Japan in November...first time

Me and my friend are going to Japan in November for 2 weeks (ish)....I have suggested the following as a round trip but does this about right for time? What would you adjust if any? Dont want to spend the whole time traveling long distances though....

Buying JP Pass.......

Tokyo - 5 Nights
Hiroshima - 2 Nights
Osaka - 3 Nights
Kyoto - 3 Nights
Tokyo 1 or 2 Nights
Home

What do you think?
Cheers

Looks good to me.

Also try day trips to Nikko from Tokyo, and Himeji(and Mt. Koya) from Osaka.

This link will help you
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_12.html

If you want to see more, Hiroshima and Miyajima can be done in a day. Between Hiroshima and Osaka, Kurashiki, Okayama, Himeji and Kobe are worth considering.

If you're going in Nov., try to go at the end of Nov. so that you can enjoy autumn foliage at its best in Arashiyama/Sagano, Kyoto.

I second the other posters. To avoid changing hotels too much I would stay in Kyoto or Osaka or even Kobe and go from there to Himeji one day, Hiroshima and Miyajima another day.

Thanks everyone - someone else also advised staying in only Tokyo and Osaka and then travelling from there ;)......I am going 17th August so by the time I get to Osaska it will be about 23rd Nov in time for Autumn leaves ;)

........sorry that should say 17th November ha ha ;)

Last time I was in Japan I stayed in Kyoto and went to Osaka, Himeji, Miyajima and Hiroshima from there. I found this quite doable and would travel this way again.

Jake76,
in case you are wondering, Osaka,Kobe,Kyoto,Nara,and others less known towns,are close to one another. I prefer Osaka for the window shopping: Kita-Umeda has 3 department stores and 3 rail stations around a square, with a giant underground mall underneath all that,plus more stores nearby, including Yodobashi cameras, a big electronic store selling way more than cameras. Each department stores has a whole floor of restaurants on the top floor, a basement food floor not to be missed etc. The underground mall has over 100 restaurant, cafes etc. on the 2nd sub-level..a 30 minutes walk south is Minami-Namba with more of the same and a more lively feel late at night..

..someone also recommended me to go to Uji - old fishing village near Osaka?!

If you're going to visit Byodo-in in Uji, use Kyoto as a base. It's less than 20 min. JR direct from Kyoto, an easy half-day excursion.

Hiroshima and Miyajima can be done in one day, but of course, it all depends on your interests, if you only wanna see the A-Bomb dome , Peace museum and Miyajima, one day is OK, and maybe you can consider to stay in Okayama for 3 nights. Okayama is close to Himeji and Hiroshima (both less than 1 hour by Shinkansen), Okayama is also having a very nice and famous landscape garden and from Okayama you can also go to Takamatsu (famous for it's Ritsurin park). About Osaka, it's just a very big city, if you like shopping it's OK, otherwise, I would stay a couple more nights in Kyoto, it's is my favorite city in Japan because it has so much to offer, many places of interest, nightlive, shopping, and very easy public transportation system. Since you wanna go to Japan in November (this is the best time to go to Japan!), you will be very impressed by the so called Red Leaves (autumn colors), many temples and other places of interest look very very beautiful during this time of year. On my first trip to Japan, I had a simular itenary (4 days Kyoto, 3 days Osaka, 3 days Hiroshima and 5 days Tokyo), during my stay in Osaka, I went everyday to Kyoto and during my stay in Tokyo, I went 2 days to Kyoto (and yes, I spended quit some time in the Shinkansen,lol).

someone also recommended me to go to Uji - old fishing village near Osaka?!

Uji is a river side city south of Kyoto, far away from the coast.

someone also recommended me to go to Uji - old fishing village near Osaka?!

There is traditional fishing with big black, trained birds at the river bank. There is also a birdcage and sometimes the fishermen give a demonstration.

The birds are cormorants, called "u" in Japanese. If you do a search for "cormorant fishing" or "ukai" you should find some info.

....for all your advice ;)

We went to Japan in November last year. Its a fantastic time to go but if you want a choice of accomodation its best to book some places now. Autumn leaf viewing is very popular and this seemed especially so in kyoto. We had less options to choose from, so probably paid too much for accomodation as we left it a bit too late. We also saw some people having real problems getting a booking at the Tourist Info Centre, I suspect they may have ended up in Osaka. So Osaka might be a better base for you. I personally prefer Kyoto, but that's because shopping is not my thing when travelling. Have a great trip.

If your itinerary covers a large enough cross section, you are unlikely to be disappointed. Be flexible. If you haven't already arranged for a ticket, and want to cut down on your traveling time, you might consider flying out of Kansai near Osaka.

Don't overlook the countryside (especially in the fall) or mountain destinations--particularly between Kyoto and Tokyo.