urgent advice needed.

I am leaving for Japan in a week time.Among places I am visiting will be kanazawa,takayama,hakata,nagasaki and kagoshima one day each.
I understand that spending 1 day in each of those places is not enough.Unfortunately circumstances would not allow me to extend my travel this time.
Could anyone please advise not to be missed places in each of those cities.
Any advice is much appreciated.

Don't foregt that you will also spend many hours on trains and buses between these cities!

The main attractions for each city are listed here:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html

Dear Uji san,
The traveling time has all been considered.In fact the shinkansen rides will be part of the trip experience. The plan is to arrive in each city early in the morning, and spend the whole day and evening there. The initial itinerary was 2 days in each of those cities, but the last minute acceptances in Onsenkaku and especially Seni onsen on 5 December left us with no alternative but,cutting short our stays in these places.
Again thank you for the advice as always.

i dont think so, In /m/a give it a miss

you are running yourself ragged without reaso nand wil not be able to appreciate
Japan as you should. There is not such a thing as "shouldn't be missed" "recommended" would be a better word, with the proviso " only if you have plenty of time". Even people who have lived all their lives in Tokyo, Kyoto, Paris, London etc. have not seen all the sights. So what? much better that you go slow and only see a few things well. Also what is "not to be missed " by some is boring stuff to others.
I have many many years of experience travelling here and there and my best memories are of places where we took the time to savour them. Some were amazing beautiful, others were just simple things like talking for hours to the owner and the maid of a small hotel in Milano while drinking coffee in their garden, or eating some mysterious dish at an outdoor restaurant in Asakusa with several grizzled old timers born and raised in the area...priceless souvenirs.
and definitely nixt Nagasaki on this trip!. .

I've been to all the places you mentioned.

In my experiences, I would miss Takayama, Hakata, and Nagasaki. I really liked Kanazawa (go to the garden and Contemporary Museum Of Art, eat the gold flakes ice cream!!!), experience the gold toilets.

Eat oranges in Kagoshima, notice the orange trees in Kagoshima, smells like oranges in Kagoshima City.

I would add Ibusuki and try the sunamoshi (black sand baths). Best black sand around, this is the original. Imitations in Beppu or Kagoshima does not compare.

I would go to Miyazaki and visit Aoshima. The views of Pacific Ocean waves will just take your breath away. Free bus tickets to foreigners with passports. Just to to the tourist info center at JR Station and get the map and free bus tickets. day trip is sufficient.

"The plan is to arrive in each city early in the morning, and spend the whole day and evening there."

How on earth can you arrive early in the morning in Hakata if you start from Takayama???

I think you have way too many cities on your itinerary.

I suggest you take night buses to maximize your sightseeing time.

great idea! Yes, I would suggest to not sleep at a hotel at night, just commute at night so that you can be at your destination early in the morning. bus or train would be fine.

It would be a very tiring trip but you will maximize your time for sure!

Package tour may offer you as many places as possible within the shortest period of time. On free and easy, you should perhaps visit just a few places and do it leisurely.

Thank you all for the advice.
I have just come back from the 17 day trip in Japan, and had my best ever holiday.
Day 1, Nikko,experienced the first day snow fall in Kagon fall ,which was very beautiful. Day 2, Hakone.Day 3 ,Kyoto,Tofukuji temple,what an amazing colour at the right time and the right place for koyo. Day 4, kanazawa .Day 5, Takayama. Day 6, Nagoya,visited Toyota factory ,and a bonus to witness a spectacular X'mas decoration of Nagoya station. Day 7, Hakata.Day 8 ,Kagoshima, a short ride with Tsubame,but what an experience.Enough time to have a bath at Furosoto onsen Sakurajima.Day 9, Nagasaki, peace park and monkey park. Day 10, Ibuzuki ,a memorable sandbath. Day 11,Beppu,visited the 8 hells and enough time for the mudbath. Day 12 ,Osaka .Day 13 Tokyo .Day14 Onsenkaku,Takaragawa.what a day to remember snowing while having a good time in the rotemburo.Day 15 Kamakura. Day 16 Nagano,visited the snow Monkey( perfect timing with heavy snow on the mountain),and stayed the night in the famous Seni onsen ( what a place and a memory they left us with).Day 17 Tokyo and home.
The whole trip may sound very packed, but believe it or not ,the trip was at a slower pace than joining a guided tour.
We hardly spent time in Tokyo,Kyoto,Osaka as we were there many times in our previous trips.

I am happy that you had a nice trip, although, I think you Ibusuki before Nagasaki, didn't you? Anyway, by coincidence, I will be staying at Seni Onsen tomorrow. Looking forward to it even more after your positive review.

You are right Uji san,we were in Ibusuki before traveling to Hakata then to Nagasaki.
Enjoy your stay in Seni onsen.
Please convey our ( Robert & Ingke) best regards and thanks to Kika san,Semi san and Yukari san.