21 days trip across Japan

Hello,

I'm preparing for a 21days trip across Japan for my honeymoon. Trip shall range from 8th of november to 1st december roughly in order to reach koyo in multiple areas along the trip. Could you give me your thoughts on the itinerary, time allocated for each place and koyo peaks?

Main goals and expectations are temples, shrines, onsens, and strolling through old towns.

-> Day 1 Tokyo (Not the goal of the trip so one day only)
-> Day 2 Nikko (Ideally with some lake and waterfall sightseeing although it might be short in time)
-> Day 3/4 Hakone (Including half a day reserved to onsen relaxation, hoping for peak koyo 12-13th nov)
-> Day 5 Tsumago-Magome
-> Day 6 Half-day Matsumoto (Castle mainly), Half day Hirayu Onsen (Relaxation)
-> Day 7/8 Takayama (Including 8th afternoon at Shirakawago)
-> Day 9/10 Kanazawa (Maybe to early for koyo on 17-18th nov?)
-> Day 11 Half-day Hiroshima (Quick sightseeing), Half-day Miyajima (Hoping for peak koyo 20th nov)
-> Day 12 Half day Miyajima, Half day Himeji (Castle only)
-> Day 13 Nara (Hoping for peak koyo 22nd nov)
-> Day 14/15/16/17/18 Kyoto (Hoping for peak koyo from 23rd to 27th nov)
-> Day 19 Koyasan
-> Day 20 Half day Kamakura (Hoping for peak koyo 29th nov), Half-day Enoshima
-> Day 21 Tokyo (Hoping for peak koyo 30th nov)

Travels would be done with JR-Pass. Assuming night is already here by 4:30pm in november, I intend to use the evenings (>5:30pm) mostly for trains travels between one place to another and save daytime. This might lead me to late checkin at hotel/ryokan (21h-22h) which I hope is acceptable if the hotel is informed before hand. Traveling with only backpacks I also hope of being able to let the bag to the hotel in the morning and getting it back in the evening on the way to the station to get the next train.

Thank you in advance for your advices!

NB: Also If I had one more day, what would you add or where would you spend more time?

Corrado

Day 5: I would recommend doing Magome-Tsumago instead, as there is less uphill. I would also recommend starting from a closer point than Hakone to travel to the area, as getting there in the first place will take a lot of time. I did Magome-Tsumago starting from Nagoya last July. Don't underestimate the walk, and also try to leave yourself plenty of time to admire the post town after the walk.
I would also highly recommend staying in Tsumago overnight. I stayed at Fujioto Inn and it was the highlight of my trip. A little expensive, but as a full service ryokan I can't complain! The food was amazing.

Day 6: Make sure you are aware of the train timetable to get to Matsumoto if you plan to go there from Magome or Tsumago. The trains aren't very frequent!

Days 11 and 12: Both Miyajima and Hiroshima deserve a day each. Again, don't underestimate the amount of time it will take to travel to Hiroshima; it will take quite a while from Kanazawa! As such, you'll have almost no time for Hiroshima.

Day 13: I would do Nara as a day trip from Kyoto (very easy), rather than staying there separately.

Day 20: Again, I think you've underestimated travel time. Getting from Koyasan to Kamakura is going to take a LONG time! Kamakura can easily take a day in itself, as well.

Ryokans normally do not like people checking in after 5pm, because they usually serve dinner around 6/7. There are a lot of ryokans (especially in smaller areas such as Magome/Tsumago) who will not accept your booking if you do not arrive by 5pm. You will need to research each accommodation to ensure they meet your needs.

I would rethink how quickly you are moving around, and do some thorough research into train times and schedules (you can use the website Hyperdia), because right now your itinerary looks very rushed in some places. Some great ideas, but without proper research you'll find yourself arriving in places with only a small amount of time before you have to leave.

-> Day 5 Tsumago-Magome
-> Day 6 Half-day Matsumoto (Castle mainly), Half day Hirayu Onsen (Relaxation)

These two could be done on your way back to Tokyo near the end of your trip.

Hakone to Tsumago-Magome probably requires a trans through Nagoya. They you follow it by Matsumoto and Takayama.

Where you can go Hakone, Takayama Kanazawa at the start, and Tsumago-Magome, MAtsumoto, Tokyo at the end.

Agree with PPs. The plan seems to be a bit rushed. Try to plan it out in more detail with transit times and where you’ll stay each night.

Regarding luggage, yes you can normally leave it at your hotel/Ryokan and pick it up later. Also if you don’t want to go back to your accommodation you could 1) use luggage forwarding services from time to time and travel with a night bag only 2) leave it at a locker eg at the station if that’s more convenient for pickup.

Enjoy your honeymoon in Japan!

I don't know your interest on shrines, but Kamakura took me an entire day and it was worth! One of my best memories in Japan. Then, if you just want to see the great buddha, you won't need more than couple of hours..

I also agree with changing from Magome to Tsumago.

Pay really attention to train times and seat reservations, because it can be a bit confusing once you'll be there, I know everything seems so simple from behind the laptop.

Happy trip!

Looks like a great trip.

Consider stopping over at Uji on the same day of your Nara day trip.

Byodo-in and the museum next to it are definitely worthwhile. It is the temple on the 5y coin. And you can score some good tea on the short walk from the station.

Hello,

Thank you a lot for all your advices!

You are right about the planning being quite packed. I have a full Excel file full of hyperdia trains schedule, koyo dates, closest hotels, even google map on foot expected time travel from main points to others, etc... but I can't post it here :).

I've been thinking about it for quite a while and kept turning it over and over in my head. I'm quite sure of the place I want to visit, very less of how, to get the koyo peaks in most places (based on japan guide mean dates of 6 last years ) while having enough time everywhere and taking a simple and short itinerary. That is quite a headache!

For day 5, you are definitely right for doing it the reverse way (Magome to tsumago). I just wrote it in any order. For exemple, a typical train trip to get from Hakone to Magome, would have been to get some 16:36 like Odawara train at nightfall and reach at 20:11 like Nakatsugawa, then take the 30min bus to magome. Leading to roughly 21h-21h30 arrival at the hotel/ryokan worst case. I was counting on late arrival being acceptable if it could be arranged with the owner. It would have been perfect to start freshly in the morning the next day and have the full daytime to move around. I'm afraid travelling in the mornings with around 3 hours of transportation for each destination might eat away most mornings leaving only 3 to 4 afternoon hours before the sun comes down. Or maybe it is worth while to travel early in the morning (5-6am) but it feels quite unhoneymoonly to wake up a day out of 2 at 4:30 am to catch a train… Although this would have been ok when solo globe-trotting.

For Day 11 and 12 Miyajima will have two half days, main goal being to have one night there with some fancy hotel :). I'm aiming to have at least one or two fancy hotels during the trip (with rotenburo/kaiseki for instance) and am still looking for the right spots. So far I'm planning on Miyajima and Hakone. Other hotels will be more practical and cheap (Close to stations). Please change my mind if you have better ideas!

Regarding Hiroshima, I just expect to see the memorial ground which feels particularly important to me and is the only real reason for my stop in this town. At the beginning I wasn't planning on stopping there. Is it worth staying more? I'm looking for the traditional/authentic and relaxing side of japan and trying to avoid big cities at all costs (except Kyoto), so no Tokyo, no Kobe, no Osaka etc... The Kanazawa-Hiroshima direct trip without stopping at Kyoto is intended to keep Kyoto for the end of the trip with what I expect are the best koyo chances. (23rd-27th nov). Same for Hakone to Tsumago, I intended to take a train at Kanazawa at 16h55 to 21h07 like and get a hotel right next to the station in Hiroshima.

Regarding Nara, I'll definitely take your advice into account. Day trip from Kyoto it is!

Regarding Koyasan to Kamakura, I'm completely unsure of how to get it right. I would have gladly made it a one day trip from Kyoto, but like most I guess, I'm interested in a night on the mountain and to take opportunity of the next morning for some good shots and the pleasant atmosphere alone. (I'm hesitating doing the same thing in Shirakawa-go) I could place Magome-Tsumago at the end of the trip as you advised with a Koyasan-> Nagoya (night) - Nagoya -> Tsumago/Magome and then continue towards Kamakura. This would however shift Kyoto stay to 22nd to 26th november that could be early for koyo depending on the years?

Regarding Kamakura, I would gladly add a full day, but I heard Enoshima is very nice to visit. I might reduce last Tokyo day by half if required.

I'll continue fine-tuning everthing with your advices. I'm quite tied and bound by the number of place I want to visit and the koyo peaks, so either I supress some of them for the good cause, or I'll have to case by case check with hotels for which late arrival is acceptable. (I absolutely do not want to be a burden). I'll only reserve ryokans in places I can get early.

Thank you again for your advices, I'll look into each and every place you give me like a sponge :)!

Corrado