8 days, big dreams

Hi everyone

i have been reading these pages ever since i started planning my japan trip and have found it very very useful, so thank you very much! I know you guys are full of great advice and was wondering if you could please spare the time to have a look at my plans and let me know what you think.
We are 3 australian girls travelling for the first time to japan in early feb 2009, well one of us spent 4 days in tokyo 2 years ago. We have 8 full days i would say as we get in at 6:45 at night so day 1 i dont really count. Here is what i have planned...

Day 1 Narita Airport
Tokyo

Day 2 Explore Tokyo

Day 3 Tokyo
Mt Fuji
Osaka

Day 4 Explore Osaka
Kyoto

Day 5 Explore Kyoto

Day 6 Explore Kyoto

Day 7 Kyoto
Nagoya
Takayama

Day 8 Takakyama
Matsumoto
Nagano

Day 9 Nagano
Nikko
Tokyo

Getting back to Tokyo on the Day 9 is a must as we fly back out at 8:15 pm. Obviously with all this travelling around i am planning on getting us the 7 day JR pass and just using a 1 day jr pass around tokyo on Day 2. As you can probably see we want to see as much as we can in the time we have both city and country. Do you guys think we might be going to too many places for not enough time. or is it able to be done? if we are cutting it too close for time on Day 9 i dont think i will mind going straight from Nagano to Tokyo.
We havent even started booking accommodation yet as i wanted to get our travelling itinerary right before we do, so any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks
Fiona

Jeez, i wouldnt try fit in all of that in 8 days, you will feel way too rushed and just be sitting on trains all the time, your itinerary doesnt leave any room for movement, i would personally cut it back but if thats what you wanna do (Plenty of people do) Go for it! Oh and another thing, you are going to Mt Fuji in the smack middle of Winter, probably wont be able to see much id imagine.

Hi there,

Your itinerary sounds fantastic, but honestly I think to appreciate it you would need quite a bit more time. There is a lot there crammed into 8 days. Kyoto alone needs at least 4 days to see all the tourist spots. Also, it looks like most of your days are going to be filled with train travelling, so I hope you have taken that into account.

Having said that though, many people do what your planning and try to achieve as much as possible and still enjoy their trip, so if you don't mind quick looks through the different places then go for it! It isn't impossible.

If you do go ahead with it, I would recommend planning all the train travel, or at least get a rough idea on train times/timetables/distances etc. Here is a fantastic English link for train times in Japan...
http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

Also, if you are planning on getting a JR pass, I would recommend not activating it until Day 3 because if you activate it on the 1st day, it will expire at 23.59.59 on Day 7. If you activate it on day 3 you will be able to use it to get back to Narita Airport and for the first two days, have you considered getting a SUICA & NEX pass?

Narita Express and Suica:

The Suica & NEX package for 3500 Yen consist of 1) a one way trip from Narita Airport to Tokyo (or Yokohama) by Narita Express and 2) a Suica card worth 2000 Yen (500 Yen refundable deposit plus 1500 Yen worth of train fares), a great deal, considering that the regular one way fare of the Narita Express alone is around 3000 Yen or more!

The Suica & NEX package can be purchased at Narita Airport only by travelers who hold a non-Japanese passport. There is a limit of one purchase per person.

The suica can be used to pay the fare for virtually all trains in the Greater Tokyo region, including JR trains, subways and monorails, but excluding shinkansen. This would be ideal and cheaper to use in Tokyo than buying another JR pass.

Finally, in terms of accommodation, you could even consider some night trains to save on hotels and save time not wasting the days with train travel.

But like I said, it is possible, just a lot of planning to make the most of it needs to be involved! Hope that helps. Any more questions just ask.

Good luck!

Even as and experienced traveler in japan this would be really hard. Travel between locations and hotels is really something that eats time. That said you can fit in a lot if you plan.

First choice to make is whether to travel to Fuji or not. I traveled to Fuji in December my first time in Japan. Climbed it in August. There is really only one thing to do in winter, and that is ride roller coasters.

Kawaguchiko is an easy place to reach via train from Tokyo. Hotel rooms in sight of the train station. In January it is more likely to be clear and the view of Fuji from there will be great.

There is a theme park in Kawaguchiko with world class coasters and exhibits. I thought it was sweet! If that sounds fun make the trip. If not stay in Tokyo another day or 7 :)

Other than that here's a few suggestions for your itinerary. Day 7 and 8 sound fun, never been those places.

Day 1 Narita Airport
Tokyo

Day 2 Explore Tokyo

Day 3
Mt Fuji (leave tokyo early)


Day 4 Explore
Kyoto

remember Kyoto, osaka, and Nara are all within an hour of each other by train. If you use a JR rail it is very easy to lodge in one location and visit the rest.

Day 5 Explore Kyoto/Nara

Day 6 Explore Osaka (its awesome!)

Day 7
Nagoya
Takayama

Day 8 Takakyama
Matsumoto
Nagano
Leave to stay night in tokyo

Day 9
Tokyo :

You mentioned "Mt. Fuji" but didn't get specific on anything exactly about Mt. Fuji you wanted to do or see. Its just there in the middle of your trip.

There are many trips that can revolved around "Mt. Fuji" that can be full day trips, each with a different route of getting to it. Climbing Fuji during the winter time is extremely dangerous.

If you are happy just to see Mt. Fuji in passing, sit on the right side of the shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka and if it is a clear day (quite likely in February), you will have a fantastic view of it from the train window.

Nagano-Nikko-Narita in one day?? What time is your flight?

I think you really need to look on the hyperdia website that someone else posted to get an idea of exactly how long it takes to travel to each place.

Personally if I only had 8 days I would just do the Kansai area (Kyoto, Osaka and Nara) and Tokyo with a day trip to Nikko. This would make for a great trip without the other places. As another poster said you should get a good view of Mt Fuji in Feb from the train. Is there a specific reason you want to go to Nagano?

If you have your hearts set on seeing all these places then go for it but I think it would be more enjoyable if you just did the Kansai and Tokyo areas.