Travel Itinerary...Pls advise

I would like to travel to Japan on Jan'09. Now I am confusing which places I should go first or last. Can somebody advise me? The places I want to visit are Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kyoto, Nagoya, Kanazawa & Tokyo. I wonder that can I visit those places within 8days..??

It's very likely it will snow a lot in Takayama, Shirakawago and Kanazawa in January. You might think twice about the weather.

Apart from that, visiting 6 cities in 8 days is exhausting, or perhaps impossible because of possible snow falls.

I agree with optimistk. it takes a good 4 days just to have a quick look at Tokyo. You might as well stay in Tokyo and visit Nikko, Kamakura, Yokohama etc. trying to see too much is tiring and you will not enjoy it. Better to take the time to stay in the Tokyo region and visit a couple of places long enough to remember it in details.

It's difficult to make specific recommendations without knowing your particular interests.

Winter travel in Japan can be very scenic. Takayama and Shirakawa-go are favorite winter destinations (particularly among Japanese). Snow won't affect train travel unless there is a particularly severe storm.

You are more likely to be satisfied with your travels if you cover various locations in Japan. Your itinerary is doable, but plan on being flexible and making sacrifices. Take full advantage of a Japan Rail Pass and the shinkansen (bullet train) where you can.

Thanks optimistk..btw, just wonder the weather on Jan in Japan..is it similar v Korea? I been Korea on Jan 07 before, is around 0 - 5 celcius and snow fall too. I really like winter and love the these both cities -shirakawa-go & takayama.

Monkey see & Inago..thanks for your advise.

Inago, I will buy a 7days JR pass to travel those cities. Just between Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa & Takayawa, we can travel by Nohi bus.

Will..I know it is tiring if I travel to 6 cities in 8days, thus I may extend to 10days or cut off the number of cities to visit.

Weather in the mountains usually won't be much below freezing. In Tokyo, the weather will be closer to 10 C. Early February is usually the coldest in Japan.

Hi MG, for my last trip, i took 17 days to visit 3 cities.
4 days for Osaka, 4 days for Kyoto and 8 days for Tokyo would be very ideal.
Osaka is the heaven for Japanese food, i have been there twice because each time i came home, i missed the food there. Umeda mermirizing sky tower is really beautiful.
Kyoto is the cultural hub, ancient and beautiful, Arashiyama is the countryside and mesmerisig.
Tokyo, you can be in Tokyo (harajuku, shibuya, ginza, asakusa...etc) for 3-4 days, Hakone or Mt Fuji a day, Disney sea a day, and other towns around Tokyo.
For first time to Japan, i personally feel that these are the must-see.