Itinerary Advice for 20 days

Hi all!

After years of dreaming about it a couple of days ago I bought tickets to fly to Japan.
We're flying on the 22nd of April, and back on the 13th of May. That gives us 20 days to use!

After buying the flights I noticed that the middle week of our trip falls on the Golden Week, so I'm trying to find a way to not be in Tokyo or Kyoto for part of that time.

Cities/places we'd want to visit are:
- Tokyo
- Kyoto
- Lake Kawaguchi
- Kanazawa
- Hiroshima
- Osaka
- Himeji

I've made up 4 different itineraries:

https://imgur.com/Y0JmJyh

But trying to avoid Tokyo and Kyoto in Golden week seems hard lol. I'm leaning towards Itinerary 3, although I know train travels are annoying. Like Lake Kawaguchi to Kanazawa (goes via Tokyo), and Kanazawa to Hiroshima (goes via Kyoto).
The problem with that is that between Tokyo and Kyoto there's 7 days of not having the big luggage with us. If I was travelling alone, that wouldn't be a problem, but two of us, not sure.

What do you think about it? Any suggestion is welcome. It's our first time in Japan, and since we have 3 weeks, we want to see more than the main cities, but not rush these either. I'm specially wary about Golden Week, and expect there will be a lot of people everywhere, but I've seen that Kyoto specially seems to get a lot of Japanese tourists and is better avoided.

Any pointers, suggestions, etc is welcome!

I don't understand why you want to avoid being in Tokyo/Kyoto during GW. Kyoto is saturated no matter when you go.
You do want to avoid moving, especially at the start/end, of the GW. Moving in the middle of GW is easier.

You do want to secure your accommodations ASAP.

GW isnft as bad as it is made to believe. Shinkansen on the first /last day can be quite full and I expect that Nozomi again will be all cars reserved only. But I had never trouble getting tickets.
Also yes, hotelfs specially in smaller places can sell out. Not so much in Kyoto / Tokyo. Eg I got myself a reservation at a reasonably good hotel in Kyoto for 8 nights for 65000 Yen. And another one in Sakurai for the same days for 85000 yen and a third option in Kyushu Aso / Kumamoto / Kitakyushu area at a bunch of different hotels for 120000 yen. Havnt decided yet where to actually go.

So actually there is an argument for staying IN Kyoto or Tokyo. Specially Tokyo could be good. Buy essentially donft get too concerned about GW.

In simple terms, there is a stampede of people out of the big cities at the start, and their return at the end. The big cities are often quieter than normal during Golden Week. If you are not fighting the crowds going at the same time to the same places, GW is not at bad as some 1st and 2nd time travelers yell about.
That said, places like theme parks can be jammed during that time. Kyoto has a lot of people during every month, though the warmer months are worse.
It is also one of the most beautiful times to be in Japan, so I suggest you take advantage of it. The wisteria at the Ashikaga Flower Park and Kameido Tenjin Shrine is very nice, as is the nemophila at the Hitachi Seaside Park, and azaleas, peonies, and shibazakura are all beautiful to see. Lots of roses in May as well.

What worries me more than Kyoto is that in your itineraries, lake Kawaguchi is always over a weekend and they tend to be a lot more expensive.

I would pick itinerary 2 and move lake Kawaguchi to the very beginning of your trip, if the timing of your flights allow it.