Your planned duration for Tokyo and Kyoto look just fine to be able to cover all the highlights. Would leave it like that. As mentioned there are some other parts of your visits that you could shave off and add to this stay, because there are some other interesting side trips from these locations that are not on your list yet (Osaka, Himeji, Kamakura, Hakone). You may also decide to stay one night in Nikko, because I did a day trip and felt it was good but just a little too rushed (and we left early from Shinjuku).

If you leave early to Koyasan I think one night is sufficient. In a full day you could cover all the main sights and graveyard at Koya. When we visited Japan we stayed in Osaka with one night in Koya and that was sufficient. You may also consider staying in Osaka the night before as the connection from Namba station is quite good. Osaka is quite fun at night and you could also do the side trip to Nara from there.

We stayed in Hakata/Fukuoka and did Nagasaki as a day trip from there. This was sufficient to visit the peace memorial, glover garden and dejima in one go. It was a bit rushed, but one night would be enough.

One thing I would seriously take into considerating is to fly into Japan in Tokyo and then travel back from one of the airports on the west side of Japan, e.g. Fukuoka airport. You would save yourself a domestic flight or long train ride.

I would recommend spending some time away from the cities (which it looks like you're planning to do with Nikko, Koya and Takayama). For me, the most beautiful parts of Japan are the small mountain towns - gorgeous scenery, hot springs, hiking trails, more friendly people, etc.

Personally I wouldn't spend that long in Tokyo - but if you're looking for nightlife that might be a good fit for you.

You might consider adding kawaguchiko at the base of Mt Fuji.

If you want to do something different, hop a Peach flight down to Okinawa for a couple days - so much awesome stuff down there. It's different because it's tropical (great snorkeling) and has a different culture than mainland Japan.

At Takayama you should try Sake tasting and visit the Hirayoutaki Fall.

I completely agree about small rowns and hiking trains and onsen. We spend one night at Magome before we did Nakasendo trail early in the morning. It was one of my great expirience in Japan.

When you go to Nagasaki you should try going to Hashima (Gunkanjima, Battle Ship Island). My friends told me that sight there is breathtaking.

I am also going for 3 weeks this year and this is my itinerary. Just if you want to see a different one.
Day 1 Tokyo
Day 2 Tokyo
Day 3 Tokyo
Day 4 Kanazawa
Day 5 Kanazawa
Day 6 Kyoto
Day 7 Kyoto
Day 8 Hiroshima
Day 9 Hiroshima
Day 10 Osaka
Day 11 Osaka
Day 12 Osaka
Day 13 Fukuoka
Day 14 Kurokawa
Day 15 Kurokawa
Day 16 Kurashiki
Day 17 Mt Koya (Koyasan)
Day 18 Tokyo
Day 19 Tokyo
Day 20 Tokyo
Day 21 Tokyo

The last four days in Tokyo are just going to be day trip from a base location.

Looks like a nice trip but why not visit Fukuoka after Hiroshima? You can save yourself one unnecessary trip back and forth between Kansai and Hiroshima.

@Greenpaw - I would take one day away from Osaka and Kurokawa and add it to Fukuoka and Kyoto.

Two nights in Kurokawa is a fantastic idea....assuming you are going to stay at a different ryokan each night. I would strongly recommend staying at a different ryokan each night. Did I mention, I would stay at a different ryokan each night?

Unfortunately all accomodation is booked and paid. So rearranging for me now is not possible without incurring fees.. but thanks for the advice... appreciated :)

You should spend more time at Mt. Koya, this is a unique place to visit, particularly if you can arrange to stay overnight in one of the Buddhist monasteries.