15 day itinerary - making the most of it

Hi all,

We'll be travelling to Japan at the beginning of October and we would like to make the most of it. It is still quite far but we like to get things organised. We plan to get the 14 day JR pass and (at this stage) do the following itinerary:

Day 1 - Arrival/Tokyo
Day 2 - Tokyo to Hakone
Day 3 - Hakone to Nagoya
Day 4 - Nagoya to Osaka
Day 5 - Osaka to Nara
Day 6 - Nara to Kobe
Day 7 - Kobe to Hiroshima
Day 8 - Hiroshima to Fukuoka
Day 9 - Fukuoka (via Himeji?) to Kyoto
Day 10 - Kyoto
Day 11 - Kyoto
Day 12 - Kyoto to Tokyo
Day 13 - Tokyo
Day 13 - Tokyo
Day 15 - Tokyo/Departure

We would like to know if this is reasonable for first time visitors? We are fast paced and like to explore.

Please give your suggestion on what to add or delete throughout. I'm reading and reading but get help from those that already know is always best :-)

Thanks heaps!

Welcome to the forum

My humble opinion is that you have to many cities. I would probably skip at least:
- Nagoya because it's not so special
- Fukuoka because it is too far away (it takes 4-5 hours for Hiroshima)

Hyperdia http://www.hyperdia.com/ is a useful tool to check the travel times.

A couple of places I really like that are near your destinations:
- Miyajima is a must if you travel to Hiroshima
- Mount Koya is doable as a daytrip from Osaka/Nara or as temple stay

Depending on where you are from jet lag can be quite annoying so be careful about that. I live in Italy and it's 8 hours difference... on the first and second days we are trash.

I agree with @Ale

Also in Kansai it sounds like you are changing accommodation too often. Just stay in one place Osaka, Kyoto or Nara to see those 3 and places like Kobe.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!