Input on our 2.5 week trip

Hi there! First time posting, I hope I'm doing this right! I'm planning a 2.5 week trip to Japan with my wife for late March / early April next year and I would love some input on my itinerary from some experts. We've already seen Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hiroshima and trying to keep to new places. We're quite active and don't mind traveling a lot, but even still, I think I am trying to fit too much in. We start in Okinawa and end at Tokyo. Below is the route I'm planning at the moment;

Okinawa - 2 nights
Ishigaki-jima - 2 nights
Osaka (flight from Ishigaki Jima) - 1 night
Kinosaki Onsen Town - 1 or 2 nights
Kyoto - 1 night
Kanazawa - 1 night
Takayama - 1 night
Tsumago - 1 night
Matsumoto - 1 night
Fuji 5 lakes - 1 night
Hakkone - 1 night
Tokyo - 2 nights

I have another night or two "spare", so I think I need a few "2 night" stays in the Alps part of our tour. As always, I want to get the most out of it without being totally exhausted (we're mid thirties, relatively fit). We want a mix of activities - beaches, cultural marvels, beautiful nature, hiking through mountains, true onsen and ryokan experience...

The more I look at my list the more I think I need to remove the Kinosaki / Kyoto stops in order to have some room to breathe... but I really wanted to see Kinosaki, for the onsen and the mountain sunrise experience...

I would love if anyone would be willing to share their advice :) For travel, we can both drive but we much prefer the stress free experience of public transport...

Thanks so much for reading this far!! Have a great day.

For my taste, you're going a bit fast.

I agree, given how long your transfers take-Kinosaki Onsen to Kyoto is two plus hours; Kyoto to Kanazawa is around three hours on the Thunderbird; Kanazawa to Takayama by public transport is something like three hours-you would do better to drop/change something.

If you were interested in/inclined to drive, or if you don't mind a slower pace on trains, you could consider Chugoku-Chiho, travelling from Kinosaki Onsen to Tottori, then on to Matsue and travelling to Hagi. That would hit many of your buttons, having 'beaches, cultural marvels, beautiful nature, hiking through mountains, true onsen and ryokan experience...'.

We did a fabulous trip (Matsue to Hagi) last year during late March, caught all the early cherry blossoms, and had a great time. It's a little piece of very different Japan. We left our car, and rejoined modern Japan, at Yamaguchi. mfedley, a regular commenter here, has pages all about his trips, which really inspired and assisted our plans.

Have a wonderful time!

Spending 1 night in every town means that every day you spend a solid chunk of the day checking out of a hotel, moving luggage, and checking into a hotel. You may only have half a day left in each place to actually see it.

Hi, I've not been to Okinawa but I have been to most of the others.

Kinosaki is more at sea level and isnt that interesting unless you are an onsen fanatic (and you have to use the public ones as the hotel onsens dont have real onsen water) but it is a pretty town. I'd cut it back to a night. I agree that 1 night is probably not enough for some other places given the travel times, this is what I would do


Osaka (flight from Ishigaki Jima) - 1 night
Kinosaki Onsen Town - 1 or 2 nights - 1 night
Kyoto - 1 night
Kanazawa - 1 night - 2 nights;
Takayama - 1 night - personally I would have 2 nights here, love that town;
Tsumago - 1 night - the walk is interesting but not spectacular. I wouldnt travel 5 hours out of my way to see this;
Matsumoto - 1 night - 1 night is plenty here, get to the castle early as the lines are getting longer;
Fuji 5 lakes - 1 night - if you want to cut something out, I'd drop this. Overpriced and overrated IMO but the Fuji views are magnificent;
Hakkone - 1 night - for a spectacular experience check out Fukumuziro ryokan, just magic;
Tokyo - 2 nights

It is barnstorming a bit, but if you are OK with the brisk pace, it is doable and you have a good list of very fine places on your schedule. As far as hotels go, it is not in the least bit an issue for me - you can check in and out at a hotel in 3-5 minutes and dragging your bags is the only hassle - but you could use a luggage forwarding service (takuhaibin) if you want for things you don't need til later on, if you wish.
One thing that stands out a bit is you are zig-zagging, going from Osaka to Kinosaki, then back to Kyoto, and then off to Kanazawa. Plus if you want to add a day, it would fit in nicely. You could order it Osaka to Kyoto, then to Kinosaki, and add a day for the region if you like (such as Amanohashidate, Fukui, etc) before going to Kanazawa.
Another option is a day or half day to see Himeji. The castle and Kokoen Garden are very impressive.
https://goo.gl/65ZtRi
And if you make it a half day, you can also take half a day and see Kobe.
You also have the option of going to Shirakawago between Kanazawa and Takayama. It only takes a few hours to see.
https://goo.gl/WKGLMN

It is a day spot in the tokyo metropolitan area of Japan
If you are interested, please go

https://www.youtube.com/user/mightywigs