First timers May 2018

Hello,

My friend and I will be travelling to Japan in May 2018 arriving on 2nd May for 28 days. We know we will be arriving during Golden week so we have based ourselves in Kyoto for the first week.

From day 16 till day 23 we are not quite sure how to fit in the following places : Kanazawa, Takayama, Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, Matsumoto and Shibu Onsen (tattoo friendly).

We will have a 21 day rail pass and will be looking to stay in a mixture of Hostels and Ryokans.

Day 1: Arrive KIX - Kyoto
Day 2: Kyoto
Day 3: Kyoto
Day 4: Kyoto
Day 5: Kyoto
Day 6: Kyoto
Day 7: Kyoto - Day trip Nara
Day 8: Hiroshima/Miyajima
Day 9: Hiroshima/Miyajima
Day 10: Naoshima
Day 11: Himeji
Day 12: Himeji - Day trip Tottori
Day 13: Osaka
Day 14: Osaka - Universal Studios
Day 15: KoyaSan
Day 16:
Day 17:
Day 18:
Day 19:
Day 20:
Day 21:
Day 22:
Day 23: Tokyo
Day 24: Tokyo - Day trip Kamakura
Day 25: Tokyo - Day trip Hakone/Fuji five lakes
Day 26: Tokyo - Sumo
Day 27: Tokyo
Day 28: Tokyo
Day 29: Depart Haneda

We would be very grateful if you could have a look at our itinerary especially the missing week, any advice or suggestions would be fantastic.

Many thanks

Check out the travel time to Naoshima. You won't have much time there.

There is so much you could put in those unplanned days. Have a look on the website for suggestion and find what "you" like.

IF you are going for options between Kyoto and Tokyo, then you probably dont need a 21 day pass. Just a 14 day JR pass.

IF you plan to go west of Hiroshima, eg Northern Kyushu. Or north of Tokyo into Tohoku, then a 21 day pass would make sense.

Hi Winter Visitor,
Thanks for your reply.
I have looked on hyperdia, if we left Hiroshima early morning allowing approx 4 hours for trains/ferry then stayed overnight, leaving for Himeji mid morning allowing 3.5hours.
Would this give us enough time to see some of the sights? We were thinking of hiring bikes.

Hi Hakata14,
Thanks for your reply.
We would like to visit, Kanazawa, Takayama, Matsumoto, Alpine Route (one way) and Shibu Onsen during the missing week.
I am struggling to work out which order to do it in without backtracking a lot.
Any help would be fantastic!

No need to get a 21 day pass if you're going to be in cities for many days. Think of 2 7-day passes or another combination of national and regional passes instead of locking down 21 days in a row with a pass that may not pay off for you.

We've just traveled in Japan and went to Nagoya.
You may want to consider going to this place if you're a fan of Totoro or Ghibli characters.
We went to Expo Memorial Park.

Hi JohnB,
Thanks for your reply.
Will have a look just now at the different rail pass combinations. ''Tis very confusing.

I have added in the missing section, any thoughts or suggestions ??

Day 1: Arrive KIX - Kyoto
Day 2: Kyoto
Day 3: Kyoto
Day 4: Kyoto
Day 5: Kyoto - Day trip Nara
Day 6: Kyoto - Day trip Hamamatsu (Suzuki Factory)
Day 7: Hiroshima/Miyajima
Day 8: Hiroshima/Miyajima
Day 9: Naoshima
Day 10: Himeji
Day 11: Himeji - Day trip Tottori
Day 12: Osaka
Day 13: Osaka - Universal Studios
Day 14: KoyaSan
Day 15: Kanazawa
Day 16: Kanazawa
Day 17: Kanazawa - Day trip Takayama
Day 18: Alpine Route - Nagano
Day 19: Nagano - Day Trip Matsumoto
Day 20: Shibu Onsen
Day 21: Tokyo
Day 22: Tokyo - Day Trip Kamakura
Day 23: Tokyo - Day Trip Hakone or Fuji five lakes
Day 24: Tokyo
Day 25: Tokyo
Day 26: Tokyo
Day 27: Tokyo - Check in airport 2200
Day 28: Depart Haneda

Aha!
If you're staying overnight in Naoshima then you'll be rushed but will be able to see the main sights.
If you're staying at Benesse, and can arrange breakfast or dinner in the museum restaurant, this is magical and means you see the museum with practically no one else there.
It's expensive but it's an amazing place to stay...

Unfortunately I think staying at Benesse house will be out of price range :-(

How does the rest of the itinerary look?

Looks logical.
We all have different preferences, so I can't comment on that, but the order looks logical.