itinerary feedback for photography trip!

Hi everyone,

Been reading a bit about places to visit in Japan, and have come up with the following idea, but would really like your feedback please!!

A bit about myself:
I'm a keen photographer, and would like to do some nature stuff - and explore some of the more non-typical touristy places. I have bought a 14 day JR pass

Here is my rough plan
I'm going for 16 days
24 mar - arrive kansai airport early morning. either go to kobe/nara(which is better) and then stay at either osaka or possibly even koyasan for the night
25-28 night - stay at kyoto. explore temples, arashimaya, do some cycling in kyoto, geisha, fushimi inarii, ryoanji, kiyomizudera
29 travel to kanazawa. stay there 2 nights? visit kenrokeun garden. Not sure if I need 2 nights?
31 travel from Kanazawa to takayama. stay overnight.
1st april - go to tokyo via nagoya?
2-3 spend time in hakone area
4 stay at Nikko
5-9 tokyo - visit tsukiji fish market.. need to flesh out this bit of the trip a bit more
9th April morning - fly out of Narita airport

Not sure if I should go to the Kiso valley - Magome/tsumago walk whilst Im at Kanazawa/Takayama area.

Also, I'm not too sure about whether this itinerary is good bearing in mind the cherry blossom season which I wil only get to see from 1st onwards. I'm tempted in a way to possibly go back to kyoto? I say that because I think (am I right?) that the Kyoto area is better for Cherry Blossom time?

WOuld love your feedback!
Michelle :)

A local Japan tour guide might be able to give you a better idea of how feasible your itinerary is. They could also point out some spots for you to see that you haven't thought of yet. There are some here:
http://www.viamigo.com/tours/japan.html

Hello fellow photographer! Your itinerary looks promising.
You could do Kenrokuen (Kanazawa) in one day, IMO.
If you want nature and landscapes, I would really recommend to visit Kamikochi where I took the most stunning landscapes myself. Shiragawago also makes for great photos with lots of space to work with composition. The problem with these two is that they aren't reachable by train.
I see that you're planning on going to Magome and that is indeed recommended for great landscapes, especially if you like to hike a little.

I've visited the places I listed and you can visit my albums here:
Colour (kamikochi and Kenrokuen): http://travel.webshots.com/album/560781043cagidt
B&W (tsukiji and kamikochi): http://travel.webshots.com/album/560886481JgtSGW

Feel free to ask, I am able to give GSM coordinates for most of the photos I took.

Feel free to ask, I am able to give GSM coordinates for most of the photos I took
That would be GPS coordinates :-)

just a "short" comment for now: on arrival I would get a hotel in Osaka then go to Nara (this only works if you land before noon). Nara is more photogenic than Kobe or rather more "Japan photogenic". Kobe has beautiful old European style homes on the slopes of Mt Rokko but they are hard to see without paying an entrance fee. Going to Koya-san from Osaka and spending the night there only works if you have reserved well in advance I think. Please note that it seems to always take longer to go from A to B in Japan than anywhere else because there is so much to see. For example in the big towns of North America and Europe I don't spend much time looking at publicity signs, store fronts etc. but in Japan all the signs are amazing (graphics, colours) and many stores,cafes etc. have lovely vignettes by the door. For example a bakery will have an old bike with loaves of breads in the bike paniers and a sign in French, a cafe will have a small table outside with cups,a tea pot, flowers and a big doll as customer. Other stores will have tons of flower pots in a tiny space by the door etc.

Well, first off you could have probably got away with a 7 day pass, but too late now.

Nara for photos, I find Kobe a little too western.

I would do 2-3 nights in Osaka, with a day trip to Nara, half day trip to Himeji and maybe a day trip to Koyasan. If you want non-typical places to photograph try Shinsekai in South Osaka:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinsekai

I would cut a day from Kyoto and just one day for Kanazawa. Consider maybe going to Matsumoto from Nagoya, along the Kiso valley. Stay in Mastumoto overnight.

To go Nagoya - Tokyo - Hakone - Nikko - Tokyo means backtracking. Consider Nagoya - Hakone - Tokyo with a day trip to Nikko.

As for cherry blossoms, you will be fine in Tokyo, the 5th-6th looks like being the weekend in Tokyo. I would suggest Yoyogi Park on the 5th and for something unusual to photograph on Sunday, go to the Kanamara Matsuri fertility festival (Kawasaki Daishi station and follow the crowds, starts midday).