from osaka to tokyo and back in 8 days

Hi everyone,

My mate and I are planning to travel to japan - our first time ever so we'd appreciate any help/tips/critiques.Our sample itinerary:

day 1 -Arrive osaka airport, catch train to kyoto, (overnight stay in kyoto)

day 2 - kiyomizu-dera in the morning, Fushimi Inari Shrine and walk to the top.
catch train to Kanazawa. (stay overnight in kanazawa)

day 3-5 explore kanazawa gardens.
travel to lake kawaguchi (stay overnight).
sightseeing mt fuji.
travel to izu for hot springs? (is it worth it?)

day 6-7 - from izu or lake kawaguchi to tokyo for christmas.
is christmas any good in tokyo??

day 8-9 - tokyo back to osaka (how?)

Thank you everyone!

travel to izu for hot springs? (is it worth it?)

There are also hot springs around Kawaguchiko and Hakone, which is closer than Izu.

day 6-7 - from izu or lake kawaguchi to tokyo for christmas. is christmas any good in tokyo??

Yes, Tokyo is very nice during christmas with many illuminations:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2303.html

tokyo back to osaka (how?)

Your options:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4006.html

I would suggest getting a one day JR Kansai Area Pass for transit from Kansia airport to Kyoto:

http://www.jr-odekake.net/en/jwrp/kansai.html

And a 7 day JR Rail Pass for days 2-8 or 3-9 if you stay an extra night in Kyoto and travel to Kanazawa on day 3 (as there is much more to see and do in Kyoto than in Kanazawa):

http://www.japanrailpass.net/

thanks for the replies!

I wanted to go to the 'best' zen gardens in japan, and heard 'Kenrokuen' is amongst the top.
Is it that great in winter or will i be better off spending more time elsewhere?

What's the shortests and quickest way from Kanazawa/ and Kyoto to lake kawaguchi without having to double up through tokyo?

thank you!

I wanted to go to the 'best' zen gardens in japan, and heard 'Kenrokuen' is amongst the top.

According to my knowledge there are no Zen gardens at Kenrokuen.

Is it that great in winter or will i be better off spending more time elsewhere?

Winter is generally not the best season to see gardens unless they are snow covered. That is because many plants are barren. But they can still be nice.

What's the shortests and quickest way from Kanazawa/ and Kyoto to lake kawaguchi without having to double up through tokyo?

From Kyoto:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6905.html?aFROM=2158_6900

From Kanazawa, take the limited express to Maibara and change to the shinkansen for Mishima. From there follow the route explained on the above link for Kyoto.

It seems that you would like to cover a lot of ground in a rather short time.
As previously stated, gardens are not at their best in winter. One of the "top three" gardens is in Okayama, not so far from Osaka by Shinkansen.
I do not know what you are interested in, but to make the most of this first trip to Japan, you should somehow limit long distance trips.

You are giving only a short time in Kyoto and you will be missing a lot.

Anyhow, enjoy your trip