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Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/22 18:52
Hello again everyone. I made a final itinerary of my trip to Japan in November and I wanted to know your opinion, advice, etc. (I made several changes on my itinerary, but I finally managed to complete it, going to Japan and select what to see and do is so hard, Japan has so many places to see and so many things to do, it was hard...).

7th November - Osaka
8th November - Okayama, Kurashiki and Himeji (day-trip from Osaka)
9th November - Nara (day-trip from Osaka)
10th November - Mt. Koya (leave Osaka in the morning/sleep in Mt. Koya)
11th November - Hiroshima (leave Mt. Koya early morning)
12th November - Miyajima (day-trip from Hiroshima)
13th November - Rural Kyoto: Kurama and Kibune/Arashiyama (leave Hiroshima early morning)
14th November - Kyoto
15th November - Kyoto
16th November - Departure from Kansai Int. Airport

I bought a JR west pass (Sanyo Sanin) for this trip. The Pass is 7 days consecutive, so I thought of using from 7th until 13th. Since I'll be in Kyoto 14th and 15th, I don't need a pass, just ICOCA card (I think I'll buy the ICOCA + Haruka when I arrive so that I can have an easy departure on the 16th).

Also, I need some help. I read that Kobe is a wonderful destination at night. Do you guys think I should add Kobe on day 8th? Like for example, going to visit Okayama and Kurashiki, and then head to Himeji to see the castle before it closes, and after that enjoy the rest of the day/night in Kobe before heading to Osaka to sleep. What do you think?
by catiasmteixeira  

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 12:08
It's doable as you outlined, but you can improve on efficiency if you change the sequence on Nov 8/9/10.

For example:
11/08 - Do the day trip to Nara. If you start early, you can visit Kobe at night. Sleep in Osaka.
11/09 - Visit and stay in Koyasan.
11/10 - Visit Himeji, Okayama/Kurashiki. Sleep in Kurashiki or Hiroshima.
by naniwa (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 16:22
Thank you for your opinion. I will change those days, you're absolutey right.

2 questions.

1st: what can I do in Kobe besides the ropeway? Chinatown? I searched for other places, but not Kobe. I will like some advice, thank you all.

2nd: can I go to Uji from Nara on my day trip? Because I heard Uji is very famous for the Matcha tea, food and sweet, and I want to buy many matcha things. I was planning on goibg to Nara on a day trip, do you think it will be rushed if I go in the afternoon to Uji? Thanks!
by catiasmteixeira rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 16:53
I personally am a slow Traveller so I think a lot of your days are rushed. It will depend however on the time in the morning you start your days. Consider that it gets dark early in Japan and also most places close around 17:00 or so. (Specifics you can find out for each place).
If you want a full program that is fine, but be open to change it on the go if you see that you want to rest somewhere a little bit longer or explore something a bit further.

For Nara (and for Uji) my advise is to be at the opening hour at the gate of Byodoin (Uji) or the Daibutsu (Nara). Anything later will mean that the place is incredibly crowded. This means you need to get up early, but it should also mean that you can see more on that day.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 17:15
So you think Uji is doable on the same day as Nara? I am a morning person because of my work (I go to my work at 6:30am, so I wake up at 5:45), so I won't have a problem to get up quite early, so my days in Japan will start quite early in the morning, with the sunrise.
by catiasmteixeira rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 17:55
If you ask me, I need half a day for Uji and at least 2 days for Nara city plus another 2-3 days for inner Nara Prefecture.
The problem with doing Uji and Nara in one day is for me that you cannot be at the opening time in both locations. So one will be unavoidably crowded and I find crowded touristic spots loose a lot of their attractions.
by LikeBike (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 22:54
Hi!

I think a lot of people on this forum consider me a fast traveler and I think your schedule might be hard. Even if you get up early, some tourist sights don't even open until 9. I personally, would do Nara before Uji because Uji doesn't get as crowded as Nara. If you want to stop and have some tea+cakes in Uji you really are going to need 2-3 hours there and by 5-6 a lot of things will be closing down and then getting to Kobe for a late dinner? It's ~71 minutes from Uji to Sannomiya in Kobe.

I personally, think even getting up early, it might be hard to do Kurama, Kibune and Arashiyama all in one day when you're starting from Hiroshima. It's going to take you close to 1 hour just to get out to Kurama from Kyoto Station. It's going to take you close to 90 minutes or more to just get to Arashiyama from Kurama/Kibune. Unless you are just going someplace, taking 15 minutes of pictures and calling it a day, that's hard. And I am not knocking people that do that. Sometimes a sight isn't what you expected, sometimes you are traveling with someone else who is not feeling a place, and that's OK. But just be aware of transport times and decide how much money you want to spend just to see something for 20-30 minutes.

Arashiyama is not particularly rural to me. It's nice and my daughter liked seeing the monkeys but most of Arashiyama feels like stores selling kitchy stuff for tourists/shops selling kitschy food for tourists. I enjoy it, but it doesn't feel rural in the sam way Kurama and Kibune felt. Personally, if I was going to see if I could squeeze something in, I would try for a reservation for Shugakuin Imperial Villa instead, since it's much closer to Kurama and Kibune.

Good luck!
by rkold rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/23 23:04
Your itinerary (as is initially shown) sounds good, on the whole,
but not yet well organized.

For some parts of the itinerary, your timeline sounds hectic.

I recommend
you check the cancelation policy of your already-booked accommodations.
If you still can change or cancel the bookings free of fees or at a low cost,
it should be better to improve the order of your destinations.

For your Hiroshima + Miyajima trip,
I wonder why you will start not from Osaka (City) but from Mount Koya.
(Maybe it is hard to change the booking of your Mount Koya accommodation.)
It takes about 4 hours
to go by (cable car and) railway from Koyasan Station to Hiroshima Station,
which sounds time-consuming to do in the morning.

Also, in November 2018,
for you to watch the torii (gate) of Itsukushima Shrine on different backgrounds,
compared to the 11th and the 12th,
the tidal condition seems better on the 8th and the 9th.
On each of the two days there is expected a great range of tides,
a high tide in the morning and a low tide in the afternoon.

A one-day round trip from Osaka to Okayama, Kurashiki and Himeji sounds too packed.
On your way from Miyajima Island to Kyoto (City),
you can stop by or stay overnight in Kurashiki, Okayama (City), Himeji and Kobe.

head to Himeji to see the castle before it closes

Would you climb the donjon and see the interior?
Then, considering possible crowdedness,
I recommend you get to the castle in the early morning, especially on a weekend.
(The main keep was renovated in recent years until 2014.)

There are slopes on the way to the castle and some steep staircases inside the donjon.

You might hope to visit also the nearby garden.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3502.html

I bought a JR west pass (Sanyo Sanin) for this trip

Why did you choose the (7-day) Sanyo-San'in Area Pass?

The usage area of the (5-day) Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass
is enough for trips to your now-planned destinations other than Mount Koya.
https://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/ticket/pass/kansai_hiroshima/

A major difference other than the duration and the railway scope of validity is,
when your seat is reserved in a Limited Express or Sanyo Shinkansen train,
the Sanyo-San'in Area Pass covers the surcharges,
and the Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass does not cover them.

These JR-West passes are not valid on the Tokaido Shinkansen
(Shin-Osaka -- Kyoto -- Nagoya -- Shin-Yokohama -- Tokyo),
which is operated by JR-Central.
When you go with your JR-West pass
past Shin-Osaka on a Nozomi or Hikari train to Kyoto,
you have to pay the basic fare and the Shinkansen surcharge
separately for Shin-Osaka -- Kyoto.

Maybe you are aware of this, but Mount Koya is not served by JR.
(You now plan to spend some hours with your JR-West pass valid but not usable.)

can I go to Uji from Nara on my day trip?

That depends on which sites you go around.
I suppose
Byodoin Temple in Uji City
and Todaiji Temple + Kofukuji Temple + Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara City
can be visited in a one-day trip from Osaka City.
When you add a site in another area (e.g. Horyuji Temple),
it may be better to stay overnight.
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: correction and clarification 2018/9/23 23:11
The word "castle" in "on the way to the castle" should be "donjon"
: the chain of slopes is a part of the castle.
by omotenashi rate this post as useful

Re: Full Itinerary for Trip in November 2018/9/24 00:55
Thank you everyone for your opinions. In fact, I think you would be so shocked to see my old itinerary (it was sooooo packed that I had to extend my trip for more 2 days...). I want to see many places, that's why I'm rushing things, and I want to improve my itinerary (I feel that I might not go to Japan in a long while after this trip). I still don't know if I'm going to add Kobe and Uji onto my itinerary, so thank you for sharing your opinion on this. If it gets to rushed, I won't go to these two.

About the JR west pass Sanyo Sanin, I am aware of the pros and cons, but it looked like a great option to me instead of the 7 day JR Pass, which is more expensive. Besides, Sanyo Sanin allows for a Nozomi ride, which is awesome. About Mt. Koya being in the middle of the usage of Sanyo Sanin pass days, it's because hotels in Japan are expensive from Saturday to Sunday, but I found a very cheap price for a temple staying in Mt.Koya, that's why my itinerary looks like that. And it's true that from Mt.Koya to Hiroshima will be quite exausting...but I don't know how to change that, so I'll try to go quite early from Mt.Koya to Hiroshima, so that I can be there between 11 am and 12 pm.

I thought about Himeji at the end of the day trip to Okayama (since I'll be using the shinkansen line), but I never thought of the possibility of going first to Himeji, that sounds better, and if it get crowed, then I'll try to be right at the opening time.

Thank you all!!!
by catiasmteixeira rate this post as useful

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