18 days itinerary

Hello
We have 18 nights, fly in and out of Narita. We have two young kids and three suitcases.
I've already booked 4 nights in Tokyo (Shibuya).
We then hope to see:
Hakone
Kawaguchiko
Kyoto
Rabbit Island
Miyajima
Takayama
Tsumago
Could you please give advice on the best order to see these places?
We would be interested in hiring a car for a few days here and there if that helps us sightsee with a bit more flexibility, and road side stops.
Many many thanks.

Hakone and Kawaguchiko are easy day trips from Tokyo. They're very commonly done, so you should be able to find lots of information on them on this website and others.

Alternatively, you can visit Hakone as a stopover between Tokyo and Kyoto; you can take a local train from Hakone to Odawara, and then the shinkansen from there to Kyoto.

I would not advise visiting Rabbit Island. It is a long trip just to see some rabbits, and you're not allowed to feed them anymore. With only 18 days, I would suggest not wasting a day on this. Instead, stay in Hiroshima for two nights; sightsee in the city on one day, and visit Miyajima as a daytrip on the other.

Tsumago is not easily reached from any of these locations, so I would suggest having a one night stopover in Matsumoto beforehand, then heading to Tsumago by train/bus the next day. Do the walk to Magome, then take the bus and train to Nagoya. Spend a night there before returning to Tokyo.

Something like this, maybe:

Tokyo (Kawaguchiko day trip) - Hakone - Kyoto - Hiroshima (Miyajima day trip) - Osaka - Takayama - Matsumoto - Tsumago/Magome - Nagoya - Tokyo.

You will not need to hire a car (toll roads and parking will make this a hassle). I would advise using luggage forwarding services for your suitcases, especially when visiting Tsumago.

Thanks so much for your reply.
Is the way to Tsumago from Matsumoto by bus+train? Or either?
I like the idea of driving from Takayama to Matsumoto if accessible.
Is there anyway to do Kytoto-Tsumago-Takayama-Matsumoto-Tokyo? Or is it a pain to get from Kyoto to Tsumago and then from there to Takayama?
Many thanks

Just wondering if anyone could please suggest how to spend 2 nights up our sleeve?
so far we have:
4 nights Tokyo (booked)
2 nights Hakone (car hire from Mishima station) (booked)
2 nights Lake Kawaguchiko (drop car at Mishima) (booked)
4 nights Kyoto (booked)
2 or 3 nights Takayama? (hire car?)
1 night Magome (booked - and booked with two nights to go after this, before we fly home)
1 or 2 nights in Tokyo (if two nights thought we could do day trip to Kamakura so we see the sea)

So.... is there somewhere else we could spend a night or two after Takayama?
If we hired a car would it be worth driving from Takayama to Matsumoto (will it be pretty mid April?)
Is there somewhere else we could spend a night before our final night in Tokyo?

Many thanks.

How old are your children? You're already staying in seven hotels and it's a nuisance every time you pack, move, and unpack. For this reason I'd add a few days to Kyoto or perhaps Tokyo.

Last year I looked into renting a car to drive between Takayama and Matsumoto and because they are in different prefectures you get hit with a $100+ drop off fee. I guess if your group is large enough it might make sense? I know for me it did not. I would think you might see some snow in mid-April. Kamikochi, which is in between and doesn't allow private cars doesn't officially open until April 17 and won't fully open until April 27. So.. that makes me think the area can still get or has the remains of snow. I've gone by bus as far as Hirayu and the roads were windy small mountain roads, so if you feel comfortable driving on those you should be fine.

My daughter liked Hida no Sato village in Takayama because they had lots of traditional games you could try. She didn't enjoy the non-interactive exhibits.