Help with itinerary

Hi everyone, need some advice for my itinerary for my upcoming trip from 15 to 25 Oct.

Will be arriving and departing from Narita Airport.

Day 1 Tokyo

Day 2 Tokyo

Day 3 Kyoto

Fushimi Inari Taisha

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Kinkakuji

Day 4 Kyoto

Day trip to Nara

Day 5 Kanazawa

Kenrokuen

Omicho Market

Kanazawa Castle

Higashi Chaya District

Day 6 Kanazawa -> Shirakawago -> Takayama

Day 7 Takayama

Day trip to Kamikochi

Day 8 Toyama

Day trip to Kurobe Gorge

Day 9 Toyama -> Dentetsu Toyama -> Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route -> Ogizawa -> Matsumoto

Day 10 Tokyo and Depart

Is the above itinerary feasible? Any suggestions?
What train passes should I be getting?
Thanks.

Hi!

Honestly, I think you are going to have a very hard time leaving Takayama in the morning and getting to Toyama with enough time to do the Kurobe Gorge. You're not even going to get to Toyama until 12:30 pm and then you still need to take the train to the gorge before you can even visit the gorge. Since it is a gorge the sun will set earlier.

I also feel like you are traveling all the way to Takayama and then aren't really going to spend that much time there since your only time in Takayama itself is on arrival from Shirakawa Go. Heck, I'm not even the biggest Takayama fan and I think that is a bit limited particularly considering all the travel.

Also unless you have a late flight on Day 10, you're not going to see any of Matsumoto. It's a good 3 hours from Tokyo by Limited Express and you will be arriving awful late from the Alpine Route. You might either want to continue onwards to Tokyo on Day 9 and arrive late in the evening or overnight in Nagano, since I believe Nagano has direct buses from Ogizawa and is a much shorter trip back to Tokyo. The Zenkoji opens relatively early so you could visit before catching a train back to Tokyo.

Good luck

Hi rkold,

Appreciate your feedback.
I have decided against taking the Alpine route due to the long travel durations.
Hope you and others in the forum can share some advice on my modified itinerary.
Suggestions for things to do in Tokyo on days 2 and 11 and luggage forwarding are also greatly appreciated.

Day 1 (15 Oct)
Tokyo

Arrive at Narita Airport at 220pm
Narita Express to Shinjuku Station
Explore Shinjuku Area
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building North Observation Deck for night view

Overnight at Shinjuku

Day 2 (16 Oct)
Tokyo

Overnight at Shinjuku

Day 3 (17 Oct)
Matsumoto

Take JR Limited Express Azusa 5 from Shinjuku to Matsumoto
Matsumoto Castle
Nawate Street (Dori)
Daio Wasabi Farm (If time permits)

Day 4 (18 Oct)
Matsumoto -> Kamikochi -> Takayama
Take 800am train from Matsumoto to Kamikochi Bus Terminal
Overnight at Hirayu Onsen

Day 5 (19 Oct)
Hirayu Onsen -> Shin Hotaka Ropeway -> Takayama
Sanmachi Suji
Overnight at Takayama

Day 6 (20 Oct)
Takayama -> Shirakawago /Suganuma/Ainokura ->Takaoka Station -> Toyama
Overnight at Toyama

Day 7 (21 Oct)
Toyama -> Kurobe Gorge Railway -> Kanazawa
Overnight at Kanazawa







Day 8 (22 Oct)
Kanazawa

Omicho Market
Kenrokuen
Kanazawa Castle
Higashi Chaya District

Overnight at Kyoto

Day 9 (23 Oct)
Nara

Overnight at Kyoto

Day 10 (24 Oct)
Kyoto

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
Kinkakuji
Fushimi Inari Taisha

Take 732pm Shinkansen Hikari to Tokyo

Overnight near Tokyo station

Day 11 (25 Oct)
Tokyo

Take Narita Express from Tokyo Station to Narita Airport
Check in at Narita Airport at 310pm
Depart Narita Airport at 610pm