12 nights itinerary Japan in spring

Hi there,
I am a solo traveler to Japan this spring (2024). Hopefully I will catch the peak of the cherry blossoms! I will be there 12 nights and 13 days, and while I have clear some of the spots to hit (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Hakone), I still have some doubts regarding a couple of spare nights. Here is my draft itinerary:

Day 1: lunch time arrival to Tokyo. First contact and night in Tokyo.
Day 2: Tokyo
Day 3: Tokyo
Day 4: side trip nearby (Kamakura?) (Also thinking to change this for night in Takayama)
Day 5: Arrival to Kyoto (around lunch)
Day 6: Kyoto
Day 7: Kyoto
Day 8: Arrive to kayosan around lunch. Night in a temple.
Day 9: Morning-lunch arrival to Osaka. Night in Osaka
Day 10: Hiroshima. Night in Miyajima
Day 11: Arrival in the evening to Hakone
Day 12: Hakone-Fuji
Day 13: departure

My questions are:
Option 1: to skip the side day trip near Tokoyo and travel to Takayama for 1 night. I know that the detour is quite long (around 5h to get there) so I do not know whether it makes sense to go for only 1 night and two half days (1 pm and 1 am to visit the market before going to Kyoto). The rest of the itinerary remains the same.
Option 2: Keep the side trip near Tokyo on D-4, go to Takayama on D-5 and skip the night in Osaka on D-9, what implies travelling directly from Koyasan to Hiroshima (I know it's about 4.5h).
Option 3: stay 4 nights in Kyoto, with a side trip to Nara and Osaka in the evening? and go to Koyasan on D-9, what implies again travelling directly from Koyasan to Hiroshima on D-10.

Overall, I have the question on whether 4 nights in Tokyo area and 4 in Kyoto area is too much and it is worthy to skip one night in one of the two areas (which one better?) and do detours (like Takayama)

Thanks in advance!!!

Definitely would skip Takayama. It�fs quite a detour and I personally found it not very interesting and quite overrun by tourists when I was there in 2017.
The morning market is a small vegetable market. I don�ft know why it is supposed to be a tourist attraction. Any daily/weekly market in a lot of European countries where I lived is 100 times bigger / more interesting.

4 days in Kyoto are probably the bare minimum.

I would also not skip daytrip to Kamakura.

Tokyo, Kyoto, Koyasan, Hiroshima is a reasonable itinerary for the time you stay in Japan. Adding in Osaka is okay if you want to break up the long trip from Koyasan. Although I personally don�ft find anything interesting to do in Osaka. So if you just arrive there in the evening, totally fine, have dinner and sleep. But if you have time during the day maybe better to continue to Himeiji , bist the castle and stay in Himeiji for the night or take an evening Shinkansen down to Hiroshima

You might want to look into a flight back from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Ideally as part of your ticket to Japan.

Assuming its your fisrt Japan trip. 4 days is NOT too much for Tokyo and Kyoto. If anything, it isn't enough.

Dont do anything more other than your original plan or Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima.

I will also say to not skip Kamakura it's well worth the trip. I would also drop the Osaka day & go straight from Koyasan to Hiroshima & have another night there.

Hi there,

Thanks for the replies, very useful. So it seems that my itinerary is quite packed already and better not to add additional stops. I was also thinking whether the whole trip to HIroshima and Miyajima worths the visit or it might be better to go from Kyoto to Kanazawa, Takayama and maybe matsumoto. Any thoughts? Thanks

I've also read that the train passes have increased a lot their prices. Do you still think that they are still the best way to move around?

Thank you in advance!

Your itinerary looks well-balanced, and catching cherry blossoms during spring in Japan will be a magical experience! Considering your options:

Option 1: Takayama for one night could be a bit rushed, given the long journey. If you're keen on Takayama, perhaps consider staying for two nights to make the travel time more worthwhile.

Option 2: Directly traveling from Koyasan to Hiroshima is feasible but be mindful of the travel time. Skipping a night in Osaka could work if you're willing to explore Hiroshima more extensively.

Option 3: Four nights in both Tokyo and Kyoto can indeed be balanced, but your preference might depend on your interests. If you enjoy a mix of modern and traditional, you might lean towards Tokyo. If historical and cultural experiences are your focus, Kyoto might be your choice.

Considering your desire to visit Takayama, Option 1 or 2 could be viable. But it depends on your priorities – whether you prefer a slightly more relaxed pace or if you're willing to trade travel time for specific experiences.

So you agree in one sentence that you itinerary is packed. Then suggest if you can add 3 more locations?

Just do Tokyo, Kyoto, Koyasan, Hiroshima.

As for JR nation wide pass. They haven't been the preferred option since the price increases.

A JR west kansai-hiroshima pass would work for your Hiroshima leg for you itinerary.

And a Koyasan heritage pass for the Koyasan leg. The rest would be single one way tix.

Hi again, thanks for all the replies. Only 1 week to go!! I've seen that everything is fully booked, so I am getting worried about the train tickets. I used the calculator and it is not worthy to buy the JR pass, so I will buy individual tickets. Do you know the website to do it? ideally covering trains for the whole country, as I've seen that the websites are per regions.
Thank you very much in advance!