Comments on Itinerary

Hi everyone,
I am planning a trip to Japan at the end of next year and I would appreciate any feedback anyone has on my itinerary. The trip is for 1 month and we are arriving by ferry from South Korea as we are travelling there also. It is my second trip to Japan so we are planning on spending 2 weeks in an apartment in Tokyo (cos we love it there). Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Tuesday 17/11 � Arrive in
Japan (Hakata) via ferry from South Korea, train to Hiroshima
Wednesday 18/11 � Hiroshima (Peace Memorial Park and Hiroshima Castle)
Thursday 19/11 � Day trip from Hiroshima to Miyajima
Friday 20/11 傍rain from Hiroshima to Osaka
Saturday 21/11 to Wednesday 25/11- Osaka (including day trips to Nara and Kobe)
Thursday 26/11 � Train Osaka to Kyoto
Friday 27/11 to Sunday 29/11 � Kyoto (including Sangusangendo, Kyomizudera, Kikakuji, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Nanzenji and Arashiyama)
Monday 30/11 � Train Kyoto to Takayama
Tuesday 1/12 � Takayama
Wednesday 2/12 � Takayama (day trip to Shirakawa-go)
Thursday 3/12 � Catch the bus from Takayama to Matsumoto (visit Matsumoto castle), Catch the train from Matsumoto to Yudanaka
Friday 4/12 � Yudanaka (visit the snow monkeys)
Saturday 5/12 � Train Yudanaka to Tokyo
Sunday 6/12 to Friday 18/12 � Tokyo (including day trips to Kamakura and Nikko)
Saturday 19/12 � Fly home from Narita airport

I think it is a good plan. I see no problems with it.

You must love Tokyo a lot to have devoted so many days for it. For me, I would rather spend more time in Kyoto. There are other interesting side-trips from Kyoto as well, such as Amanohashidate, Miho Museum, Byodo-in, etc.

Other places worth considering on the way up from Hiroshima are Kurashiki, Okayama, Arima Onsen (if you are visiting Kobe), Koya-san, Nagoya and Hakone.

Since you are going to Shirakawa-go, consider another hour or so by bus to Kanazawa which deserves a full day visit.

While in Matsumoto, you can do side-trips to Nagano and Daio Wasabi Farm.

North of Tokyo is Tohoku region. Among the more popular sites are Sendai, Matsushima, Yama-dera and Hiraizumi. During winter time, beautiful Ginzan Onsen is definitely worth going.

I agree with William. Tokyo, while a bustling exciting city, isn't the most pretty capital in the world and doesn't have much in terms of historical sights,compared to other capitals in the world and other famous towns --like Kyoto.

Thank you very much for your comments.

We have decided to spend 2 weeks in Tokyo as we do love it there, more just to hang out and enjoy the atmosphere than specific sight seeing. We spent 10 days in Tokyo on our last trip and felt that we could have spent weeks more there so I am definitely looking forward to that part of the trip. I also love Kyoto and have visited there previously, it is definitely good in terms of sight seeing.

Thanks for the suggestions on other places to visit too, I will look into those. Fingers crossed that the aussie dollar improves so all this will be less expensive!

Hi everyone,
I have made a couple of changes to my itinerary so just wondering if anyone could give some feedback?
Thurday 19/11 � Fly into Nagasaki from Seoul
Friday 20/11 � Nagasaki
Saturday 21/11 � (early morning) Train from Nagasaki to Hiroshima. (Afternoon) trip to Miyajima
Sunday 22/11 � Hiroshima (Peace memorial park and Hiroshima castle)
Monday 23/11 � Train Hiroshima to Osaka
Tuesday 24/11 � Osaka (day trip to Kurashiki)
Wednesday 25/11 � Osaka
Thursday 26/11 � Osaka
Friday 27/11 � Osaka (day trip to Nara)
Saturday 28/11 � Osaka (day trip to Kobe)
Sunday 29/11 � Train Osaka to Kyoto (visit Sanjusangendo, Nishiki market and Fushimi Inari shrine)
Monday 30/11 � Kyoto (visit Kinkakuji and Nanzenji)
Tuesday 1/12 � Kyoto (visit Nishi Honganji, Arashiyama and in the evening visit the Manga museum)
Wednesday 2/12 � Kyoto ( visit Kyomizudera, Kyoto handicrafts centre and downtown area)
Thursday 3/12 � Train Kyoto to Takayama (visit Hida Kokubanji)
Friday 4/12 � Takayama (visit Jinya-mae market, Takayama Jinya Hirata Kinekan Folk Art Museum and Hida Folk Archeological museum)
Saturday 5/12 � Takayama (day trip to Shirakawa-go)
Sunday 6/12 � Bus from Takayama to Matsumoto (visit Matsumoto castle), train Matsumoto to Yudanaka (visit Tomi-no-yu onsen in the evening)
Monday 7/12 � Yudanaka (visit Jigokudani Yaen-Koen - monkey park)
Tuesday 8/12 � Train Nagano to Tokyo
Wedneday 9/12 to Tuesday 22/12 � Tokyo (including day trips to Kawagoe, Nikko and Kamakura)

Are there any sights, specifically in Kyoto that I have missed that we should visit? I have been to Nijo castle before, so anything apart from that?

Does anyone have any recommendations for other day trips from Tokyo that could be used with the JR east pass? What about Sendai? Would you recommend going to the Izu peninsula?

I have seen Mt. Fuji from the Shinkansen, would you recommend a trip there? I don稚 feel that interested in going there so maybe someone could explain the appeal in case I am missing something?

Thank you very much in advance.

A very well-thought-out itinerary. How I envy you for having so much time and money for a 1-month trip.

I presume you do not want to change hotels too often, as you are travelling to and from Osaka a lot. There is nothing wrong, but just want to point out that Kurashiki and Kobe are en-route from Hiroshima to Osaka.

In Kyoto, I will add Ryoan-ji, Heian-jingu, the Philosopher Walk and the ever popular Gion district.

In Takayama, when you say to go to the Hida Fold Archeological museum, do you mean the Hida-no-Sato folk village!? If it is, I would skip it since you are going to Shirakawa-go. There is no need to go to the folk village to see the reconstructed gassho-zukuri farmhouses, there are plenty authentic ones in Shirakawa-go.

As for Mt. Fuji, I agree there is not much point of going there if not climbing it which you cannot do in winter. To see it in its glory for afar is better, though it is not easy as it is mostly hidden behind clouds. You may have a chance of seeing it with Lake Ashi as fore-ground in Hakone. Speaking of Hakone, I would strongly suggest to spend 2 days there to take in all the sights and have an overnight stay in an onsen ryokan. The Hakone Free Pass is good for 2 days anyway.

Nikko with Chuzenji-ko and Kegon Falls can be packed in a day-trip from Tokyo if you start early in the morning. Take the bus to Chuzenji-ko first upon arrival. There is less crowd and less traffic in the morning. Come back in the afternoon to do Nikko, you cannot escape the crowd in Tosho-gu anyway. Also that way you will be walking downhill back to the rail station instead of up. Be warned that Chuzenji-ko area is much colder in winter.

As for Kawagoe, it is an easy side-trip from Tokyo, just need a few hours to take it the Candy Alley, Toki-no-Kane bell tower, Kita-in temple and the Kurazukuri merchant houses along Chuo-dori. If you go early in the morning, you can be back to Tokyo for lunch.

Though Sendai can be done as a daytrip from Tokyo, but it really deserves at least a couple of days. From Sendai, you can do at least half a day to Matsushima and half a day to Yama-dera. I see that you are going for the Manga Museum in Kyoto, so I presume you are an Anime and cartoon fan. Not far from Sendai in the town of Ishinomaki (further on from Matsushima) is Mangattan Museum. Actually the streets from JR Ishinomaki station to the museum are already lined with sculptures of cartoon characters and there is even a special train from Sendai which is decorated inside-out with cartoon characters.
http://www.man-bow.com/manga/

Thanks so much for your input! We definitely appreciate being able to go to Japan for this long a period, especially given current exchange rates. However it maybe out of stupidity rather than luck as we will be returning home broke! I’m sure it will be worth it anyway.

I have thought about going to Kurashiki on the way from Hiroshima to Osaka but we will have luggage with us and I’m a bit worried about not getting a big enough locker. We will have JR West Sanyo passes so it won’t cost us anything extra to go the following day.

I think we’ll add Heian-jingu and Ryoanji but might give the philosopher’s walk a miss as it will be winter so the surroundings won’t be very pretty and we aren’t visiting Ginkakuji because of the restoration work they are doing. Definitely going to Gion.

The Hida Folk archeological museum is a different place, it’s an old samurai house. We aren’t going to the open air museum for the reason you pointed out. Is Shirakawa-go highly recommended? It is a pretty expensive bus ride!

I might give Hakone another look, it doesn’t really appeal to me for some reason when I look it up in books or on the net but everyone seems to recommend it. The last time we were in Japan we were lucky enough to see Mt. Fuji cloud free so I’m not fussed about the view of Mt. Fuji.

We are planning on staying in a short-stay apartment for the 2 weeks we are in Tokyo so I am hesitant to go anywhere overnight as we will still have to pay for the Tokyo night’s accommodation.

We are staying in this excellent ryokan just outside Osaka (on the JR nara line) that we stayed at last time we were in Osaka so we are keen to spend a fair bit of time there, and it also does save the hassle of moving bags. Any suggestions of interesting things to do in Osaka? We have been to Osaka castle before, not interested in Universal studios as we are going to Disneysea, and recommended sights or areas to visit that are perhaps less touristy?

It seems a pity to miss out Philosopher's Walk, esp. since you're going to nearby Nanzen-ji. Ginkaku-ji is indeed covered by white cloth during restoration, but even in its original stage, it's not that impressive. What's more worthwhile is its stone and sand garden and the view up the hilltop. BTW, while in Nanzen-ji, consider to dine in nearby Okutan restaurant which is famous for its yudofu (tofu hot-pot). You can eat in lovely garden surrounding. It's highly popular, so reservation is stronGly recommended. You can ask your hotel to phone ahead and book for you.

Shirakawa-go is definitely worth going, even just for a daytrip from Takayama. It gives you a memorable impression of traditional rural Japan with its unique gassho-zukuri farmhouses among carp-filled streams. During winter time, the village has a light-up event on weekends when the whole place is lit up during the evenings. It's quite pictureque from mid Jan. to mid Feb.

Hakone is popular because it gives a nutshell view of Japan, IMHO. Doing the loop course, you can experience volcanic activity in Owaku-dani and scenic cruise with view of Mt. Fuji on Ashi-ko. For history, there are the Hakone Checkpoint, Detached Palace, the Old Tokaido Road and Amazake-chaya teahouse (under restoration). For temple and shrine, there is the small but beautiful Hakone-jinga with its waterfront torii that has become one of Hakone's icon. For museums, there are many, among them are Hakone Open-Air Museum, Venetian Glass Museum, Little Prince Museum and Bijtsukan Museum of Art, etc. The famed Fujiya Hotel is also worth a look, as it is the first Japanese style hotel catered mainly for westerners. For onsen experience, there are lots to choose from, though it maybe a bit expensive. Even without staying there, you can enjoy a dip in Yunessun which has all sorts of different types of spas and can be best described as an onsen theme park. And finally doing the loop, you get to try out various types of transport.

In Osaka, some of the more popular sights include the panoramic view up Umeda Sky Building, the shopping and dining in Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori area, the leisurely visit in Tempo-zan Harbour Village with Kaiyukan Aquarium. Less touristy are the beautiful parks of Senri Expo Park and Tsurumiryokuchi Park, both of which have lovely flower beds in early summer. I don't know about the condition during winter months. The Kuromon Ichiba Market, called Osaka's Tsukji, is also worth a visit. It's a cover fresh sea-food market with restaurants serving famous blow-fish dishs.

A worthy side-trip from Osaka is Takarazuka, home town of the world famous all female Takarazuka Kagekidan performing group in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre. Also in town is the Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum. Halfway en-route from Osaka to Takarazuka is the town of Ikeda with the interesting Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum.

For more temples and shrines, 30 min JR from Osaka towards Nara is Horyu-ji which is said to be Japan's first designated World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO.

William, thanks again for your advice.

So we are thinking of heading to Hakone for a day trip from Tokyo. Here is an idea:
Take the Odakyu Odawara line express from Shinjuku to Odawara (850, 90mins) then take the Hakone Tozan Railroad from Odawara to Hakone Yumoto (300, 15mins). Then take the bus from Hakone Yumoto to Hakone-machi stop. Visit
Hakone checkpoint and Hakone Detached Palace (for the view).

Then catch the bus back to Hakone Yumoto and take the Izu-Hakone bus bound for Moto-Hakone/Hakone-Machi or Kojiri/Hakone-en and get off at Kowakien (30mins). Visit Yunessun Hot Spring Theme Park (3500).

We are looking at the JR trains instead of the Odakyu pass as it is cheaper even though it takes a bit longer. At this stage we are avoiding cable car type transport and the funicular as my partner doesn't handle heights very well. We might add in the boat ride on the lake depending what we feel like. Does this sound ok?

Regarding the bus to Yunessun hot spring theme park, I found the directions from their website. It says to take a bus headed for Moto Hakone/Hakone Machi, seeing as I am going to Hakone Machi first is this the same bus? Will it pass the Younessun park? It may sound like a silly question seeing as it does say it is headed there, however looking at a map they aren't close to each other or in the same direction from Hakone Yumoto. Any ideas?

Sorry for not replying earlier. There seems to be something wrong with the site. I was shut out from the forum and have to log-in again by signing under a new name.

You have done your homework. The bus info. is correct. The Hakone Tozan Bus between Hakone-Yumoto and Hakone-machi/Mote-Hakone does pass by Yunessun. So on your way back from Hakone-machi/Moto-Hakone, you can go to Yunessun before returning to Hakone Yumoto. Also note that some buses start and end in Odawara, so you can travel solely by bus.

If you want to take the cruise too, there is a direct Odakyu Hakone Highway Bus from Shinjuku to Togendai. Take the cruise to Hakone-machi, bus to Yunessun, bus to Odawara, and finally JR back to Tokyo. That way there is no backtracking.

It's a pity not to ride the cableway to Owaku-dani which is considered by most the highway of the Hakone loop course.

Thanks again William for your reply, you sure know a lot about Japan!

Any ideas how frequntly the buses run and how much they cost? How long does the bus take from Hakone-Yumoto to Hakone-machi?

Hakone Tozan Bus from Hakone-Yumoto 箱根湯本 to Hakone-machi 箱根町: 930 yen, 41 min., frequency is 4/hr in weekdays, 6/hr in weekends, between 6.00-21.00.

http://www.hakone-tozanbus.co.jp/dia-hakone/viewsectioninfo?...

Note that the above info. may need to be up-dated for 2009.