whirlwind itenary

What do you think about this itenary? We'll be there the last 2 weeks of May. This is our first trip to Japan.

1 - arrv Narita at 5pm, head to Annex Katsutaro in Ueno
2 - Sanja Matsuri
3 - Tsukiji fish market, Ueno, Akihabara
4 - Ito city in Izu hanto for onsen, stay in minshuku
5 - Takayama, old town, Hida folk village
6 - Kyoto, Toji temple market, Kinkakuji
7 - Kyoto, imperial palace, Kiyomizudera, maybe Fushimi Inari Shrine
8 - Himeji, Miyajima stay at Miyajima Backpacker
9 - back to Kyoto, free day
10 - Kyoto, Kita no Tenmangu market, Gion
11 - back to Tokyo, maybe stop in Kamakura maybe not, stay at Toyoko Inn near Shinjuku station,
12 - Tokyo
13 - Hakone loop, onsen, stay at ryokan
14 - Hakone to Narita, fly home.

This seems like a lot of traveling, but I don't know when we'll get back to Japan again. Any comment/idea/feedback? I'm planning to get a 7 days JR pass and activate it on Day 5 going to Takayama. Will this work better than 14 days JR pass?

thank you

Days 4 and 5 look unpleasantly packed to me. But if you like an extremely fast travel pace and do not mind spending large portions of your days in trains, it can be done.

A 14-day pass will probably pay off considering that you will also be able to cover the trip to Ito, Hakone (but not within Hakone) and the airport.

Thanks Uji for your input

4 - Ito city in Izu hanto for onsen, stay in minshuku
5 - Takayama, old town, Hida folk village

Day 4 is probably ok. We're just going to walk around Jogasaki area and then relax at an Onsen, that's all.

I'm apprehensive about Day 5 too. Is Takayama worth the trip if we only spend a day there? I'm planning to leave early and get there around noon. The train ride from Nagoya to Takayama is suppose to be beautiful as I understand. Is it scenic at the end of May? Alternatively, we could go straight to Kyoto.

I was planning to get the Hakone pass for the last trip. That's one reason why I was thinking 7 days JR pass is enough.

Is Takayama worth the trip if we only spend a day there?

It seems to me that you will not even spend a day there. If you leave Ito around 10:00, you won't be in Takayama until around 15:30! You would have to use the next day for most of the sightseeing, and lose the only day you have allocated to Kyoto.

My suggestion is to either allocate more time to it or drop it. Takayama is very nice but not absolutely outstanding. I recommend to make a decision based on your personal interest in Takayama.

The train ride from Nagoya to Takayama is suppose to be beautiful as I understand. Is it scenic at the end of May?

Yes, end of May is the best time of the year. Everything is green and beautiful.

Alternatively, we could go straight to Kyoto.

In that case, the 14-day pass would not pay off, anymore.

I was planning to get the Hakone pass for the last trip. That's one reason why I was thinking 7 days JR pass is enough.

You could still use the Hakone Free Pass within Hakone, but use the Japan Rail Pass for transportation between Tokyo and Hakone. Alternatively, you could consider visiting Hakone on your way back from western Japan to Tokyo.