Is this too much?

Late March -Early April
First time in Japan. Solo Traveller.

DAY 1- Tokyo

Afternoon

Sakuragaoka Cho street
Gyoen Park
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Shibuya Crossing
Memory Lane
Golden Gai



Day 2- Tokyo

Tsukiji Market
Hibiya Park
Imperial Palace Gardens
Yoyogi Park
Meiji Shrine
Ghibli Museum
Takeshita street
Omotsendo Plaza
Roppongi Hills
Mori Garden
Ginza


Day 3- Tokyo

Sumo Training
Sensoji
Nakamise Street
Tokyo National Museum
Ueno Park
Zoo
Bentendo Temple

Odaiba
Akhihabara

Day 4- Tokyo

Disney Sea

Day 5-
Daytrip to Nikko


Day 6- Travel to Kyoto


Nishiki Market
Manga Museum
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Gion
Maruyama -koen park

Day 7- Kyoto

Arashiyama
Kinkaku-ji
Daitoku-ji
Southern Higashiyama


Day-8 Kyoto

Northern Higashiyama
Kyoto Gyoen
Travel to Nara




Day 10-
Nara
Travel to Koyasan


Day 11-

Koyasan
Travel to Osaka

Day 12- Osaka

Osaka Castle
Himeji Castle Daytrip

Day 13- Travel to Kanazawa
Kenroku-en
Shirakawa

Day 14- Travel to Takayama
Matsumoto


Day 15- Travel to Kawaguchiko- Hakone
Stay in Hakone Ryokan

Day 16- Travel back to Tokyo and fly home

Almost all the days are unrealistic. Some have 3 days of sights pushed into 1 day.

Your Tokyo days are very crowded and poorly planned - you haven't grouped the sights into similar areas and so will be criss-crossing the city and wasting a lot of money and time in transport.

Matsumoto is not in Takayama. They are separate cities and are several hours apart.

Some of these days are more like a week. I understand the urge to make the most of a trip and see as much as possible, but you also need time to *enjoy* it.

Yeah really you'd need to be the engergizer bunny with a transporter from star trek to get all that in. I almost lost my breath just reading it. I dont think you need a day for Disney Sea though, once you've been there and looked at how long the lines are for the rides, really you'd probably have had enough after 3 hours or so.

Also things like Fushimi Inari - so crowded now that it is a low value experience, and it could take two hours to get through even if you were sprinting. Why not let us know what you really want to see and what your interests are. Eg if you are going to Matsumoto for the castle, instead you could go from Kyoto to Hikone which has a nice castle then on to Kanazawa, and it would pretty much be on your way.

I like a lot of your trip after Tokyo, but I'd skip Osaka altogether unless there is something you really want to see there.

Wow, those Tokyo days are insane.

And are you really planning to head to Kanazawa, go to Kenrokuen, then to Shirakawago in the same day?

I get that you have a big wishlist, but you need a complete overhaul because this is just not viable.

Op here.

Yes, I'm in the preliminary stages of planning and trying to map out the areas. I haven't given a lot of thought to travel times etc. I'd be completely willing to drop a few places or add a few days or both. I also like the idea of having 1-2 set things to do per day and going with the flow the rest of the time.

1. How long before should the bookings be done if I want to visit during cherry blossom season next year?

2. Is the Takayama- Kanazawa etc doable by public transport? Should i be giving two nights to each?

Op here.

Yes, I'm in the preliminary stages of planning and trying to map out the areas. I haven't given a lot of thought to travel times etc. I'd be completely willing to drop a few places or add a few days or both. I also like the idea of having 1-2 set things to do per day and going with the flow the rest of the time.

1. How long before should the bookings be done if I want to visit during cherry blossom season next year?

2. Is the Takayama- Kanazawa etc doable by public transport? Should i be giving two nights to each?

Takayama/Kanazawa is doable by public transport. See the transport section or google maps/ hyperdia.

2 days of each would be for medium to slow travelers. So in my eyes perfect but you seem to have beaming powers looking at your Tokyo days.

If you want to really see all you have listed in Tokyo you could probably just di Tokyo and Kyoto in the time you have. Also not all those sights in Tokyo imho are must-sees. You could safely skip a few gardens unless you have a special interest for them.

Enjoy planning your trip to Japan!

You just need to keep in mind that everything will probably take longer than expected to get to, and eating will also suck up much more time than you think. There will be things that you stop and see on the way to some place.

- If you're only going to Osaka to visit the castle, I'd skip the city all together. More so because you'll visit the superior Himeji castle on the same day. Only go there if you're also interested in other stuff like Dotonbori, Shinsekai, Denden, Minoo, Expo Park, Umeda Sky Building, Sumiyoshi Taisha, etc. I generally think Osaka is a very underrated city (on this website especially), but its castle is overrated.

- Higashiyama doesn't take two days, don't do that. Also Kyoto is a public transport mess so be real careful in planning what to visit on which day.