Variation to suggested 20 day itinerary

I'm going to japan for the first time in April 2013. I will be travelling with my brother who also has never been to Japan.

I'm using the suggested 20 day /19 night itinerary http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_18.html as I will be landing at Tokyo (Narita)

However I will be leaving from Osaka (Kansai) on the morning of the 21st day. (We arrive in the late afternoon of the 1st day at Narita which us why I picked the 20 (full) day itinerary.

What variations to this recommended itinerary are recommended, given my different departure point?

Any variations would need to consider the following:

1) I notice this suggested itinerary does not specially mention Hakone/Mt Fuji/5 Lakes area. We would be interested in going here. I understand that a day trip from Tokyo may be possible to cover some of these places but it would be quite rushed, so we would not be adverse to staying at least one night in the area.

2) Himeji Castle is under refurbishment, so we would prefer to visit anther castle, probably Hikone Castle.

Any suggestions appreciated.

The departure point is not really a problem. From the west, Osaka is closer than Tokyo, so you should easily be able to get there and depart the following day.

It's a little bit difficult to give ideas for variation, because you didn't list your interests or whether any places on that itinerary are not so important to you.

You can easily visit Hikone as a daytrip from Kyoto to see the castle and other sites.

If you don't want to use the Tokyo days for your trip to Hakone, you could cut Takayama and just go to directly to Kanazawa.

You could also cut Osaka out as a destination and just use it for sleeping before moving on to a more interesting place.