Would love advice on itinerary

First time traveling to Japan - here's what I'm thinking. Please let me know if this seems unreasonable - or if there are things I'm missing that I should try to see. THANKS!

July 1 – Arrive in Tokyo!
July 2 –Tokyo – Fish Market
July 3 – Head to Hiroshima (By train? By bus? What do you recommend?)
July 4 – Hiroshima
July 5 – Shikoku - Once you have JR Pass, can you use it on trains in Shikoku?
July 6 – Shikoku
July 7 – Shikoku
July 8 – Okayama – Koraku-En Garden
July 9 – Okayama
July 10 – Mie - Parque Espana
July 11 – Mie - Ninja Museum
July 12 – Kyoto
July 13 – Kyoto – Monkey Mountain
July 14 – Kyoto
July 15 – Nagoya - Try to see Sumo - how easy/difficult is it to get tickets?
July 16 – Inuyama - Japan Monkey Centre
July 17 – Takayama
July 18 – Shirakawago
July 19 – Takayama
July 20 - Nagano - Olympic Park
July 21 – Nagano – See Macaques – Any advice on this?
July 22 – Hakone – Glass blowing at Glass no Mori
July 23 – Hakone
July 24 – Tokyo –Tobu World Square
July 25 – Tokyo – Mt. Takao
July 26 – Tokyo
July 27 – Tokyo - National Science Museum Ueno Park
July 28 – Mt. Fuji
July 29 – Tokyo - Disney
July 30 – Leave Tokyo

How I envy you to have a whole month in lovely Japan.

IMO, train is a very convenient way to travel in Japan. JR rail pass is also good for JR trains in Shikoku

For a first time visit to Kansai, there are lots of places worth seeing. Between Hiroshima and Kyoto, besides Okayama, there are Kurashiki, Himeji Castle, Kobe, Osaka and Nara. While in Hiroshima, I would include a side-trip to Miyajima. Himeji Castle will be undergoing major renovation later this year and will be covered with scaffolding for 4 years. Hopefully in July work would not have started yet.

After Okayama, do Kyoto first before going east to Ninja Museum in Iga and Parque Espana in Ise-shima. BTW, Parque Espana has not been popular since it opens. We passed the place on our visit to the Kii Peninsula and did not bother with it. For theme park, surely Universal Studio in Osaka is more popular.

Between Kyoto and Nagano, I would recommend the following route: JR from Kyoto to Kanazawa, bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go, bus from Shirakawa-go to Takayama, bus from Takayama to Kamikochi, bus and train from Kamikochi to Matsumoto, JR from Matusumoto to Nagano.

From Nagano taking direct shinkansen back to Tokyo and use Tokyo as a base for visit to Nikko and Hakone.

Do you want to visit more cities or country? Touristy areas or just everyday Japan? Or a mixture?

I noticed you didn't have anywhere in Kyushu on your itinerary, which is further south but if you go to Hiroshima you're almost there

I spent the majority of my time there when I visited Japan and I LOVED it. As a whole I noticed it was more in the country and there aren't many touristy options, but they exist.

My favorite city I visited there was Beppu in Oita prefecture. There was a nice aquarium there that I actually liked more than the famous one in Osaka (the one in Beppu doesn't have whale sharks though) and a monkey park that even had an English guide (at least when I was there). It looks VERY different then the monkey center in Inuyama (I didn't go but I just looked at pictures and videos to check it out). This park actually takes you up a mountain into where they like to stay. There some buildings, but the monkeys are in the wild. It was definitely one of the cutest things I've seen with all the mom and baby monkeys (I was there about the same time as you will be too). If you go, definitely stay for a feeding time. It was amazing. There were monkeys EVERYWHERE. There were literally hundreds of monkeys running only a few inches from me.

Beppu is also well known for its onsen so if you stop there for a day its worth checking that out too.

Also, its very close and was one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life, there's this African Safari in Oita near Beppu. You can share a bus with others or, like my boyfriend and I did, drive through yourself. It's literally you, inside this park with elephants and lions and buffalo and all these crazy animals RIGHT OUTSIDE the car.

It seems you already have a packed schedule but I just thought I'd let you know about those in case Oita sounds interesting to you. I know it usually doesn't pop into many people's minds when they think of visiting Japan haha

when you are in hiroshima, try to find a nice place for some okonomiyaki. there are lots of shops in the main station offering good food for low prices.

I assume you want to see the Macaques in the hot spring? This is near Yudanaka whih is 45 minutes from Nagano. It is a nice place to stay at an onsen ryokan or you can do a day trip from Nagano.

To get there from Nagano: Take the Nagano Dentetsu line to Yudanaka (45mins) then take the bus bound for Kanbayashi Onsen Guchi and get off at Kanbayashi onsen (15mins). The entrance to the monkey park is 400m from the bus stop. You then walk about 1.6km from the entrance to the park to where the monkeys are.

These directions can be found in the Lonely Planet guide. You should find out the bus and train times because I don't think they are that frequent.

The monkey park has a website:
http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/
They have a camera that takes a photo every hour so you can check out what it looks like.

I think there is also a bus that runs straight from Nagano station to the monkey park but I don't know the details, perhaps someone else can help.

Why go back to Mt Fuji when you are already in Hakone? Just a thought...

All of this advice is very useful. This website is terrific. Yes, for the trip the main goal is to see monkeys and as much other stuff as possible. If Parque Espana is not worth it, maybe I will try Universal instead. Thanks again!

For monkey fans, besides the monkey parks in Inuyama and Arashiyama, you can also find lots of them up there in Mt. Misen in Miyajima.

A note about the Jigokudani Yaen Koen, the snow monkey onsen. Going there in July may not be a good idea. We went during April and were quite disappointed. The place is a bit run-down with just a pond where monkeys only take a dip when the attendant throws in something for them to eat. The scenery should be better during winter months with snow.

Honestly you are going to far too many places. 1 year from now you will not remember everything. Visiting a country shouldn't be a marathon. Most Japanese have never seen most of your countries and never will. You, unless you live in a small country have never seen all of it. It is far better --based on well over 30 years of travelling, to see only a few regions but see them at leisure. Stay in Kyoto or Osaka for 10 days allow you to see the Kansai (the craddle of Japanese civilization) in details (Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji). Staying in one hotel for at least a week is also much more relaxing that being in new place every few days. You also get a chance to get familiar with the town you stay in.Tokyo would be another base (from there you can see Yokohama, Kamakura, Nikko, Fuji , etc. each one as 1 day excursion. See Hiroshima and Miyajima before the Kansai. Don't bother about Universal studios! it is just publicity for US studios and time is better spent on Japanese sights. I wouldn't recommend monkeys either. They are nasty dangerous animals that have been known to bite and scratch people. if you plan your trip well you can get by with a 14 days pass. .

Red Frog,

I think your comment makes a lot of sense. A base does sound nice. Would it be possible to have - say - two bases (Tokyo and Kyoto?) and see (almost) all of what I have on the list?

Also, are the monkeys really vicious?

One more question: Are there homestay options available? I looked into volunteering, but was told they were not interested in Americans because they do not want to spread Swine Flu - yikes!

Just thought I'd ask.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

I've been there in Jun and enjoyed a lot. I can recommend this guide http://www.yudanaka-shibuonsen.com .. Zeno really made our trip to Monkeys enjoyable. The area is not just about Monkeys, but the real Japanese countryside, traditions, and local craft...I recommend to go...