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cherry blossom itinerary - 17days 2009/9/16 21:41
Hi. I am hoping to go to japan end of march next year and catch the cherry blossom trail. some of it anyway. after readying several itineries on this site this is what i have come up with. I would love some input. i can re-arrange some of the days if you think something else would be better.

day 1 to 4 - tokyo
day 4 - tokyo to miyajima
day 5 - miyajima - day trip to hiroshima
day 6 - miyajima to kyoto
day 7 to 9 - kyoto (include day trip to Nara)
Day 10 - kyoto to mt koya
day 11 - mt koya
day 12 - mt koya to yudanaka (shiba onsen)
day 13 - yudanaka
day 14 - yudanaka to tokyo
day 15 to 17 -tokyo (incl day trip to nikko)

1. will a 14 day JR pass be ok for this ?
2. i read on this site that Himeji castle is covered / closed. is it worth fitting in a trip to matsumoto or kenrokuen instead and is yudanaka a good place to head there from ?

thanks in advance for your help.

viv
by miss vivien (guest)  

Reply 2009/9/17 10:51
It seems okay, but the real trick is aligning the days with the blossom's full bloom in the cities.

If you are trying to plan a "cherry blossom itinerary", then I would skip Mount Koya, because it's not a great place for cherry blossoms. Instead, you should go to Yoshino, which has a long history of cherry blossom viewing and it has more blossoms than any other place in the nation.

Perhaps you just want to visit Mount Koya out of personal interest rather than to see cherry blossoms. In that case, it's a great place.
by Rabbityama rate this post as useful

re. itinerary 2009/9/17 22:09
thanks Rabbityama.
Mt Koya is a bit of a detour from the blossoms but it looks amazing so worth the trek. Hard to judge blossom time but need to plan the trip and they look good for the estimate dates for next year.
Himeji appears to be in repair so do you think matsumoto would be a good alternative ?
by miss vivien (guest) rate this post as useful

matsumoto was worth it 2009/9/18 06:47
While fairly different than Himeji castle, I really liked Matsumoto castle. Actually the interior of Matsumoto castle I felt was more interesting than Himeji's, and its grounds are beautiful to look at.

And it's an hour from Nagano and connects via a limited express to Tokyo (~3 hrs), so why not take stop over in Mastumoto before you head back to Tokyo.
by mike (guest) rate this post as useful

Yoshino 2009/9/18 09:11
I second that Matsumoto Castle is woth a visit. Also, Yoshino is fairly quick and easy to get to when you leave Koyasan. Instead of taking the train all the way back to Osaka, switch to the JR Wakayama line at Hashimoto station. That heads east in Nara prefecture. Get off at Yoshino-guchi, and change to the Yoshino Kintetsu line for the short trip to Yoshino station itself. Yoshino is, IMO, the best place in Japan to see cherry blossoms. The hills are covered with them.
by Samurai007 rate this post as useful

Additional Comment 2009/9/19 04:28
One thing I notice is that you plan to stay in Miyajima.. While reviews of those who have spent the night in Miyajima seem good, it is more practical to base yourself in Hiroshima and take a trip to Miyajima from there. That would save you some time and money, as well, because you wouldn't have to backtrack to Miyajima at the end of the day.

If it is simply your wish to spend the night in Miyajima, that is fine, but if you would like a more practical and more affordable stay, Hiroshima would be the better place to stay.
by Rabbityama rate this post as useful

thanks all 2009/9/19 05:20
thanks so much for your comments, really helpful. i think i will add yoshino onto the itinerary now. looks fab place for blossoms and you can never have enough in my opinion :)
by miss vivien rate this post as useful

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