Japan 18 day itinerary

Flying in to Narita and leaving from Kansai, this is the plan so far. June 2018. Any comments/ideas?

Day 1: Tokyo – Arrive 08:05 am @ Tokyo Narita
Day 2: Tokyo (Ghibli museum, veterinary faculty visit)
Day 3: Tokyo
Day 4: Tokyo Side trips (Lake Kawaguchi/Fuji five lakes/Hakone?) – my objective is a view of Mt Fuji and onsen visit? – Activate JRP-14 days
Day 5: Nikko/Yokohama? Or Takayama one day earlier to stay in Shirakawago on day 6– overnight in a Gassho-Zukuri farmhouse ?
Day 6: Takayama
Day 7: Kanazawa
Day 8: Hiroshima
Day 9: Miyajima
Day 10: Via Himeji arrive Kyoto (or possibly based at Hikone day 11-13 due to lower prices?)
Day 11: Kyoto
Day 12: Kyoto
Day 13: Nara
Day 14: Mount Koya – Shukubo stay
Day 15: Shirahama – Stay at Ryokan?
Day 16: Shirahama – Onsen on beach
Day 17: Osaka – end JPR 14 days
Day 18: Fly home from Osaka Kansai 10:45 am

I would like to stay in a ryokan at some point in the trip, where would be the best choice? (single traveler, low budget)
Also, want to relax on a beach for two days before going home(or at some point in the trip), is Shirahama a good choice in June?
I feel like there will be a lot of shrines/temples on my way so should I skip the trip to Nikko and head to Takayama directly from Hakone/Fuji five Lakes etc?

All insights greatly appreciated!

Day 4: You won't fit all those side trips in. Pick one. Summer tends to have more hazy weather, so spotting Fuji might be difficult - it's notoriously shy!

Days 5-7: Since Kanazawa is directly connected to Tokyo by shinkansen, and is a really lovely city, I'd actually suggest staying there the whole time and day tripping into Takayama and Shirakawago (if you choose to visit). I'd also recommend Sumiyoshiya ryokan in Kanazawa - oldest continuously running ryokan in the city, family owned and run, owner speaks good English, lovely rooms, nice food, affordable, and well-located halfway between the station and the major sights.

Day 8: Kanazawa to Hiroshima will be a very long trip! I'd put Kyoto first, to break up the travel (you'd pass through Kyoto anyway).

Day 13: Are you staying in Nara? There's no need. It's an easy day trip from Kyoto. I'd suggest combining it with an early morning visit to Fushimi Inari (to beat the crowds); it's on the same train line as Nara from Kyoto.

Are you aware of how to purchase Ghibli tickets?

Have you checked that the 14-day JR Pass pays off?

Your choice about Nikko. But Toshogu Shrine is quite different to other temples and shrines, and a visit to the mountains would be a nice way to escape the city heat!

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes for day 4 I would choose one of those places of course.
Day 11-13 I would possibly base myself at Hikone for day trips into Kyoto/Nara (read on the forum that its cheaper and well connected by train).
Will it not be a long trip back from Hiroshima to Mount Koya then again? (Kanazawa to Hiroshima train was in one of the suggested itineraries on this page this is why I planned it that way - to not have any long distance travel the last week.)

Would you suggest a regional pass or what other options do you have in mind? I just assumed I am there for 18 days so a 14 day pass must pay off. Perhaps a JR West would be possible but it is maximum 7 days and I am in the area for 9 - also what about Tokyo side trips and the trip to Hiroshima?

Yes - Ghibli museum will of course only happen if I am lucky enough to get the tickets online on the 10th of May at 10am. :)

I forgot to add that Osaka after Hiroshima, before Koyasan, would make sense! I was reading your itinerary and answering after each day, and when I saw you were flying out of Osaka I neglected to go back and change my Koyasan response. Have you looked up the travel time? It will be long. Don't bank on having much time to sightsee that day.

Hikone may be cheaper, but it would be annoying to have to travel to Kyoto everyday. It's only advised to stay outside of the city if it's packed (e.g. for cherry blossom season). It's possible to find affordable accommodation in Kyoto if you look early enough (start now!). I stayed in a hotel (R&B) right near Kyoto Station for a decent price during cherry blossom season - just made sure I booked early!

I don't know if a 14-day JR Pass pays off or not; I was asking if you'd done the calculations. You can run them yourself, or use a rail pass calculator (Google it - there are several available).

Depending on how high Ghibli is on your list of priorities you can also buy tickets a few months earlier (3???) through JBT. you are still in time for June.
Buying on the 10 th can be a bit risky as everyone tries to access to it at the same time and site sometimes collapses.

As previous poster I find some of your days laden with travel. But it is your trip. Just sit down with google maps to make sure you understand how long it will take between all your destinations.

Japan isn�ft really a beach country. So for relaxing I would either suggest an onsen resort (eg Hirayu onsen by Takayama) or any other or Lake Biwa which is more like a beach type of destination.

June may be quite rainy though and when it isn�ft rainy it can be (for me) nearly unbearably hot. Just consider that too.

Regarding side trip to Nikko. No need to decide now as you�fll be doing it as a daytrip.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Thanks LikeBike and guest. I understand there is a lot of travel time and will look it through again.

At least in Scandinavia since the 15th of this month JTB has stopped selling single Ghibli tickets - only included in tourist trips - which I am not interested in. They refer you to the online Lawson sales, so if I'm lucky I will get it, if not, I will have to come back to Japan again ;)

Shirahama has a beautiful beach and has onsens so perhaps this will be a good compromise? About temperatures I am looking for the warmest places possible (coming from a cold area of the world we generally vacation in heat for a change).

I did the JR calculator and perhaps I will buy multiple regional passes instead. Thanks for the recommendation!