Planning - do-able itinerary

My wife and I would like to travel to Japan for our 50th birthdays.
we have some questions.

What would be a good season ? I think Autumn with the autumn colors, but spring and the cherry blossoms are very spectacular. Can you plan 6 months before hand to know when there are cherry blossoms . Could we plan now for the cherry blossoms of Spring 2018? What is the weather in the 2nd part of November or early April ? IS there sunshine ? We wouldn't like to have cloudy, grey days...

We don't have much free time, itineraries of a long time span are simply not possible.

I Please give me feedback on this itinerary :

1st day. Flight to Japan
1st night : airplane
2nd day : arrival and half day Tokyo
2n night : Tokyo (Shinjukuor Ginza?)
3rd day : Tokyo
3rd night : Tokyo
4th day : Tokyo/Kyoto - half day Kyoto
4th night ; Kyoto
5th day : Kyoto/Himeji/Hiroshima - ferry to Miyajima
5th night : Ryokan on Miyajima
6th day : visit Miyajima, travel via Hiroshima to Osaka
6th night : Osaka
7th day : visit OSaka
7th night : Osaka
8th day : Osaka/Europe

PErhaps a 3d night could be added in Kyoto and or Tokyo.

I know i leave other interesting sights and places out, but is this feasible ?

Any feedback is welcome !!!!

Thanks

Johan

I would drop at least half of those Osaka days and add them to Kyoto or some other interesting place. Osaka is just like Tokyo-a megalopolis and unless there�fs something specific you�fre looking for there, it�fs not worth four days.

Dates for the cherry blossoms are not really known until a month beforehand. However, the season is so popular that accommodations start to book out well before 6 months in advance. Many hotels would already be full for cherry blossom season in 2018!

Autumn is also very lovely and in many ways more spectacular. The autumn leaf season also lasts longer than the cherry blossoms, so it is easier to plan for.

5.5 days. I'd be adding days or omitting cities/locations.

It obviously depends on your personal interests, but I agree with the previous posters about reducing, or even completely removing Osaka in favor of additional days in Kyoto (with side trips to Nara, Uji,Osaka) and possibly some other destination like Okayama, Naoshima... or maybe some onsen destination?

But you initial question if this itinerary is doable, yes, i think it is doable but just not ideal from my perspective as you are missing out in more interesting places and stay in Osaka.

Regarding travel time, my personal advice would be mid May. Just after golden week. Weather is generally very nice, no rain and good temperature not to hot but summerish.

Cherry blossom time is somewhat hard to predict, and even if you come at exactly the right time, weather generally is still quite cold and rainy days can happen.

Autumn is an other possibility. For great autumn colors in the regions you list, however that is around End November/early December. Weather at that time gets colder, but some sunny days. Generally weather is the nicest between end September and mid November. However that is just generally. This year for at least 2 weeks in October weather was really bad with two typhoons coming through. That is not normal and these were the two latest typhoons to ever register in Japan. But who knows what will happen next year.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

I'm a slow-paced traveler and to me your seven-night trip seems very rushed. Plus I hate moving my luggage between hotels. For seven days I'd pick two places to see: Kyoto and Hiroshima/Miyajima, perhaps, if you like temples and shrines. If you're more interested in night life, then pick Tokyo with day trips to Nikko, Kamakura, or Hakone for a change of scenery.

1) Check daylight hours in mid-November. Short days mean limited time for sightseeing. We've seen amazing red leaves in the last two weeks of October (see point 5, below)
2) Re Sakura (and, to an extent, Autumn leaves), they tend to come at the same *sort* of time every year, but can easily fluctuate by a week (or more).
3) Think about how bothered you are by experiencing "peak blossom" rather than just seeing some trees with flowers on (e.g. flowers that haven't opened fully, or which are starting to drop). Being less bothered gives you a longer window
4) I know that everyone says "Ooh I must see the cherry blossom in Japan", but maybe ask yourself whether seeing blossom is more important that the million other amazing things you can do in Japan. At blossom time, especially in places like Kyoto, it is more expensive and more difficult to get hotels, and places are crowded.
5) Blossom and red leaves come at different times according to how far north/south you travel, and also how far up into the mountains you go. By including a place that's up in the mountains on your itinerary, and by adapting your visit times (earlier than peak for red leaves, later than peak for sakura), you may give yourself an increased chance of catching them. Plus, you will experience something other than the big cities that your itinerary is restricted to at the moment. Plus, you're from Belgium....why not go and see a mountain? ;0)

With that amount of time, I might skip Tokyo, and do Osaka/Kyoto/Hiroshima. Or if Tokyo is a must, just do Tokyo and Kyoto. I think you need 2-3 more days to enjoy all the areas you had listed.

Sorry, I misread your original post, assuming that each line with a city was a day, but you have a line for DAY and a line for NIGHT. I didn`t realize that. Sorry.

In that case I agree with the other previous posters, that your trip is way too rushed. You need to either add days, or reduce destination. If you have only 5 days, I personally would do Kyoto only, fly in to Osaka, with side trip to Nara and maybe Osaka.