My 3 week itinerary and questions

Ok, so after looking at this site for about a week (and bravo, by the way, japan-guide.com is friggin awesome!) I've sort of settled on an itinerary that I think works. I'd be interested in others opinions of it:

Day 1 Arrive Kansai to Kyoto Day 2 Kyoto Arashiyama
Day 3 Day trip to Fushimi-Inari Shrine
Day 4 Day trip to Kanazawa Day 5 Kyoto Higashiyama
Day 6 Day trip to Hiroshima
Day 7 Day trip to Nara
Day 8 Day trip to Kobe
Day 9 Kyoto to Osaka
Day 10 Osaka
Day 11 Osaka Tempozan
Day 12 Osaka Minami
Day 13 Osaka to Tokyo
Day 14 Tokyo Asakusa Odaiba
Day 15 Tokyo Shibuya Shinjuku
Day 16 Tokyo Ueno
Day 17 Day trip to Yokohama
Day 18 Tokyo Roppongi
Day 19 Tokyo Akihabara
Day 20 Leave From Narita

Any thoughts?

I have some questions also

1. I'm not sure I'll get Hiroshima and Miyajima done in 1 day, it depends on how I get on at Hiroshima. Is Miyajima a must see?

2. My hotel choices are:
Kyoto: Gimmond or Hearton
Osaka: Comfort Shinsaibashi or Arietta
Tokyo Ueno: Chisun, Oak or Blue Wave (Asakusa)
I'm pretty comfortable with those choices, but any advice would be gratefully received.

3. I'm not planning on taking trips to Nagoya or Takayama. I reckon I'll be templed out by then and there's nothing particularly compelling there. There's always next time!

4. I reckon my best plan is to get a 2-week JR pass and activate it on landing. Once I reach Tokyo I really have no need for it, a Suico card will do just fine to get around Tokyo?

5. I've got some major shopping centres included, Nishiki, Akihabara, DenDen town. Is there any other specific areas I should be trying to get to in any of the cities mentioned? I know it depends on what I'm into and I've examined the shopping guide here, but if there's anything that's must-see, please tell me.

6. I've got day trips planned for the weekend, is that going to be trouble with crowds, etc?

7. Would Day 3 day trip to Fushimi-Inara make more sense rolled into Day 7 Nara, are they both doable in a day, saving me an extra trip?

Any thoughts?

It is a slow paced itinerary in terms of allocated whole days to single city districts. But on the other hand, you do only a day trip to Hiroshima, which is very packed.

I'm not sure I'll get Hiroshima and Miyajima done in 1 day

Some people do it. But you will have to leave early, travel at a fast pace and limit yourself to just the main sights.

Is Miyajima a must see?

Yes.

I reckon my best plan is to get a 2-week JR pass and activate it on landing. Once I reach Tokyo I really have no need for it, a Suico card will do just fine to get around Tokyo?

If you have a Japan Rail Pass, you better use the Japan Rail Pass for JR transportation in Tokyo. For non-JR transportation, you could use a Suica card or single tickets.

I've got day trips planned for the weekend, is that going to be trouble with crowds, etc?

Some places are crowded on weekends. For example, the Osaka Aquarium is better avoided on weekends. Transportation should not be a problem on weekends, unless you travel during a peak travel season.

Would Day 3 day trip to Fushimi-Inara make more sense rolled into Day 7 Nara, are they both doable in a day, saving me an extra trip?

Fushimi Inari Shrine is located five minutes from Kyoto Station! Depending on how far you want to follow the shrine's hiking trails, the visit takes between 15 minutes and 3-4 hours.

From Fushimi-Inari you can conveniently take the train to Nara. Depending on how much of Nara you want to see, it could be well possible to combine Fushimi Inari with Nara into a single day.

Thanks, Uji.

If you have a Japan Rail Pass, you better use the Japan Rail Pass for JR transportation in Tokyo. For non-JR transportation, you could use a Suica card or single tickets.

I'm not sure I'd get the benefit of the JR Pass in Tokyo, isn't it only useful on the Yamanote line? And since it would cost Y12000 more to get the 3 week version, I calculate I'd need to do around 100 journeys on this line to make it worth my while, and even then I'd be topping this up with regular subway trips. Am I missing something?

Re: Miyajima. I'm back and forth on this, and at this point, I'm leaning towards checking out of Kyoto, travelling to Hiroshima first thing, staying overnight, doing Miyajima and then coming back, but to Osaka. Bit messy, but it should work out the same cost-wise, and if you think it's worthwhile, then I'll go for it.

Tks for the tip on the Aquarium, I had actually put it down for a weekend, so I've moved some stuff around. As a rule of thumb, is there anything that it makes no difference whether I vist during the weekend? I'm thinking generally, like shrines, temples, "tourist traps", department stores, shopping areas, etc. I assume it's like anywhere else, everywhere gets that bit busier on Saturdays and Sundays. At this point, it looks likely I'll be travelling mid-late September.

I guess I'll decide on the whole Fushimi-Inari/Nara thing when I get done with the shrine and try to work out whether it'd be better to go back to Kyoto and do Nara another day or continue on. It's 6 of 1 and half a dozen of another, I think. I'm not sure why I considered knocking them together, only that the JR Nara line is also the one I'd take to get to Fushimi-Inari, but I'm sure you could say that about dozens of places!

I'm not sure I'd get the benefit of the JR Pass in Tokyo, isn't it only useful on the Yamanote line?

It is good on all JR trains in Tokyo, not just the Yamanote Line:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2017.html

And since it would cost Y12000 more to get the 3 week version, I calculate I'd need to do around 100 journeys on this line to make it worth my while, and even then I'd be topping this up with regular subway trips. Am I missing something?

No, you are right. Don't purchase an additional week for just a few days in Tokyo. It won't pay off. Reading your original question, I got the impression that you would have a rail pass during your Tokyo days. If not, a Suica card or NEX&Suica package is a good option.

As a rule of thumb, is there anything that it makes no difference whether I vist during the weekend?

In case of many shrines and temples, the difference is not so big.

In case of shopping centers, theme parks and family attractions, the difference is big.

Ok, so slightly amended to include side trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima:

Day 1 Arrive Kansai to Kyoto :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 2 Kyoto Arashiyama :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 3 Day trip to Fushimi-Inari Shrine :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 4 Day trip to Kanazawa :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 5 Kyoto Higashiyama :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 6 Day trip to Nara :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 7 Day trip to Kobe :: Overnight Kyoto
Day 8 Side trip to Hiroshima :: Overnight Hiroshima
Day 9 Day trip to Miyajima - Train to Osaka :: Overnight Osaka
Day 10 Osaka :: Overnight Osaka
Day 11 Osaka Tempozan :: Overnight Osaka
Day 12 Osaka Minami :: Overnight Osaka
Day 13 Osaka to Tokyo :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 14 Tokyo Asakusa Odaiba :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 15 Tokyo Shibuya Shinjuku :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 16 Tokyo Ueno :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 17 Day trip to Yokohama :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 18 Tokyo Akihabara :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 19 Tokyo Roppongi :: Overnight Tokyo
Day 20 Leave From Narita

Any thoughts? I'm also at this point considering adding an extra day to Kyoto - I have a lot of day trips planned from Kyoto but I also have built in coming back to Kyoto from those day trips early enough to see more sights in Kyoto and I don't know how feasible that is.

Looks good to me. Adding a day in Kyoto sounds like a good idea, too.

Just as a matter of interest, of my day trips, how many of them are doable by foot? I'm trying to get a sense of scale of these places:

Nara: Nara Park and the Naramachi district seems to be doable, except if I want to visit Toshodaiji Temple.

Kanazawa: Gonna take the loop bus to Kenrokuen first and walk back slowly via all the places I want to go (museums, Nagamachi, Omicho). Probably won't bother with the Chaya districts.

Kobe: This appears to be too large to walk, especially from Sannomiya to say the Rokko cablecar?

Hiroshima: I'll take the tram to the park, but after that it seems to be walkable?

Miyajima: Once I get from Hiroshima to Miyajima, I'm sorted by foot, I think?

Himeji: Unless I go up Mount Shosha, by foot seems to be doable?

Yokohama: Chinatown and Motomachi seem doable, but I'll need to take a train there and back from Yokohama station

As they say, everywhere is within walking distance if you have enough time, but feasibly, is the above beyond reasonable expectations?

Assume that I'm starting at the main JR station in each of these towns, if that makes any difference...

Apologies for the bump, but has anyone any comments on the walkability of these places? I'd hate to start walking from JR Yokohama to Motomachi only to find it takes me four and a half hours and it's dark and closed when I get there, and then I miss the train to get back :)

You can find maps of various towns on Google and also on any guidebook... For Yokohama for example I walked all over the places you mentioned easily. Dito from Kobe's Rokko cable car DOWN to Sannomiya!. I took the Hankyu train from Sannomiya to Rokko to avoid walking up hill. Yes I paid extra but then you have to pay for the cable car too and I don't spend much on food. You can walk from Himeji JR to the castle and back in 20 minutes. Instead of Den-Den town in Osaka I prefer Yodobashi cameras right outside the North exit of the JR Osaka station. Besides thousands of cameras, videos recorders, DVD players, TV s, phones etc. Yodo cam. as amazing appliances (big and small), remote controlled light fixtures, etc. etc. that you haven't seen outside Japan. Den-Den town, and to some extent Akihabara, has several hundreds hole- in-the-wall tiny stores that are so crammed of stuff it is hard to see anything. In Tokyo you only plan to see 2 districts per day... either too much wasted time or not enough, depending how much you want to see in each place and you don't plan for other very interesting places. In Kyoto chance are that the JR station will stop you dead in your tracks and you will want to explore it from the very top (a walkway suspended to the roof trusses) to the nearby basement shopping mall, the department store, the several floors of restaurants etc. You definitely should spend more time there. Are you familiar with Japan pedestrian shopping streets that have a glass roof? (no, they aren't a mall). Osaka has several, including one 1.6 miles long, and so do Kobe, Kyoto etc. .Hiroshima isn't too interesting, besides the sad and moving Peace Park, but Miyajima is amazing (and I went there prepared to dislike it)

Nara: Nara Park and the Naramachi district seems to be doable, except if I want to visit Toshodaiji Temple.

That's right.

Kanazawa: Gonna take the loop bus to Kenrokuen first and walk back slowly via all the places I want to go (museums, Nagamachi, Omicho). Probably won't bother with the Chaya districts.

Then, it is all walkable.

This appears to be too large to walk, especially from Sannomiya to say the Rokko cablecar?

Yes, Rokko Cable Car is a little far. But Kitano, Chinatown and Meriken Park are all walkable from Sannomiya.

I'll take the tram to the park, but after that it seems to be walkable?

Yes. The Peace Park and the castle are relatively close together. You can also walk from the castle via Shukkeien to Hiroshima Station.

Once I get from Hiroshima to Miyajima, I'm sorted by foot, I think?

Yes, all is walkable on Miyajima.

Himeji: Unless I go up Mount Shosha, by foot seems to be doable?

Yes!

Yokohama: Chinatown and Motomachi seem doable, but I'll need to take a train there and back from Yokohama station

Motomachi and Chinatown are a short walk from JR Ishikawacho Station.

As a rule of thumb, one kilometer corresponds to about 15 minutes walking:
http://maps.google.com/

Thanks Red Frog and especially Uji.

I have been looking up these places here and in my lonely planet guidebook, I find google maps a little unhelpful as all locations are in Japanese. I've been trying to match up the book with google maps, but to no avail. It's good to get confirmation for my theories.