16 day itinerary - comments appreciated

Hello all

This is my first post on this forum and i have to say that this forum is brilliant and really informative.
My husband and I will be visiting Japan for end of May - beginning of June (around 16 days).
Can you look through my itinerary (rough draft) and advise if it's doable and recommend any other places that i may have missed out. This may be a rather hectic schedule for some, but historically my husband and I have always been people who like to travel at fast paced (but i would appreciate comments from people if it is unrealistic).

Many thanks in advance

Jacqui

Day 1 - land in Narita Airport at 9am. Catch a train to Kyoto as soon as we can
Day 2 to 5 - Kyoto (including a day trip to Nara)
Day 6 - early morning train to Osaka, drop luggage off at hotel and head to Himeji Castle, back to Osaka in the evening
Day 7 - head to Mount Koya and spend the night in a Buddhist temple
Day 8 - early morning train back to Osaka. Walk around Osaka and then catch a late afternoon/early evening train to Hiroshima
Day 9 - head to Miyajima and stay overnight
Day 10 - return to Hiroshima
Day 11 - train to Hakone
Day 12 - Hakone and Fuji five lakes tour
Day 13 - train to Tokyo
Day 14 - 16 - Tokyo (including day trip to Nikko)
Day 17 - morning flight back home

Do you already have plane tickets? If not, I'd recommend flying into and out of different airports (Narita in and Osaka out or vice versa). I found the plane tickets weren't any more expensive and it saves you an extra day of travel and several hundred dollars of train tickets.

As for Day 11 and 12, you should bring Fuji lake before going to Hakone. Kyoto, Shin-Fuji, Odawara (transfer to Odakyu line) in this order.

But if your main purpose to visit Fuji area is to see the mountain, you can skip it and go to Hakone directly. Mt Fuji can be seen from Lake Ashi or ropeways in Hakone.

Hi Jacqui,
I did a similar trip last year.I travelled by JR Pass most of the time.
My itinerary was Tokyo, Kyoto,Nara, Koyasan,Osaka,Himeji, managed to visit Okayama as well as Kurashiki before,Hiroshima,Miyajima,Odawara ( Hakone),Tokyo.
Enjoy the trip!!

Day 1 - land in Narita Airport at 9am. Catch a train to Kyoto as soon as we can
Day 2 to 5 - Kyoto (including a day trip to Nara)
Day 6 - early morning train to Osaka, drop luggage off at hotel and head to Himeji Castle, back to Osaka in the evening
Day 7 - head to Mount Koya and spend the night in a Buddhist temple
Day 8 - early morning train back to Osaka. Walk around Osaka and then catch a late afternoon/early evening train to Hiroshima
Day 9 - head to Miyajima and stay overnight
Day 10 - return to Hiroshima
Day 11 - train to Hakone
Day 12 - Hakone and Fuji five lakes tour
Day 13 - train to Tokyo
Day 14 - 16 - Tokyo (including day trip to Nikko)
Day 17 - morning flight back home

Seeing as you�Lre not very "city friendly", I would rather skip the day walking around Osaka; then, on day 8 I would head directly to Hiroshima; visiting Hiroshima on day 8 (perfectly possible if you head to Hiroshima in the morning), and then I would move to Hakone on day 10 (Miyajima-Hakone is perfectly possible, as Miyajima-Hiroshima won�Lt take long), then moving to Tokyo on day 12 and earning an extra day in Tokyo (Tokyo is an enormous city and you�Lll see nothing in the two days and a half you programmed)

Day 1 - Once you arrive you might be kind of worn out from the travel (even fast paced travelers) I would recommend taking that day to stay in Tokyo and go on a River boat cruise to kind of get acquainted with the area. That night retire in a hotel early after visiting the Tokyo Tower at night.
Day 2 - Start off early and go to Hakone from there where you can then see Fuji and maybe take a neat (and yes another) boat cruise (old style boat) where you can see Mt Fuji. Once finished with that head to Kyoto that evening.
(I like the plan relaxing things first off so I can take in and see the sights, along with get used to the time difference and jetlag..when I get my flight home I can sleep after the traveling)
Day 3-5 - See whatever you plan on seeing in Kyoto. With a day trip to Osaka to see the aquarium. (not much else there that you can't see in Kyoto)
Day 6 - Go to Nara and see everything that you want to see there.
Day 7 - Leave early and head to the Himeji Castle. Then head to Mount Koya to spend the night in the temple. Heading to Hiroshima the next morning (early as possible to get the most out of the day)
Day 8-9 - Once you arrive in Hiroshima, check into a hotel and drop the luggage off, and see what you can/want to in Hiroshima that day and then the following (the obvious ones:atomic bomb, castle, etc).
Day 10 - Head out EARLY to Iwakuni from Hiroshima (take the shinkansen if you have the railpass only 15 minutes) to see the Kintai bridge along with the famous white snake and castle on top of the mountain. Spend only a few hours there. Then return to Iwakuni Station and take a local train (also covered by the railpass along with the ferry) to Miya Jima try to make it there around 1PM (earlier if possible) it takes about 30 min from Iwakuni station to Miya Jima. Spend the rest of the day there going up the mountain first so you can catch the cable car (unless you want to walk it) Coming down try to make the sunset for the Torri Gate it is amazing. Spend the night there
Day 11 - Head back to Hiroshima from Miya Jima, OR go to Shimonoseki for the Fugu (if you dare) walk around for a little bit and watch the boats pass through between Kyushu and Chugoku. Then go back to the Shinkansen and head back up north. If you decide against the fugu, just head back to Hiroshima. Once you leave either from Shimonoseki or Hiroshima, head to Yokohama on the Shinkansen. It will take a little while so you can unwind and relax go over pictures and what not. Once you get there, check out the Chinatown and the city center. You're only 30 minutes away from Tokyo.
Day 12 - Head to Tokyo you can take many day trips from here and stay anywhere you want too.
Day 13 - Check out the local sights in Tokyo...Harajuku, Odiaba, Shinjuku, Shibuya I'm sure you can figure those out!
Day 14 - Kamakura day trip (highly recommended)
Day 15 - Izu Peninsula day trip rent a bike and ride around the coast and see the awesome views(views of mt fuji also) Along with the museum of asian art.
Day 16 - Keep this day to make sure you didnt miss anything! Maybe a Nikko day trip!
Day 17 - head back...

Keep in mind all of these are just ideas, feel free to play around with them! but this would let you see the most out of Japan from my point of view...
Hope it helps

hi,
I just was in Japan in November, loved it. I went to Koyasan and spent the night at the temple, beautifull, totally recomend it, one night is ok, don't need more to had the experience. Hakone was nice because the natural hot spring, lovelly open are baths,but going to month fujy was a waste of time, you spend 2 hours to get there from Tokyo, as the tours stop here and there, and only 20 minutes at the station 5 in the montain. not worth it, and then back to the bus to hakone ... skip mont fuji, you can see it from lake ashi, hakone or other places, you can't go up. and if it's fogy , you don't get to see it any way, so i would not bother.
try to stay in a ryokan in Kyoto, traditional japanes in.
The train pass it's so worth it, you'll save lot's of money.Get it before
you enter Japan.
Kyoto it's full of wonderfull places,very old stile Japan, and Osaka it's a modern city, I'll do only one day there and spend more in kyoto.
Hope to have been of help. I hope you enjoy it so much as I did.
If you need any hotel recomendations I got some names, let me know.

Hi all,
Thanks for the quick responses. I definitely have things to ponder!
Acase - We're flying out from the UK to Narita and out of Narita (we did look into flying out of Osaka, but it was about �’250 more expensive pp). Hopefully purchasing the 14 JR pass will even out costs.
JLady - we just want to be able to get a decent view of Mt Fuji (if we're lucky with the fog) so will probably just go to Hakone and see it from Lake Ashi.
Liem - thanks, i'm sure we'll have a great time, we've been talking about going to Japan for ages
Aerond - we may skip Osaka now in order to spend an extra day(s) in Tokyo
MarineUSMC - many thanks for your input. It is indeed helpful. On reflection, we will stay in Tokyo for a couple of days after arrival before heading to Kyoto.
We've just seen that the Grand Sumo tournament in Tokyo is ending the weekend that we arrive, so we hope to catch some Sumo action! This may not be the right part of the forum to post this extra question, but am i right in thinking that i can only purchase tickets over the phone and the tickets will only be sent to a Japanese address and not abroad? Could someone advise on how people abroad can purchase tickets?
Yokohama sounds great esp since i'm of Chinese descent!
Also, if we skip visiting Osaka, how feasible is it to travel from Kyoto to Himeji for a day trip and then to Mount Koya in one day (stay overnight in Koyasan) and then off to Hiroshima the next day? Is this too much to do?
MarineUSMC, the reason why i've put Hakone at the end of the trip is we hope to do a couple of days relaxing in an onsen after the hectic schedule! Would you think it's a bit far to travel all the way from Hiroshima/Miyajima to go there?
Candy33 - thanks, yes we will skip Mt Fuji and just try to view from Hakone. If you do have some strong recommendations on accommodation, do let me know.
Thanks again for everyone's comments
Jacqui

I don't agree at all with those who say that one should skip Osaka because it is a modern city. It is a modern JAPANESE city with a very old past, more so than Tokyo. Nothing like modern cities in the USA and other countries. The place is compact, with the 2 main neighbourhoods of Umeda and Namba not far apart. Each one has amazing department stores. How often have you seen a store with 8 levels of gardens cascading down on the outside? or one with a big ferris wheel on the roof? or a huge undergroung mall with hundreds of restaurants or long covered pedestrian shopping streets? not to mention old quaint districts etc.
Hiroshima main sights like the Peace park, the castle (not as spectacular as the one in Osaka)etc. can be easily seen in the morning and Miyajima island in the afternoon. If you stay for 2 days you can go back to the island the next day (the transportation is part of the JR pass)I find that coming back to an area a second time really "seal it" in the memory. Kyoto has so many treasures that one can only sample a few. I try to stay away from the most touristy ones and prefer temples and shrines where I am often alone or with only a few people, but Kiomizu Dera and the Fushimi Inari shrine are my favorites, after a special temple within Myoshin-ji. The walk up and down Mount Inari, especially the back part, is physically tiring but spiritually uplifting. In Tokyo I look for the quieter areas of Shinagawa, Zoshigaya, Yanaka, Asakusa and the like and the garden within the woods of the Meiji shrine.
I too would recommend to use 2 airports. Land in Kansai and leave by Narita.

On my first visit, I found a day trip from Kyoto to Himeji was plenty of time to wander around though I woke up quite early for day trips to maximize the time in the area.

We're flying out from the UK to Narita and out of Narita (we did look into flying out of Osaka, but it was about �’250 more expensive pp).

That is insane; who quoted you that price, an airline or travel agent? I have flown into Narita and out of Kansai (or vice versa) a number of times, and the price should only be a few pounds difference due to slightly higher airport taxes at Kansai. I use a London based travel agency called Gendai Travel and usually fly KLM because of an extra luggage allowance (30kg).

About Fuji
You should really go to Hakone first and get your craving for Fuji out of the way there. There are many hot springs in Japan. I had recommended the Izu Peninsula so that you can ride a bike around there, see Mt Fuji (AGAIN) and go to the gorgeous Shuzenji Onsen there at the end of your trip..Sounds pretty darn relaxing to me bike on the ocean then onsen after.

OH and the easiest way to view Mt Fuji is from the Shinkansen along the Tokaido Line between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto.

As for Sumo, there are a lot of things not just a tournament but you can take a day if you want to experience "a day in the life of a sumo". Tickets I'm not sure 100% I went to a match in Fukuoka, never Tokyo. Try these links ( I didn't look into them however )

http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2080.html

As for Kyoto to Himeji and to Mount Koya - YES you can do it.
Kyoto to Himeji 45 minutes(ish) by the Shinkansen. Now of course you would want to leave as early as you can to get the most of your days. A lot of stuff that you want to see starts to close around 4-6. In that case as I said, leave early..7 am, get there and see a lot in 4 hours... That leads you to 1pm...It takes about 2 and a half to 3 hours to get from Himeji to Mount Koya. In which then you can stay at the Temple. Once you wake up, make your way back to the Shinkansen and go to Hiroshima (about 4 hours).

As for Osaka, yes don't miss out on it, but don't spend too much time there. See the Aquarium and go back..Honestly, when/if you go to Yokohama, and Odiaba you will see a more modern Japan there also. I love Osaka, but when my family came here I skipped it as they wanted to see the more traditional Japan, I did however throw in the previously mentioned areas of Yokohama and Odiaba. If you're going to see the Himeji Castle don't worry about the Osaka Castle or the Hiroshima castle lol!

As for Hiroshima/Peace Park and Miya Jima; plan pretty much a day in Hiroshima the castle is not that great compared to Himeji but they have some great western and asian art museums near the Peace Park along with some amazing gardens. Maybe the next morning spend in Iwakuni, then go to Miya Jima for the afternoon with sunset. What you really need to do is sit down with your travel partner, print things out, highlight them and look at your time frame, then number certain things #1 on down. That might help also. Keep us posted!

I just decided and purchased a ticket to tokyo yesterday night, and now I am planning the itinerary from 3rd to 13th of Feb.

It would be like Tokyo, hakone, Osaka, Nara, Himeji Castle, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Tokyo and possibly Fukuoka if time allows (saw it's only 1.5 hours by train from Hiroshima).
I do not know much yet, as I am researching hard, and it's hard for me to identify what I would like to see even.

Anyway, I will get a 7 days JR pass to use it between 5th and 11th Feb, and I will use other means to travel on 4th to hakone, and on 12th and 13th around tokyo.

I would like to hear your recommendations as well. Thanks.
Stepehen

It sounds like a lot of time on the train. Tokyo to Fukuoka (yes the train isn't long from Hiroshima to Fukoka). Still with only 10 days to see all what you have mentioned, Fukuoka would not really be worth it for you. It's great for only a couple things (shopping, and nightlife really lol). It depends what you want to see honestly. Old style Japan, Newer Japan, Nightlife, or a mix of all of them. State more of your interests then we can tailor our responses better. With what you have though sounds decent minus the Fukuoka and spending more time in Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka.

You were asking the exact question I was trying to figure out. I am like a beach or party guy who knows what they wanna see. But I know I am curious about a few things. I have been travelling a lot in Asia, and I have been to most of the provinces in China and India. And I really have interest to put Japan into the perspective - to see the transformation of japan v.s. the rest part of Asia.


How did Japan transform itself to such an advanced place? How does a person in japan cope such a high paced high pressue life years after years? Besides those questions, I also wanna see the old japan esp. Kyoto, where the palace copied exactly from China, and the religions, which also come from india, via china and korea.

So you see where I am coming from, and I doubt I am able to answer those questions. So I think I just get the best possible itinerary for my 10 days to see the highlights, and hopefully it will help me understand more.

Thanks.
Stephen

Beach and party guy. Spend time in Tokyo with a couple day trips: Kamakura the old stuff there along with the beach, You can skip Hakone it's not really that cool for people like us. Though I've been there I was entertaining my family it was neat, just not what I would've chosen. Fukuoka is pretty cool, but don't with your limited time. Stick to Osaka and Kyoto with a couple days in Tokyo to see the nightlife and day trips. Osaka modern, Kyoto old school and untouched by war. All 3 actually have great nightlife. In Tokyo, check out Odiaba, Harajuku, Shibuya, and Roppongi (those would probably be the highlights for your style). Kyoto there is so much to see, just go pick out a couple things and stick with them, if you have time do more. Don't spend all night drinking either you'll waste a lot of precious morning time lol. Do Nara and Hiroshima with Miya Jima. What time do you arrive in Tokyo? How old are you?

I am 27. I think I will definitely listen to your advice, and I also find your suggestion to the 16-day guy up there very useful.

I now think I really won't drink much there, as I know, by minute, better and better about prices in Japan.

I will be arriving tokyo on 12pm on 3rd of Feb, and thinking about whether a Tokyo Metro 2-Day Open Ticket @ 980 yen can get me from narita to Shibuya. And will the ticket get me to Hakone as well? I wanna visit Hakone on 4th of Feb, and I am wondering whether to stay there, and continue by rail to Kansai, or return to tokyo and depart for Kansai on 5th...

Thank you for your advice first.

I will be arriving tokyo on 12pm on 3rd of Feb, and thinking about whether a Tokyo Metro 2-Day Open Ticket @ 980 yen can get me from narita to Shibuya.

No! The 2-day ticket is only valid on 8 of the 12 subway lines in central Tokyo. Narita Airport is far outside of central Tokyo:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2027.html

And will the ticket get me to Hakone as well?

Certainly not. Hakone is even further from Tokyo than Narita Airport:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5206.html

I wanna visit Hakone on 4th of Feb, and I am wondering whether to stay there, and continue by rail to Kansai, or return to tokyo and depart for Kansai on 5th...

I recommend the stay in Hakone because it is nice to experience a night in Hakone (especially if you stay at an ryokan with hot springs) and because it makes sense itinerary wise because it is located between Tokyo and Kansai. The only reason agains it would be eventual large luggage, which you might have to pull through Hakone before check in into your Hakone hotel.

Jacqui,

Your original itinerary is ambitious but perfectly reasonable as is. It offers a reasonable enough cross-section of Japan, that if you don't like one place you can move on and try another.

Take everyone's comments here into consideration, but consider the fact that everyone has different tastes and has different travel experiences and different biases. I will readily admit to my own bias: much of Japan doesn't get enough credit. Most of my most memorable travel experiences, were well off the beaten path.

Overall, there are a few things to consider about Japan when planning your itinerary. Tokyo is the capital, but more of a business rather than cultural center of Japan. A majority of visitors make the mistake of concentrating only on Tokyo. As a resident of Tokyo, I'll admit, that you will experience enough in Japan's other urban areas that Tokyo isn't a necessity. But don't bypass Tokyo either. At least take in some time to soak in it's immensity and appreciate the fact that the world's largest metropolitan area functions as well as it does. Also, since most of the major cities were destroyed by arial bombing during the war, a lot of Japan's heritage is scattered all over the countryside. Few manage to explore the more remote areas of Japan. Japan's natural areas and small traditional towns are seriously under-rated, and some of the most unusual museums, memorable restaurants, and exotic shops can be found in the most unexpected places.

Enjoy!