Itinerary advise 2nd time to Japan, 3 weeks

Hi,

We are planning our 2nd trip to Japan next year from mid March.

17th March -Niseko stay for 5 nights snowboarding (No car planned so any tips on Narita Airport to Niseko?)

22nd March depart Hokkaido for Tokyo to view Cherry Blossom (is it worth staying in Hokkaido longer to visit elsewhere?)

5 nights in Tokyo, Ghibli Museum and cherry blossom viewing

27th March - we think leave Tokyo for Kiso Valley

2-3 nights in Kiso (thoughts?) mainly stopping here because we loved takayama so much

Then onto Kyoto for a further 2-3 nights, include a day trip to Osaka as we haven�ft been.

Kyoto to Naoshima art island 2 days but 1 night stay.

Then to Fuji Five lakes at the end before flying back from Tokyo.

Wondering about Hakone? Whether to visit and how it fits in where?
Not sure if we need to juggle the itinerary so appreciate any advise? Or any places we may have overlooked?
On the first trip we visited Tokyo, Nikko, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, koyasan, Kamakura, Shirakawago, takayama, Kanazawa, kamikochi...not in that order...☺

Thanks

Lisa

Hi Lisa. I really like Takayama as well (went there probably 8 years go, then 2 visits since including one a fortnight ago). I dont see Kiso valley as being as much fun as Takayama, there isnt anywhere near as much to do or see and the Tsumago - Magome walk is nice but not spectacular (though Magome itself is really pretty).

We like to spend our time in rural tourist towns - really dont like cities much at all - but the downside is that you run out of things to do. But if I was going to work my way from Tokyo to Kyoto at that time of year and not visit the places you've been before, I'd get on the Kanazawa Shinkansen and stop at Karuizawa (trendy, foodie town with some good sights and a nice bushwalk/hike), then maybe Bessho Onsen (great little onsen town a short train ride from Ueda on the same line, cheap accomodation), then maybe off to the line to Matsumoto (nice castle, worth a look), then Tsumago/Magome (fun if your expectations arent high, I'd only stay overnight), then maybe Hikone on Lake Biwa (fun town, nice castle). Really none of them would need 2 nights unless you are relaxed like me, and some would be a half day if you are a busy traveller.

Hi Lisa,

One thing to note, sometimes there are cherry blossoms in late March and sometimes there are not. They're not really something that can be predicted. In 2018, you would be pretty close to full bloom in Tokyo, but in 2017 you would have missed it by ~a week and 2016 it would have been a similar amount to more. You can go back through the cherry blossom viewing section of this website to look at when Tokyo on average is 20-30% at least in bloom. I was in Tokyo in '09 around the same time you are visiting and thought by the 25th/26th the sakura was quite attractive in Tokyo, but it really does vary by year. On the bright side, Shinjuku Gyoen has some gorgeous Momo that should be in bloom. You can also check out whether the ume is in bloom in Mito in Kairakuen.

Naoshima to Fuji-Five lakes is going to be a REALLY long day of travel. I would recommend stopping off somewhere on the way. When I was looking into visiting Naoshima this past Summer, I found the boats were not well timed for meeting the train to/from Uno. Even if you are paying out of pocket and use a Nozomi, if you were to take the 9:52 ferry from Naoshima to Uno, you would not reach Mishima to transfer to the bus to Fuji 5 Lakes until 15:18. And this assumes you are using a Nozomi from Okayama to Nagoya. If you are using a JR pass, it's going to take even longer. If you take 8:52 Ferry there are some better connections, but you still won't arrive in Mishima until 13:55 and this again assumes you can take a Nozomi from Okayama to Shin-Kobe.

If you want to go to Hakone instead, if you take that same 8:52 ferry, you won't get to Odawara until 14:35. With the 9:52 ferry that's 15:36 in Odawara. Again, you might be totally OK with wanting to spend so much time in transit, but I'd personally prefer not and it is important to think about how far you are traveling on a given day.

Like @Lazy Pious, I am very fond of Matsumoto. I think Okayama is underrated and has a beautiful garden. I also really enjoyed the one time I biked the Kibi Plain. I've only done Hikone as a day trip, but enjoyed it.

Good luck!