Travel scedule 14 day’s from Oska

Deal All,

This is a polite question for some travel ideas or travelling schedules.
We have 14 days in Japan with 2 adults and 2 sons (20+) starting from Oska at the beginning of July '24.

We like to see Japan at its best but are overwhelmed by the possibility and all kinds of train options etc. Is there somebody who can share a super-travelling schedule we can follow?

I return I can make a nice travelling schedule in The Netherlands or give a personal tour in Delft.
Looking forward to hearing from you,

Arigato gozaimasu,

Start by asking what the 4 adults wanna do.

We know nothing about your interests.

So doing a whole itinerary would be premature.

Start by going through this website and return to ask questions.

14 days From osaka
Day 1:kansai airport to downtown
Buy JR kansai area 1 day pass= 2800 yen

Day 2 ,3, 4 :kyoto,kobe,nara,wakayama
Buy surutto kansai 3 day rail pass= 7000 yen

Day 5, 6, 7 ,8,9,10,11:kansai +sanin area
JR kansai sanin area pass 7 day=18000 yen

Day 12 ,13 ,14: Greater Tokyo +narita/haneda
Buy JR Tokyo wide pass 3 day=15000 yen

There are lots of day trip possibilities, plus numerous regional rail passes that could save you money. So far you said you're entering Japan through Osaka. Are you leaving from there too, or want to fly open-jaw such as from Tokyo?
There is a generic itinerary you can look at here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_osaka_12.html

But it does not take into account your travel pace or any specific interests.

Dear Ken,
Our trip starts and ends in Osaka.
Do you recommend fitting Tokyo into this schedule? It's a difficult decision to make as we have "only" 14 days to spend.
Regards Paul,

Most people manage to visit Osaka and Kyoto on a 14 days round trip from Tokyo, so there's no reason you would not be able to fit Tokyo in your itinerary as well. That being said, if you do not have any FOMO or anything specific you want to see there, you could leave out Tokyo, and still have an absolutely delightful trip.

The 17-days itinerary will give you more ideas/options: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_osaka_15.html (with limited time, you'll have to choose between Kanazawa or Hiroshima, depending on your interests).

"We like to see Japan at its best" is very vague. If you mean "the most famous places", then the example itineraries on this website will be perfect.

You are from the NL. Are you prepared for the humid heat of July ?
If not, reschedule or spend most of your time in Hokkaido. Which I wouldn�ft recommend though to a first time visitor specially from Northern Europe.

Dear LikeBike, I know about the weather conditions, we have to deal with it ;-) We are already very lucky that we can travel to Japan and explore it. I see in your Bio that you are an expert in travelling to Japan and also living in The Netherlands (Zuid-Holland). If I have more questions I hope I can use your expertise? Regards Paul

Main thing I would think about is whether you want:

1) a whistlestop tour of the "best" places in Japan always on the move, "gotta catch them all", or

2) a more in depth trip, concentrating on a smaller region

There are plenty (this site has v good examples) of "Golden Route" itinerary trips, and they work perfectly for loads of people on their first trip to Japan - although possibly tending to be a bit heavy on cities (not so tempting to me in the heat of Summer).

If your thoughts tend to option 2 - you could see quite a variety of places in a circular route from Osaka without travelling too far (Wakayama, Shikoku, Naoshima and the Seto Sea, Lake Biwa....)