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November - Itinerary Recommendations 2018/7/17 07:33
Hi!

I will be travelling to Japan in late October/early November for approx. 13 days, and wanted to run the overall itinerary by the experts here for any advice on timing/travel logistics/etc.

I've used Japan Guide and its transportation tools (as well as this forum!) as a guide, but any additional thought would be appreciated. I'll be traveling solo - I'm in my late twenties and pretty well-traveled, though I've never been to Japan. I'd say I'm pretty fit and very comfortable walking long distances each day (and keeping a relatively quick travel pace). Also, I'll be spending 48 hours in Seoul prior to this, so (hopefully) won't be contending with jet lag. And lastly, I do plan to buy a 14 day JR pass.

Oct 29: Arrive Narita Airport, 12pm. Half day in Tokyo
Oct 30: Full Day Tokyo 1
Oct 31: Full Day Tokyo 2
Nov 1: AM train to Takayama, spend afternoon and evening touring Old Town.
Nov 2: Takayama region day 2 - considering day trip to either Shirakawago or Kamikochi
Nov 3: AM train to Kyoto, half day in Kyoto
Nov 4: Kyoto Full Day 1
Nov 5: Kyoto Full Day 2
Nov 6: AM leave for Mt Koya, overnight at temple
Nov 7: Leave for Osaka, spend afternoon and evening.
Nov 8: Leave for Hiroshima in late morning, tour Peace Park and overnight in Miyajima
Nov 9: Morning hike around Mt. Misen, leave and begin trekking back to Tokyo with stopover in Himeji in afternoon. Arrive in Tokyo by evening
Nov 10: Final day in Tokyo, see whatever I missed earlier
Nov 11: Return flight early AM

Now, my questions:
- Is it worth visiting Osaka if I only have about 1 day?
- Are the dates I am in Kyoto going to be particularly busy given Nov 3 holiday? Would it be worthwhile to re-organise around that?
- Is visiting hiking Mt Misen doable in a morning, on the same day as a return trek to Tokyo? Thinking this day might be particularly over-ambitious...

Thanks in advance, and again really appreciate any and all advice. I know not having an exact itinerary for each destination city might make responding harder, but I'm hoping to lock on general outline of the trip first...In general, I'm interested in a mix of culture, temples, restaurants and nightlife (you know, like every visitor to Japan haha).
by SpaghettiWesterner (guest)  

Re: November - Itinerary Recommendations 2018/7/17 11:31
A few impressions.....

Nov 1st is going to be painful - it is about 4½ hours to get to Takayama from Tokyo. And by that time of year it will be getting dark a lot earlier. There won't be a lot of time for the city. The Old Streets are crammed with day tripping tourists, so it is not as enjoyable as it once was. From evening the whole area is a giant ghost town. The only place open with the lights on over several streets was a convenience store. Kamikochi to me is biting off too much to swallow. It's just too time consuming as a day trip, and buses are not that frequent. Shirakawago is far more practical - and there is Gokayama if you want to avoid the mobs.

I'd also suggest seeing Osaka on Nov 4 or 5 after a day of sightseeing in Kyoto. The city is best in the evening - Dotonbori, Shinsekai, Abeno Harukas, Umeda Sky Bldg etc.
https://goo.gl/XE5R94
For Nov 7, use the full day for Himeji: the castle, the Kokoen Garden, and Mt Shosha can fill up the whole day.
For Koyasan, get the Koysan World Heritage Tkt.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_012.html
And if you want to go to the cemetery at night, be sure to pick one of the temples that does not have a curfew
https://awesome-tours.jp/en/tour/night-tour-return-bus/
There are tour companies that have paid tours but you can just go by yourself.
For Hiroshima City there is more than just the Peace Park - the Shukkeien Garden is wonderful. There is also the castle, but if short on time, then skip it. The Mitakidera Temple is also stunning and still unknown to the tourist hordes, at least currently.
Nov 9 - There is enough time, if you get up early. Don't miss the shrine, Daishoin Temple, and Mt Misen. If you are overnighting, look at this tidal info and see the shrine both at high & low tides. At low tide you can walk up to the giant torii gate.
http://www.tides4fishing.com/jp/hiroshima/itsukushima
Just remember that it will take about 5½ hours to get from Miyajimaguchi to Tokyo - you might arrive at night, but that is fine.
by Ken (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: November - Itinerary Recommendations 2018/7/17 23:34
Thanks so much for your reply!

When you say Nov. 1st will be painful, do you just mean the time spent on the train (which I agree, is a long haul from Tokyo)? I agree I'm not leaving myself much time to explore Takayama - perhaps I'll nix the idea of a day trip in the region on the second day (Nov 2) and use that to tour the Old Town instead. I would like to still see the Alps region though...

Re: the Osaka/Hiroshima leg of my trip, I really wish I could have found an open-jaw flight leaving from Osaka (so I didn't need to transit back to Tokyo) but unfortunately am using reward miles for this trip and avails were limited. I will definitely consider your suggestion of moving around when I visit Osaka (perhaps before Mt. Koya makes more sense, as they are geographically closer).

Thanks again!
by SpaghettiWesterner (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: November - Itinerary Recommendations 2018/7/18 00:19
Re open jaw flights....if you made your outbound flight a flight to Seoul on reward points, and then just paid for the onward flight in cash, I reckon you could easily pick up a cheap flight from Seoul to any of a number of Japanese regional airports.

The cash cost of the flight from Seoul may even be less than the cash cost of getting you back to Tokyo for a homeward flight. And that's before even thinking about the cost of your time.
by Winter Visitor rate this post as useful

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