Itinerary advice Japan June 2020

Hi There!

We're planning a 15-day trip to Japan, which will mainly consist of traveling through different regions. We know that it'll be a busy trip, but we're curious about seeing new cities and places, so please take a look at our planned route at the moment.

We're planning to go mid June (Rainy season yes, but we don't mind about that).
So the plan was to make use of the JRP for 14 days, because I think we're a little short in time when doing 7 days Pass.

Please feel free to comment, also if you think that some destinations should be swapped or left alone.

Ariving at Narita or Haneda
Day 1 - 4 > Tokyo
Day 5 Nikko
Day 6 Hakone
Day 7 Kawaguchiko Lake near Mt Fuji
Day 8 - 9 Kyoto
Day 10 - 12 Osaka (1 day Universal Studio's)
Day 13 Hiroshima
Day 14 Takayama
Day 15 Tokyo
Day 16 Going to the airport (Narita or Haneda)

So I'm sure this trip would have plenty of pace and some travelling time in it, but I'm not too sure if it's not too much. As said before, we're not too sure if we should swap some destinations, or maybe don't do certain stuff.

For example, Takayama is quite a trip back from Hiroshima and Kawaguchiko seems like a few hours from Hakone as well.

Nikko, Kawaguchiko and Hakone can all be done as day trips from Tokyo, rather than overnight stays. This would allow you to shorten the time needed on the rail pass - you could to Tokyo > Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka) > Hiroshima > Tokyo within 7 days.

Takayama is a bit far from the other destinations on your list, so I would advise skipping it. I'd also advise choosing either Hakone or Kawaguchiko, but not both. You could also add an extra day to Hiroshima to visit Miyajima.

That's exactly the kind of tips I was looking for, great! I've got some comments though.

We would like to stay in at least Hakone or Nikko, maybe both. What would be your best suggestions? Is the Kawaguchiko trip doable in a day trip from Hakone? I think it's a busride (almost 3 hours).

Also we calculated with our trip, we'd need the 14 days pass, but I'm concerned about needing to cramp the trip into a 7 day pass. Aren't the day trips to Nikko / Hakone also included in a JRP?

I had my doubts about Takayama, so I guess we could do that in another trip in the future! We might go back to Tokyo and then add another day trip, or see a spot which lies on the route Hiroshima - Tokyo. Still open to all kind of suggestions there (we're into some nature surroundings) :).

The Tokyo day trips could be covered by the JRP (but not the full route to Hakone, as JR rail doesn't get you all the way there), but a 7-day JR Pass would be cheaper, and you could get other passes to cover the day trips (look at the rail pass section of this website; several 1-3 day passes for places like Nikko). The combination of a 7-day JR Pass and one or two regional passes for the day trips will likely be cheaper than one 14-day JR Pass.

If you activate the JR Pass the day you leave Tokyo, 5 days in Kansai and 1-2 days in Hiroshima is easily covered. While a 14-day JR Pass does pay off across your itinerary, it doesn't make it the most cost-effective choice.

It isnt the rain I'd be worried about, it is the heat. In fact if it is rainy it might make for a break from the heat.

If you are OK with high temps (30 celsius or so) then your plans are fine. If not, some of your places (Kyoto especially which gets very sweltery, and Tokyo) should be swapped for cooler areas, eg Kamakura/Enoshima for history, maybe Karuizawa, Nikko. Hakone is pretty cool in June (in my experience)

These are some really good tips, thanks!

We will consider taking the 7-day pass and taking seperate regional passes.

As for the heat, 30' is kinda hot, but we don't have any other choice, since it's going to be a honeymoon trip. We'll manage.

We've also planned a day trip to Kamakura from Tokyo within the first few days, so that fits in well.

Now we are looking into replacing Takayama with an extra day Hiroshima or Miyajima. The Kawaguchiko day (after Hakone) might be replaced or will be a day trip (?), not yet decided on that.

If it is a honeymoon I would really recommend a night at Karuizawa. It is a pretty, fun town that is upmarket and trendy for Japanese standards. I have stayed there a few times, last time we stayed at Le Grand Kyu - big, well appointed room, great facilities including outdoor onsen, awesome breakfast. I dont see Japanese hotels as being particularly romantic places but this would be an exception.

Karuizawa is also a lot cooler than (say) Tokyo - as in it might be 5 degrees cooler.

Not sure if we�Lve got any days extra left for spare, but we�Lll look into it.

We decided to add an extra day of Hiroshima, so it will be something like:
Day 0 Arival
Day 1 - 4 Tokyo
Day 5 Nikko
Day 6 Kuraizawa (?) > not decided yet really!
Day 7 Hakone
Day 8-9 Kyoto
Day 10-12 Osaka
Day 13-14 Hiroshima & Miyajima
Day 15 Tokyo
Day 16 > Departure

We'll get to see lot's of different stuff like this and the travelling time is acceptable.

Two comments:

- would it be possible to get a flight that leaves from Osaka or even Hiroshima for the return?

- Osaka and Kyoto are quite close. You could avoid a hotel change by just staying in one if them for the entire duration.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

We're looking into this as well. Departing from Hiroshima might be better indeed. Would save us a trip back to Tokyo!