Itinerary for 14 days/1st time Japan

1st time in Japan - How to make the best out of it?

Dear all,

between 27 oct (arrival) and 10 nov, my wife and I will be in Japan for the first time. I know, I know, this is by far not enough time. Nevertheless, we want to see as much of Japan�Ls diversity as we can. We want to concentrate ourselves on Honshu and Kyushu. Our plans for the first days are:
27/28 oct: Arrival at Narita/1.5 days Tokyo
29/30/31 oct/1 nov: 3.5 days Kyoto/Nara
We have already booked hotels there - and we bought the 14 days JR Railpass.

After that, we want to visit: Mt Aso (2 nov, from Kumamoto), maybe Beppu (if so, 3 nov), Hiroshima/Miyajima (1 day, 3 or 4 nov), Himeji (3 hrs.), Takayama/Kamikochi (2 days), Mt. Fuji (1 day), Nikko (1 day). In the afternoon of 10 nov, we will fly back from Narita airport. We willl sleep at Toyko the night before.

These are my questions:
1. Is this schedule realistic? Will we be able to see everything?
2. Any places we MUST add?
3. Is it worth visiting Beppu? Or a waste of time? Would you take Nagasaki instead?
4. Will we see the leaf coloring?
5. Will we have problems in finding hotels anywhere on our route? (We have already booked for Tokyo and Kyoto, but nowhere else)? Will we have problems in finding something for the 2nd weekend (we will probably be in Hiroshima then).
6. Is Kamikochi nice to get a feeling for the Japanese Alps?
7. To visit Mt. Fuji (not to climb it). Would you prefer Kawaguchi-ko or Hakone?
8. We want to visit a Japanese familiy and see their homes for 2 or 3 hours - and we have already asked the Takayama International Office, but they have not found anything yet. Where else could we ask?
9. We want to spend one night in a love hotel... :-)? Where are the most extraordinary ones? And from what time on can we rent it for the whole night? What time will we have to leave)?
10. Any recommendations for hotels/hostels/ryokans/minshukus on our route? As we are a couple, we do not want to sleeps in dorms. Price limit without meals: 9,000 Y for BOTH (not per person) max.
11. Any nice restaurants you would recommend us to visit?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Cheers,

Checking

I would skip Takayama and go to Kanazawa (gold flakes). The gardens in Kanazawa is beautiful and the Contemporary museum of Art is first class. Shopping is good too--they have all the big names like LV, Tiffany, Etc.

You can have gold everything, food, icecream, tea, soap, lotion, cream, etc.

I can't help but feel that you are expecting to see everything and do everything in 2 weeks. I am a fast traveler myself - I get restless when I stay in a place longer than 3 days - but your itinerary seems a bit too rushed.

Well, this is your first trip so perhaps you need to get all of your "must-see" spots out of your system.

I would still suggest that you skip Kyushu when you only have 2 weeks and a rahter long list of places you want to visit in Honshu.

Let's say you are going to Italy for the first time. Would you try to see:

Rome
Florence/Siena
Mt. Vesuvius
Pompeii
Umbria
Peidmont
Lake Como
Cinque Terre

in two weeks?

Just wanted you to point out that your plan seems unreasonable to me.

I think your trip is doable, but you're going to be tired when you finish. And I wonder if afterwards everything will be a bit of a blur in you mind. You haven't left yourself any time to relax and recover - or to get lost. However, if your intent is to see as much as possible, then this does that. BTW, as someone who likes both, I much prefer Takayamaa to Kanazawa, especially if you only have a short time, so I would leave that in.

Takayama

The rail trip to Takayama is well worth doing we had 2 1/2 days their last month and could have done it in 1- 1/2 day When in Koyoto eat at the station a bowl of noodles and 9 dumplings was under 9000Y and the sushi train was one of the best in Japan 2 ppl beer and food 30000Y

God I wish I could go back soon
LOZ

do both Takayama and Kanazawa. they are only 2 hours away. Then, head to Gero Onsen. Best foot baths ever and clean!