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Itinerary advices appreciated! 2008/2/1 05:32
Hi all,

After I tried to review my itinerary like a thousand times I still have to stick to a similar route since most accomodations are fully book for my travel period.
I appreciate any comments/suggestions to the ittnerary below.

- 3/29 Tokyo: tokyo sightseeings for the day
- 3/30 Takayama: Start off early to Takayama; Leave Tokyo early and arrive to Takayama in the afternoon for sightseeings
- 3/31 Kanazawa: Leave early for Shirakawa-go sights (2hrs bus); afternnon sights & overnight in Kanazawa
- 4/01 Miyajima: Leave Kanazawa early (4.5 hrs train) to Miyajima for afternnon sightseeings and overnight;
- 4/02 Koyasan: Hiroshima sightseeings in the morning then enroute to Koyasan for more sightseeings and overnight
- 4/03 Kyoto: Himeji Castle on the way back from Koyasan to Kyoto
- 4/04 Kyoto:
- 4/05 Kyoto: Visiting Yoshino for Sakura?
- 4/06 Kyoto:
- 4/07 Kyoto: Nara
- 4/08 Tokyo: Leave Kyoto early for Hakone enroute to Tokyo overnight
- 4/09 Tokyo: Nikko
- 4/10 Tokyo: Okazaki?? Kamakura?
- 4/11 Tokyo: Local sights in Tokyo
- 4/12 Tokyo: Mornight sightseeings and flight home @ 6pm

Do you think 5 nights are enough for Kyoto? I'll have a 14 days JR pass. I like nature more than city or temples. Is there any place that I should add to my itinerary? :)

Thanks all for your comments!

by avuu  

... 2008/2/1 08:37
The first few days will be extremely packed. You will have almost no time to see Takayama, Kanazawa, Hiroshima and Koyasan. Note that there are only two buses per day between Shirakawago and Kanazawa.

I strongly recommend to insert additional nights here and there (I recommend at least an additional night each in Takayama and the Hiroshima area) and visit Himeji on your way from Hiroshima to Koyasan or from Kanazawa to Hiroshima. Try to be in Koyasan by 5pm. It takes about 5 hours to travel from Hiroshima to Koyasan.

4/05 Kyoto: Visiting Yoshino for Sakura?

In the average year, this is a few days too early for cherry blossoms in Yoshino:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4152.html
by Uji rate this post as useful

Packed itinerary 2008/2/1 09:29
I agree with Uji, your first few days are very rushed. You'll hardly get to see those places and will be on trains a long time, 4+ hours on consecutive days. Just be prepared for that since you say you can't change your bookings. A lot of people feel like they should make full use of their railpass
by kawaka rate this post as useful

Yup 2008/2/1 20:34
Uji as usual is correct (I wish I would've found this website when I first came to Japan 3 years ago lol).
I also believe that you will really have to catch one of the first trains to go to Miya Jima. Because once you arrive in Hiroshima, you'll have to take local train to Miya Jima then the ferry. That could put you there around 1pm enough time to go up the mountain via cable car and back down to see the rest along with the sunset at the Shrine.

Again Hiroshima sightseeing day, wake up EARLY from Miya Jima you'll spend a little bit of time enroute to the sights in Hiroshima street car (350Y) is what I recommend (taxi is faster though around 1500 from the station to Peace Park). It's going to take a while for you to get to Koyasan from Hiroshima. When I have more time tomorrow I can look and work a little more on the itinerary. About Okazaki and Kamakura...Do Kamakura!!
by MarineUSMC rate this post as useful

Itinerary advices needed 2008/2/2 02:15
Hi,

I will be in japan for 9 days. 4 days kyoto n 5 days tokyo. my first time to japan

29/3 : Kyoto Sightseeing
30/3 : Himeji Castle, Osaka
31/3 : Yoshino for cherry blossom
1/4 : taking 8.40am bus from kanazawa to Shirakawago.
will be back to kyoto at night.

2/4 : tokyo sight-seeing
3/4 - 4/4 : Theme park
5/4 - 6/5 : Hakone

Pls advice on the above plan.Thanks lot
by LP rate this post as useful

. 2008/2/2 04:10
I would suggest that you should start making a list what you want to see in Kyoto and Tokyo since you are only spending one day in each city.

To maximize your time, you might just stick to visiting one area of each city.

Also keep in mind that in Kyoto I suspect you will mostly likely travel by bus so traffic may cause delays if you want to travel around the city to visit different areas.
by Keitm rate this post as useful

To avuu 2008/2/2 04:12
You should start your own thread with your planned itinerary and your interests as to not get confused with the OP.
by kawaka rate this post as useful

Thank you! 2008/2/2 07:06
Thank you so much for your suggestions! I modified my itinerary a bit as follow. I think this one is more doable than the original one. What do you think?

3/29 Tokyo:

3/30 Tokyo: Nikko day trip

3/31 Tokyo: Hakone OR Kamakura day trip

4/01 Hiroshima: Leave Tokyo early for Himeji Castle Leave Himeji by 4pm & take train to Hiroshima)

4/02 Miyajima: Hiroshima mornight sightseeings; Afternoon sightseeings & overnight in Miyajima

4/03 Kyoto: Nara morning sightseeings & enroute to Kyoto
4/04 Kyoto:
4/05 Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nara
4/06 Kyoto: Sakura in Kyoto; Yoshino day trip
4/07 Kyoto:
4/08 Kanazawa: Leave Kyoto early for Kanazawa
4/09 Takayama: Leave early for Shirakawa-go day trip (2hrs bus); enroute to Takayama
4/10 Tokyo, Sheraton: Takayama morning sighseeings and go back to Tokyo at night
4/11 Tokyo:
4/12 USA: tokyo morning & flight @ 6pm

I'll save Mt Koya for next time when I have a travel companion. Single room accomodation is so expensive comparing to double room. Also, the transportation to Mt. Koya does take sometimes so next time it is.

I'm also thinking to rent a car in Gifu and return it at Takayama. How difficult and how long is the ride from Gifu-Kanazawa-Shirakawa-go-Takayama ? I also read that the provided car rental's GPS is not in English? How much do you think the cost in gas and parking will be? I checked Tocco and it seems to cost about 3000yen/day.

Thanks alot!

by avuu rate this post as useful

... 2008/2/2 08:24
4/03 Kyoto: Nara morning sightseeings & enroute to Kyoto

It takes 4 hours to get from Miyajima to Nara. So, unless you leave Miyajima with one of the first ferries of the day (they start operating shortly before 6am), "Nara morning sightseeing" will more likely be "Nara afternoon sightseeing".

As for Takayama, you will still have less than a full day there, which I think is less than desired, but it can be okay if you are okay with just seeing a one or two top attractions.

How difficult and how long is the ride from Gifu-Kanazawa-Shirakawa-go-Takayama ?

Why from Gifu? That would be a major detour. I recommend to do Kyoto to Kanazawa by train. The only section, where a car could be of some advantage is Kanazawa to Shirakawago due to the fact that there are only two buses per day. So, you could rent a car from Kanazawa to Takayama, for example. Still, there is not much advantage over buses, except that you could also explore the Gokayama region similar and near to Shirakawago, which is very difficult to explore efficiently by public transportation.

I also read that the provided car rental's GPS is not in English?

That's right.

How much do you think the cost in gas and parking will be?

I estimate Kanazawa to Takayama to cost around 1500-2000 yen in gasoline, although, of course, it depends on the car. Parking costs around 100 to 500 yen per use in the tourist areas.

I checked Tocco and it seems to cost about 3000yen/day.

The cheapest rates are around 4000 to 5000 yen per calendar day. So, more like 8000-10000 yen for the initial 24 hours.

Plus a fee for dropping off the car at a different location from where you picked it up.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Thanks! 2008/2/4 10:17
Hi Uji,

I don't know what I was thinking when I thought about renting the car in Gifu! But I decided to go straight to Takayama and spend 2 nights there. If I have time, I'll make a day trip to Shirakawa-go. Thanks so much for your helpful advices! This is my first japan trip and I plan to do Sakura chasing hehe, when do we actually have an accurate forecast for Sakura? Maybe March? Thanks!
by avuu rate this post as useful

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