Would you please critique this itinerary?

Hello, all! Once again I turn to you for some itinerary advice. Of all the trips I�fve planned, this has proven my most challenging, so I would HIGHLY value your input. A little about us and our interests: we are a family of 4 (my husband and I and our two daughters, ages 16 and 18.) We are interested in history, culture, food, and a little nature mixed in. This trip is our oldest daughter�fs high school graduation gift (and her dream trip). We�fre adventurous and travel light, so we don�ft mind a fast-paced itinerary.

Here�fs the rough draft of our itinerary:

6/22- Arrive Kansai airport - overnight Osaka
6/23 Osaka
6/24 Osaka > Himeji > Kyoto
6/25-27 Kyoto with day trip to Nara
6/28 Kyoto > Kanazawa
6/29 Kanazawa
6/30 Kanazawa > Shirakawa-go > Takayama
7/1 Takayama
7/2 Takayama > Kamikochi (overnight or overnight in Matsumoto or Nagano???)
7/3 Matsumoto or Nagano
7/4 and 7/5 - the hole in our itinerary. My daughter wants to go to Kawaguchiko for Mount Fuji, but not sure if it�fs better to go from Matsumoto or Nagano- (evening train to Tokyo on 7/5)
7/6-7/9 Tokyo with day trip to Nikko
7/10 Fly to US from Narita

Whew! I�fm tired just writing it all down. We will be purchasing the JR Rail Pass, but not sure for how many days we should purchase it.

Thank you again....so much!

Overall your itinerary looks pretty standard.

Here some points:
- what does your daughter want to do with mt. Fuji? See it? Climb it? As it is her graduation trip it would sound reasonable to make her wish true.
-Osaka and Kyoto. Many people here will say, me included, to take only 1 hotel in either Kyoto or Osaka for the entire duration of your stay in the region and do daytrips. Osaka-Kyoto is about 30 min by train. This gives you added flexibility for your daytrips and less hotel change
- JR pass: I am not an expert on this. Never used one. But have a look at the Hokuriku arch pass. It�fs more specific for your itinerary I think. Or potentially even buying single tickets might be good. Just do some calculations on your JR train rides vs the many (!!) different passes that exist.
-June/July in Japan can be hot and humid. Just be aware of that. If such weather is a red flag for you, then reconsider.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

I agree with PP, pick one of Osaka and Kyoto and stay there. I'd pick Kyoto, because you've got some time in Tokyo ahead, and Osaka is another big city anyway.

Note-and you may already realise this-Himeji is south (or the locals would say west) of Osaka, so you don't travel via Kyoto to get there. We took a branded Shinkansen from Shin Osaka when we went (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and the branding at the moment is Hello Kitty.

I really like Matsumoto-it's a sweet little town, the castle is amazing and we enjoyed the wasabi farm which is a train ride away. The mountains are beautiful. Might be a bit slow paced for your daughters but should be a lot cooler than the cities.

Congratulations on the upcoming graduation, and have a wonderful time in Japan!

The chances of seeing Mt Fuji greatly depend on the season so you should take into consideration Mt Fuji's visibility when considering visiting Lake Kawaguchiko in July:
https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-fuji_mountain/in-mount_fuji/...

And, Mt Fuji will be a very dark volcano with no iconic Winter snow-cap.

I don think you need a rail pass. Non jr buses used from Kanazawa to Matsumoto. No shinkansen travels. Just a few limited expresses.

Gotta agree that a full JR pass is a waste of money.

This pass might be useful: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_kansai_hokuriku.html

Use this site to work out costs for train tickets: http://www.hyperdia.com/

It's possible to hike Mt Fuji at this time I think, but it is meant to be challenging so just giving you the heads up.

Do you mind asking what specifically does your daughter like about Japan? This can help us suggest things which will tailor things. It might be something anime related (or even a specific anime). the reason I ask is that some people actually visit the sites of anime locations in real life - is this why she wants to visit Kawaguchiko?