November three week Itinerary help

Hello, I am travelling to Japan on November 8, through to December 1, flying into Tokyo. I will be travelling by myself.

I have gone to Japan once before but did it fairly cheap and missed out on a lot of experiences, especially good quality food. I also want to take advantage of the Fall colours while I am there.

I am interested in Food, Breweries, History, Temples, Onsens, and nature. Not too interested in Shopping or Anime/games.

Since I have been once before I am not going to a few places, like Hiroshima or Miyajima, although going back to most places since there is so much to do and I can do them better this time.

Want any further suggestions, edits, or feedback you may have. I am simultaneously worried I am travelling too much and not enough.

Without further adieu, here is my itinerary so far:

| 8/11/19 | Arrive Tokyo 5am. Drinking at Shinjuku |
|---------- |----------------------------------------------------------- |
| 9/11/19 | Explore Tokyo. |
| 10/11/19 | Kamakura Day Trip |
| 11/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Lake Kawaguchiko |
| 12/11/19 | Travel to Tokyo Afternoon |
| 13/11/19 | Explore Tokyo. Yokohoma, Cup of Noodles, and Ramen museum |
| 14/11/19 | Nikko Day trip |
| 15/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 16/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kusatsu Onsen Town |
| 17/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kanazawa |
| 18/11/19 | Travel to Kyoto |
| 19/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 20/11/19 | Nara Day Trip |
| 21/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Mt Koya |
| 22/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 23/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kinosaki |
| 24/11/19 | Travel to Kyoto Afternoon |
| 25/11/19 | Travel to Himeji Half Day, then to Osaka |
| 26/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Osaka |
| 27/11/19 | Osaka |
| 28/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Ito |
| 29/11/19 | Ito |
| 30/11/19 | Travel to Tokyo Afternoon, Fly home 10pm |

Looks pretty good. You will probably be too late for autumn colours at Lake Kawaguchiko (which I thought was overpriced and overrated really) but if you could squeeze Takayama in they should be close to peak or just a bit past by then.

I'd stay overnight at Nara which is really pretty that time of year, it is very nice out and about first thing in the morning because the buses arrive.

Think of Karuizawa for an overnight stay before or after Kusatsu Onsen. Karuizawa is a very nice town with great food and some good hiking/walks (including part of the Nakasendo way), it is convenient as a launch pad for Kusatsu as there are heaps of buses that go from there.

IMHO you are changing accommodation way too often and unnecessarily. Eg with you trip to Koyasan or to Kawaguchiko. Do these trips at the end of staying in a region and then travel onwards from there.
Eg you could do Kyoto - Koyasan- Osaka or even just Kyoto -Koyasan and then get onwards. Osaka- Kyoto is a very easy daytrip and don�ft warrant a new hotel.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Hello all, I have tried to incorporate your helpful advice as follows, how does this look?

| 8/11/19 | Arrive Tokyo 5am. Drinking at Shinjuku |
|---------- |------------------------------------------ |
| 9/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 10/11/19 | Kamakura Day Trip |
| 11/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 12/11/19 | Nikko Day trip |
| 13/11/19 | Toyko |
| 14/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 15/11/19 | Travel to and Stay at Karuizawa |
| 16/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kusatsu Onsen Town |
| 17/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kanazawa |
| 18/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Takayama |
| 19/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Nara |
| 20/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kyoto |
| 21/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 22/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Mt Koya |
| 23/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 24/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 25/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kinosaki |
| 26/11/19 | Travel to Himeji Half Day, then to Osaka |
| 27/11/19 | Osaka |
| 28/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Ito |
| 29/11/19 | Ito |
| 30/11/19 | Travel to Tokyo Afternoon, Fly home 10pm |

I personally still think you are changing hotel way too often. But obviously it could be that you have specific reasons why a certain night you want to be in a specific place and maybe you travel super light and don�ft mind to have most of the days your luggage with you. (Yes, you can use lockers at stations or baggage forwarding services, but it is still a hassle. You need to go back to the locker and pick things up, you need to find a free one, ...)

My proposal would be:

15/11/19 | Travel to and Stay at Karuizawa |
| 16/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kusatsu Onsen Town |
| 17/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kanazawa |
| 18/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Takayama |

If at all possible I would add here a day to Kanazawa. So that you have sufficient time to enjoy, Kusatsu onsen, Kanazawa and Takayama. In this part of your itinerary frequent hotel changes are kind of unavoidable. If possible I would travel light and fwd the bigger luggage directly to Kyoto.


| 19/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Nara |
| 20/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kyoto |
| 21/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 22/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Mt Koya |
| 23/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 24/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 25/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kinosaki |
| 26/11/19 | Travel to Himeji Half Day, then to Osaka |
| 27/11/19 | Osaka |
While I personally very much like Nara and have stayed there already probably about 3or 4 nights in total (and have also stayed already about an accumulated week in Yamatoyagi) in your itinerary staying a night in Nara seems to add only unnecessary hotel change. Unless you have a specific reason you want to sleep one night in Nara I�fd just do it as a daytrip from Kyoto.
I would also do Osaka as a daytrip from Kyoto and potentially even Himeiji. However the Koyasan-Himeiji-Kinosaki onsen-Ito part of your trip has me scratching a bit my head. What I would propose:
Kyoto to Koyasan on your past day in Kyoto. Stay in Koyasan.
Next day Koyasan to Himeiji (about 3h). I would probably depart from Koyasan only in the afternoon so arrive in afternoon early evening in Himeiji. Reason: there are a lot of things to see in Koyasan and you took the complicated trip to get there. Then stay in Himeiji be at the opening hour next morning at the castle and then proceed to Kinosaki onsen.

After relaxing in Kinosaki onsen I would do a long day in the train an led ride directly to Iti. Yes it will take you something like 6h, but Kinosaki onsen is simply quite far away. And at least that way you are done with it and back in Kanto area.

Ie my proposal would have you stay at Kyoto-Koyasan-Himeiji-Kinosaki-Ito as opposed to Nara-Kyoto-Koyasan-Kyoto-Kinosaki-Osaka-Ito (2 hotels less visiting the same places)

You are still going to change hotel a lot during your trip as you go to do many different destinations. But that�fs kind of unavoidable.

Thank you very much LikeBike, I have taken what you said into consideration. I have removed Kinosaki as it seems quite separated from everything else, and instead added a farmhouse stay at Shirikawa-go. I also changed Nara to a day trip along with Osaka.

It seems to flow a bit better now, but I will post a final time for your suggestions and anyone else if they have some.

| 8/11/19 | Arrive Tokyo 5am. Drinking at Shinjuku |
|---------- |------------------------------------------ |
| 9/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 10/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 11/11/19 | Kamakura Day Trip |
| 12/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 13/11/19 | Nikko Day trip |
| 14/11/19 | Tokyo |
| 15/11/19 | Toyko |
| 16/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kusatsu |
| 17/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kanazawa |
| 18/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Shirkikawa-go |
| 19/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Takayama |
| 20/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Kyoto |
| 21/11/19 | Nara Day Trip |
| 22/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 23/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Mt Koya |
| 24/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 25/11/19 | Osaka Day Trip |
| 26/11/19 | Himeji Day Trip or Osaka again |
| 27/11/19 | Kyoto |
| 28/11/19 | Travel to and stay at Ito |
| 29/11/19 | Ito |
| 30/11/19 | Travel to Tokyo Afternoon, Fly home 10pm |

Glad to see Ito on your list. I spent a week on the Izu Peninsula last month. A haven for nature lovers. I travelled down the coast from Ito to South West Izu. It was a good break from the crowds in the larger cities.

I did some hiking on my own but I also did two guided hikes with an English-speaking guide. I'd say they were the highlight of my trip. He knew all the local hiking trails, cool temples and where the best onsen are. I can give you their details if you're interested.

Kyoto in the fall is absolutely stunning too. If you like, maybe rent a bicycle on some of the days you're in Japan - it's a fun way to explore a city/town.

Have a good trip!