Itinerary Japanese Alps/Nikko/Yaeyama

Hello everyone,

I recently booked flights for my fourth trip to Japan in May/June 2019 and started to figure out the itinerary. I want to spend the first half in the Japanese Alps, Nikko, and Tokyo; and the second half on the Yaeyama islands. I was thinking of buying the JR East Niigata-Nagano Pass and using the
ANA Experience Japan Fare for the flights.

I would highly appreciate your opinions on my first draft of the itinerary. Also, I already have some question (please find them below the itinerary) 😊

Sat, 18 May: Arrival at NRT (2:30 PM) and transfer to Tokyo
O/N Tokyo

Sun, 19 May: Half a day Sanja matsuri and the other half is not planned yet
O/N Tokyo

Mon, 20 May: Heading to Takayma with a stop in Matsumoto to see the castle
O/N Takayama

Tue, 21 May: Takayama and the Hida folk village before heading to Okuhida in the late afternoon O/N Okuhida (ryokan)

Wed, 22 May: Daytrip to Kamikochi (see my question below as well)
O/N Okuhida (ryokan)

Thu, 23 May: Heading to Nagano in the morning; visiting Jigokudani and Zenkoji temple
O/N Nagano

Fri, 24 May: Train ride to Nikko in the morning (via Omiya and Utsunomiya); visiting the temple area in the afternoon
O/N Nikko

Sat, 25 May: Spending the day at Lake Chuzenji/Kegon falls/…
O/N Nikko or Tokyo (please see my question below)

Sun, 26 May: Spending the day in Tokyo (nothing planned yet)
O/N Tokyo

Mon, 27 May: Spending the day in Tokyo; visiting the Digital Art Museum/teamLab Borderless in Odaiba; shopping some souvenirs
O/N Tokyo

Tue, 28 May: Flight from Haneda to Ishigaki (11:30 AM - 2:35 PM), exploring Ishigaki town after check-in
O/N Ishigaki

Wed, 29 May: Day trip to Iriomote (canoe tour, hiking)
O/N Ishigaki

Thu, 30 May: Diving
O/N Ishigaki

Fri, 31 May: Day trip to Taketomi (please see my question below as well)
O/N Ishigaki

Sat, 1 June: Exploring Ishigaki Island by rental car
O/N Ishigaki

Sun, 2 June: Afternoon flight from Ishigaki to Haneda (3:30 PM - 6:15 PM), then transfer to Narita
O/N Narita or Narita airport (unfortunately I do not have time to see Narita city ☹)

Mon, 3 June: Flight back home (11:00 AM)

Here are some questions I already have:

Sanja matsuri: I planned to attend the festival for half a day. Would you recommend the morning or afternoon/evening?

Okuhida/Kamikochi: Do you think it is feasible to use the Shinhotaka ropeway and hike from the observatory via Nishiho down to Kamikochi valley? Or are the mountain tops still covered with snow and would it be too dangerous? If it is feasible: how long is the path and how much time should I plan for it? I have read various reports stating 2-2.5 hours up to 4 hours… Or would you recommend just visiting Kamikochi without going to the ropeway before?

Nikko: Would you stay two nights in Nikko or rather head back to Tokyo at the end of the second day (Sat, 25 May)?

Yaeyama: I assume spending a whole day on Taketomi is too much? So I was thinking of either spending the second half of the day on Ishigaki (i.e. I will spend two half days and one full day on the main island) or spending the second half of the day on another island, for instance Kuroshima or Kohamajima. What do you think? Is 2 days on Ishigaki too much?

Hopefully you can help to improve my itinerary or answer some of the questions.

Many thanks in advance!!!
Andre

Hi. I dont know some of the places on your list but I can give a little feedback.

We were in Kamikouchi in May a couple of years back and there was still snow about at the peaks, in fact people were still going up to ski which was pretty odd to see when the valley floor only had a few banks of dirty snow left here and there. We stayed at Onsen Hotel which was so good we are going back at the end of October. Kamikouchi isnt particularly historical, but it is nice for bushwalks and there is some good eating there. It is best very early before the buses arrive or late after they have gone, that is when the monkeys are most active and they are a lot of fun to watch (I wasnt a fan of them until I stayed there).

For Nikko personally I would stay there the second night as it is fun waking up there, but everything shuts in town pretty early which limits eating choice, I'd stay in a ryokan (bear in mind it was several years ago I was there, things might have changed). We stayed at Hotel Kanaya there which is a very nice classic hotel. I'd go back.