20 days itinerary this April advice

Hi,
We created a new itinerary and we want to know if it's a good one, so please advice us.
We are 26 year old married couple, travelling to Japan for our honeymoon this April :)

We do want to see temples and shrines, but only the most known ones, as we prefer to invest our time on other things.

We want to be in a very good private Onsen, and to watch Kabuki.

Its very important for us to visit:
1. Kyoto
2. Nara (Only Todaiji Temple, Isuien Garden and the deer park).
3. Mount Yoshinoyama for the cherry blossom.
4. Takayama (city, festival, hida folk village).
5. The Toyota factory.
6. Osaka (Only Aquarium, Minami/Namba, National Art Museum).
7. Naoshima.
8. Hiroshima and Miyajima.
9. Tokyo.
10. Kamakura (Only the Great Buddha Daibutsu).
11. Hakone (Open Air Museum, the day trip everyone does with the ropeway, black eggs, and the the ship).
12. Fuji 5 Lakes (shibazakura festival, Chureito Pagoda)
13. Nikko

We made this itinerary below with the important places mentioned in mind.

(*) April 9: Arriving to Kansai airport at 20:00, taking a train to Kyoto and staying there for the night.
(Day 1) April 10: Kyoto full day
(Day 2) April 11: Kyoto full day
(Day 3) April 12: Kyoto to Yoshino + Nara for a day trip, still staying at Kyoto for the night.
(Day 4) April 13: Kyoto full day
(Day 5) April 14: Kyoto in the morning to Takayama for a full day for the festival and the city itself, staying at Takayama.
(Day 6) April 15: Half day in Takayama, than going to Nagoya, staying there for the night.
(Day 7) April 16: Going to the Toyota factory in the morning (like half a day), then going to Osaka, staying there for the night.
(Day 8) April 17: Spending the day at Osaka, but going to Okayama for staying the night.
(Day 9) April 18: Go to Naoshima in the morning, spending the day there, than get back to my Okayama hotel to take my luggage and go to Hiroshima for the night.
(Day 10) April 19: Half a day in Hiroshima, Half a day in Miyajima, going back to Hiroshima for the night.
(Day 11) April 20: From Hiroshima in morning a to Tokyo for a (almost) full day in Tokyo.
(Day 12) April 21: Tokyo.
(Day 13) April 22: Toyko.
(Day 14) April 23: Toyko.
(Day 15) April 24: Toyko to Kamakura, then Kamakura to Hakone, staying at Hakone.
(Day 16) April 25: Hakone trip, staying at Hakone.
(Day 17) April 26: Hakone to Fuji 5 lakes, going back to Tokyo.
(Day 18) April 27: Daytrip to Nikko, taying at Tokyo for the night.
(Day 19) April 28: Tokyo.
(Day 20) April 29: Tokyo.
(*) April 30: Flight back from Narita airport at 10:00 am

1. Is this good?
2. What would you change/add/remove?
3. Is a day trip from kyoto to Mt. Yoshino and Nara feasible?, taking in mind that for Nara we are only intersted in: (Todaiji Temple, Isuien Garden and the deer park).

Thanks :)

I think overall it looks good knowing that you only want to see certain spots in each place.

Regarding Nara, if getting up early will not ruin your day, I would try to be at the Todaiji at the opening hour. Then you really can admire the great Buddha. And then it should be doable to do all in one day. You might want to take a taxi to make some transfers from/to station quicker.

Day 9) April 18: Go to Naoshima in the morning, spending the day there, than get back to my Okayama hotel to take my luggage and go to Hiroshima for the night. depending where your hotel is located, you might want to look into leaving your luggage at the station or port in a coin locker.

For Takayama I guess you already have the hotel reserved.

Also for Toyota factory tour you need to reserve your tickets early.

Enjoy your honeymoon in Japan!

Your trip looks fun.

(Day 9) April 18: Go to Naoshima in the morning, spending the day there, than get back to my Okayama hotel to take my luggage and go to Hiroshima for the night.
(Day 10) April 19: Half a day in Hiroshima, Half a day in Miyajima, going back to Hiroshima for the night.
(Day 11) April 20: From Hiroshima in morning a to Tokyo for a (almost) full day in Tokyo.

I agree with the previous poster about leaving your stuff in a locker if possible.

Day 19 and Day 20 looks fairly hectic. Consider spending the night on Miyajima Island. Depending on what you want to see in the area, you might not get to see much with only a half day in Hiroshima/Miyajima.

The comment on getting accommodation for Takayama is extremely important. It's normally booked out very quickly. Also don't think it's possible to just turn up to the Toyota factory.

For Naoshima - I would try and stay a night there. It takes a bit of time to get here and it's impossible to see most of the island in a day. There are two main options I would recommend when staying in Naoshima. One is the Benesse House (which is a splurge option). I stayed at a Yurt overlooking the ocean which was some of the cheapest and good value comfortable accom I've stayed in (no wifi - Naoshima Tsutsujiso Lodge).

Are you also aware that there is heaps to see in/around Okayama, specifically Korakoen Garden? Inujima Art Island is one of my favourite day trips from Okayama (https://www.japan-guide.com/community/mfedley/report-1410)

Also when I visited the National Art Museum in July in Osaka - I thought it was going through a major restoration so double check that it is open.

Out of the locations being visited, only Hakone WILL definitely have onsens. Do note that you will pay an absolute fortune for a private onsen in your room though. I've never been able to afford to have my own private onsen in my room (I've paid up to 30,000 yen a night!) The Fujiya sometimes has good specials for foreign passport holders. It's a normal bath with real onsen water (Sulfur).

Thanks friends!
Bennese stay it too expensive, and other hotels in Naoshima don't look that good, and considering the luggage I need to take to Naoshima if i stay there, I really prefer staying at Okayama. We'll probably take 2 big bags that may not fit the coin locker so I will keep the luggage in the Okayama room, probably a one very close to the station.

And yes, I did manage to book a place in Takayama. really expensive, hope it worth it.

Thanks for letting my know about Toyota reservation.

What Train/bus passes should I purchase for that trip?

Hoping to hear more comments :)

Hi Avigo,

You can do the math, but it might make sense to get a 1 week JR. You would start it on day 5, when you go from Kyoto to Takayama. (9,660 yen Hikari+Hida LE) You would then use it for Takayama back to Nagoya (Hida LE) Nagoya to Osaka (6150 Hikari) Shin-Osaka to Okayama (5820 Sakura) Okayama to Hiroshima (5820 Sakura) Hiroshima to Tokyo (18, 360 combo Sakura and Hikari) There are also local/non express trains you will be using on JR but those are the big expensive ones. You've definitely used more than the 29,110 cost of the pass.

If you're trying to save money over a pass, there are buses between Kyoto and Nagoya and Takayama. I am unsure if they save you a lot of time and I think based on previous discussions, the shinkansen really is the best way between Osaka and Nagoya. I think you could technically do a ticket from Nagoya to Hiroshima and then do stopovers in Osaka and Okayama, I think that would work out to be: 8420 yen (base fare)+3010 (shinkansen fare)+3010 (shinkansen fare)+3010 (shinkansen fare) or 17,450, but I am unsure how the side trip to Uno and Miyajima would work, I think you would need to pay separately. You would also still need to pay to get from Kyoto to Takayama and from Takayama to Nagoya and from Hiroshima to Tokyo. You could technically fly Hiroshima to Haneda for 10,000 yen but that already brings you up to 27,450 without bus fare and the rail pass is 29,110 so....

I don't think it's worth it to pay for a two week. Kamaukura costs about 1000 yen to reach from Tokyo and going from Kamakura to Odawara is not all that expensive or time consuming either. I've done it 2x without a pass. If you want to take the shinkansen to Nikko either pay out of pocket, try to make things work with a 3 day Tokyo Wide Pass or just do Tobu line tickets to Nikko, I did Tobu line seats to Nikko.

I find in terms of getting things done it depends on how willing you are to get up in the morning. In general, you can accomplish a lot more from 9-11 than from 11-1 unless your goal is shopping. Jetlag can help depending on where you are coming from.

Good luck!

Day 19 and 20 definitely look hectic. I personally think that Miyajima would take more than half a day. I guess it depends on what you plan on doing here but I hiked up the mountain and looked around for a while so it took more than half a day. Maybe it is possible but it sure does kind of sound hectic