tokyo + kyoto + ?

Hi!
I posted a Q yesterday regarding hotels.
I now want to ask you about the cherry blossoms.
I will be arriving in tokyo march 28th and was planning to stay there at least a week as there are many things to see in tokyo and surrounding cities (maybe visit nikko, kamakura) by the way, if you have something to say worth visiting near tokyo, go ahead.
Now my question is : to make sure I see the sakuras in all of their glory in kyoto , should I go to kyoto the april 5-7 or 7-9 would be just fine ? I know you never know but to help my chances?
I would also buy the railway pass for those last 7 days of my trip (ending april 13th) so I could travel mostly anywhere. I wanted to at least pass by Kobe to have the famous beef in its hometown :) but, is it worth staying one day ?
Is Osaka nice enough to spend 1-2 days?
Do you know any other destination I could go thats worth visiting?
Because after my 3 day visit to kyoto im trying to fill up the planning with other places to visit.

thanks alot for your help!!

to make sure I see the sakuras in all of their glory in kyoto , should I go to kyoto the april 5-7 or 7-9 would be just fine ?

Such fine tunes predictions are utterly impossible at this time of the year. Even speculating about chances makes little sense. You can check the past years' cherry blossom reports to get an idea of the past few years, but keep in mind that this year could be completely different to any of the previous years:
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura12/
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura11/
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura10/
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura/

I wanted to at least pass by Kobe to have the famous beef in its hometown :) but, is it worth staying one day ?

Do the city's sites look interesting enough to you personally?
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2159.html

Is Osaka nice enough to spend 1-2 days?

It depends on your interests. Some people skip it entirely. Others love to spend multiple days there. Osaka has some of the nicest cherry blossom parks in all of Japan:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4018.html

It also has lots of shopping and entertainment and a few historic sites:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2157.html

Do you know any other destination I could go thats worth visiting?

It depends on your personal interests. But generally speaking, you seem to limit your entire trip in the urban areas of Japan. Therefore, I would recommend to leave the urbanized zone once and spend one night at a traditional onsen ryokan in a hot spring resort:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2292_where.html

An overnight stay on Koyasan could be another idea to get you out of the cities once:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html

Nara can be one option to visit. It is one hour train ride away from Kyoto.

http://www.pref.nara.jp/secure/79931/yukari_USA.pdf

For increasing your chance of sakura viewing, you should keep monitoring this site. Unfortunately it's all Greek to you, but should help later. According to this (=2012 forecast, and 2013 forecast will be released next Jan or Feb), Kyoto and Tokyo are very much same in timing of 'start blooming'. First week of April should be best at both.

http://www.sakurazensen.com/3kikan-hikaku/3kikan-yosou-hikaku.htm

x-axis = location. Look for ‹ž“s�iKyoto) and “Œ‹ž�iTokyo)
y-axis = date (start at March 7)

Note that April 6-7 is the weekend so expect Kyoto to be extremely busy those days.

What time do you depart (from Tokyo?) on April the 13th?

If cherry blossoms in Kyoto (and Osaka) are a priority then I would spend the last week based in Kansai, either in Kyoto if you can find somewhere within your budget, or in Osaka.

I would not have any strict plan for each day. I would keep an eye on Japan-guide's Sakura blog and consult the tourist offices and then make a decision each day on which city to visit, and also what sites to see within each city. I would probably try and avoid seeing too much in Kyoto over the weekend unless the blossoms were particularly stunning on that specific day and if I did I would try and avoid the buses as much as possible.

Uji has given you some great information so on top of that I would also make a half-day visit to Hikone Castle
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7001.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/sakura10/100405_hikone.html

Note that with your JR Pass it is relatively easy (and free) to move between Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe. Although in Kobe (and Osaka) you may need to spend a bit extra depending on where you go.

With a week in Kansai you could also consider a longer day trip to somewhere like Hiroshima/Miyajima, access is covered by your JR Pass.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2160.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3401.html

And/or you could overnight at a nice onsen somewhere as suggested by Uji.

You haven't asked yet, but for a place with Kobe beef:-
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+96524

Enjoy your trip!

thank you guys are sooo helpful!
keep em comin!
I decided I would stay in Tokyo from 28-to7th (leave in the morning) sleep in kyoto from 7 to 8, leave kyoto the 9th. And then I try to fill the rest of the week up to saturday when I leave ...
So it should be something geographical between cities like Osaka, Nara, one onsen.
by the way, on the onsen webpage you gave me, I dont recognize the ones near kyoto, can you help out?

thanks SO MUCH!

thanks again.
Koyasan looks very worth it.
I see it is not covered by the jr pass though but transportation from Osaka is around 1700yen which is not that bad.
Do you know of any recommended places to stay there ? MAX 80000yen one night?

thanks

Also, is yoshino worth seeing too?
They say it's the most popular place for cherry blossoms!
I found a hotel with reasonable price :
Business Ryokan Yamabe

So far from my visit to kyoto I would like :

Kyoto : sunday+monday : leave tuesday morning.
Then I want to fit in before saturday :
koyasan is I find cheap accomodation.
osaka+kobe.
nara
maybe yoshino?

by the way, on the onsen webpage you gave me, I dont recognize the ones near kyoto, can you help out?

Please look more carefully. There is a title that states "Kansai Region (around Kyoto)". Then, on the individual pages you can look up how long it takes to get there.

Also, is yoshino worth seeing too?

Yoshino is very nice (and crowded) during the cherry blossom season. But the cherry blossoms bloom a little bit later than in Kyoto and Tokyo. Unless it is an early year, you may be a little bit early for the blossoms.

As for transportation, you could consider combining Koyasan with Yoshino. That would also cut down the non-JR transportation costs a little bit.

See map on the following page to get an idea of how to travel between Koyasan and Yoshino:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4904.html?aFROM=2165_4900

hii fab,
Are you arriving in tokyo and depart from tokyo too..?
Can your ticket depart from osaka...??
If this is possible i think you arrive tokyo, tour tokyo and continue tour west towards
osaka and depart.
I think you could have more touring time than spending time travelling back to tokyo.

just for your info...i plan osaka, kobe, kyoto,nara...and i end up 12 days in kyoto alone.
To see more of Japan culture perhaps you might reduce tokyo to 5 or 6 days.

I be arriving osaka on 12th april for 2 weeks holiday.

have fun

yeah im trying to book a hostel in osaka for the last week after all.
Will decide when to go to kyoto and nara kobe yoshino koyasan.
will comeback home from a osaka airport, same price !!

thanks alot you guys