Itinerary and some questions

Thanks in advance for any tips.

First off, the initiary. Everything that is starting with "side trip" can be moved around due to weather when I'm there and is not set in stone. I also realise that I'm spending next to no time in Tokyo and mainly using it as a base. There are some parks I'd like to see in the evening when they light up the cherry blossoms and the giant Gundam at Diver City. Other than that, Tokyo has (probably) no appeal to me as I live in a biggish city myself and can only imagine how much worse it is in a megacity. No offense meant for people who love it, but big cities are not my thing. And I think my nerd cred will suffer if I don't visit Akihabara

Kyoto is equally booked with side trips, but I can skip some of them. I'd skip them in the order of Hasedera, Hikone and Yoshino.

April 2013
2nd arrival Osaka (Kansai), pick up rental cell phone,Rail Pass exchange
2nd travel to Tokyo (4 nights) in Tokyo-Shinjuku
3rd Side trip to Nikko
4th Side trip Kamakura
5th Tokyo or Fujisan or Hakone
6th travel to Kyoto (7 nights)
7th Side trip Hikone
8th Side trip to Hasedera
9th Side trip to Ise
10th Side trip to Nara
11th Side trip to Koyasan
12th Side trip Yoshino
13th travel to Takayama (3 nights)
14th and 15th spring festival
16th travel to Shirakawa-go by bus, overnight there (1 night)
17th travel to Kanazawa (1night)
18th travel to Toyama, then alpine route, overnight in Matsumoto (1night)
19th Matsumoto castle, onwards to Okayama (2 nights)
20th side trip from Okayama to Hiroshima
21st travel to Osaka (1 night)
22nd departure Osaka

I do have some questions left over:

Travel from Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa. It says that the bus must be reserved. Can I do that in the evening when I arrive in Shirakawa or is it prudent to book early? Or is the reservation by phone? Can the bus also be cancelled if not enough people made a reservation? If bus travel from Shirakawa to Kanazawa is to risky with the booking, I'd make Shirakawa a full day trip and spend a night more in Takayama and travel from Takayama to Kanazawa.

Suitcase sending on the alpine road: Is it better to send it from Kanazawa to Okayama or use the suitcase forwarding service on the alpine road itself? And is the suitcase forwarding on the alpine road a "same day" service?

Still on the alpine road: This year it opened on April 17th. Is that the same every year?

With all the travelling I have planned, the 21 day rail pass is probably a good investment.

Last, but not least: Does anyone know of a place that has capybaras up close? I know that Nagasaki Bio Park has them and you can even pet them, but I had to take Nagasaki and Yakushima off my list.

I'm thankful for recommendations and answers :D

Overall it looks really nice to me.

I think you could save some money if you were to re-order it and spend your first week or so in Kansai, as then you could get a 14-day JR Pass instead of a 21-day JR Pass. Having said that a 21-day JR pass will still pay off, and makes things simpler.

As always hyperdia is invaluable for timetables but I assume you know that already
http://www.hyperdia.com/


April 2013
2nd arrival Osaka (Kansai), pick up rental cell phone,Rail Pass exchange
2nd travel to Tokyo (4 nights) in Tokyo-Shinjuku

What time does your flight arrive? If you have time I'd almost consider seeing a spot or two in Kyoto on the way.

3rd Side trip to Nikko
4th Side trip Kamakura
5th Tokyo or Fujisan or Hakone

Seems fine.

6th travel to Kyoto (7 nights)
7th Side trip Hikone
8th Side trip to Hasedera
9th Side trip to Ise
10th Side trip to Nara
11th Side trip to Koyasan
12th Side trip Yoshino

Any time for Kyoto itself? Have you been to Japan before? Make sure you book Kyoto accommodation well in advance as this is peak season. If you can't get accommodation in Kyoto and/or want to save some money consider staying in Osaka. If you have a JR pass then you can get from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto in 14 minutes, plenty of hotels near Shin-Osaka station. Alternatively, JR Osaka station makes a good base and 25 minutes on the train to Kyoto.

13th travel to Takayama (3 nights)
14th and 15th spring festival

Obviously you will need to book accommodation well in advance.

16th travel to Shirakawa-go by bus, overnight there (1 night)

Book this well in advance too.

17th travel to Kanazawa (1night)
18th travel to Toyama, then alpine route, overnight in Matsumoto (1night)
19th Matsumoto castle, onwards to Okayama (2 nights)

Seems good.

20th side trip from Okayama to Hiroshima
21st travel to Osaka (1 night)
22nd departure Osaka

Looks fine to me.

Travel from Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa. It says that the bus must be reserved. Can I do that in the evening when I arrive in Shirakawa or is it prudent to book early?

You could but I'd do it in Takayama when you presumably book the bus from Takayama to Shirakawago.

Or is the reservation by phone?

That would be best. Your hotel somewhere earlier on the trip should be able to help.

Can the bus also be cancelled if not enough people made a reservation?

No.

If bus travel from Shirakawa to Kanazawa is to risky with the booking, I'd make Shirakawa a full day trip and spend a night more in Takayama and travel from Takayama to Kanazawa.

I doubt that it is risky.

Suitcase sending on the alpine road: Is it better to send it from Kanazawa to Okayama or use the suitcase forwarding service on the alpine road itself? And is the suitcase forwarding on the alpine road a "same day" service?

I don't think it matters much. Yes, same day as far as I am aware, as long as you get to Toyama early enough.

With all the travelling I have planned, the 21 day rail pass is probably a good investment.

Yes, although as mentioned, first week in Kansai could make things a bit cheaper for you. Although you have lots of day trips!

Enjoy your trip!

What time does your flight arrive? If you have time I'd almost consider seeing a spot or two in Kyoto on the way.
8am. I have planned to visit much of the Tokyo sights that I wanted to see on the first day.

Any time for Kyoto itself? Have you been to Japan before? Make sure you book Kyoto accommodation well in advance as this is peak season
Never been to Japan before. Only a day planned for Kyoto, but I have up to three day trips that I can throw out depending on how much in Kyoto I want to see. Or maybe I could combine the Hasedera and Nara trip.

I had considered staying in Osaka near the station, but Kyoto sounds/looks so much nicer.

I'd book the hotels now if I could. I plan on staying in the APA hotel next to Kyoto station. Every other hotel or ryokan is not yet planned.

Thanks for your input.

Just thought of one more thing:

Generally speaking, is it permitted to enter stores and shrines with a backpack?

Many stores here forbid it, as you could steal stuff or whatever and as they do not have the authority to search your bags, only police, they simply forbid it.

8am. I have planned to visit much of the Tokyo sights that I wanted to see on the first day.

Sounds fine then.

Never been to Japan before. Only a day planned for Kyoto, but I have up to three day trips that I can throw out depending on how much in Kyoto I want to see. Or maybe I could combine the Hasedera and Nara trip.

I would strongly recommend a bit more time allocated for Kyoto. I guess Hikone is a half day so you can see something in Kyoto in the afternoon.

I have not been to Hasedera but you can probably combine the two assuming you start early and don't mind a faster pace.

I'd also keep the days flexible and adjust depending on the progress of the cherry blossoms. Reading japan-guide and the sakura blogs each day is a good idea.

I had considered staying in Osaka near the station, but Kyoto sounds/looks so much nicer.

Kyoto is nicer especially given your other comments re: cities.

I'd book the hotels now if I could. I plan on staying in the APA hotel next to Kyoto station. Every other hotel or ryokan is not yet planned.

Ok, good luck making your bookings then!


Generally speaking, is it permitted to enter stores and shrines with a backpack?

Many stores here forbid it, as you could steal stuff or whatever and as they do not have the authority to search your bags, only police, they simply forbid it.

Generally yes, a small backpack is fine. People tend to be more trusting (and trustworthy) in Japan.