1 Month Itinerary Suggestions, Rail Pass

Hi,

I'm looking for a suggested 1 month itinerary. I'd be arriving and leaving from Tokyo and would definitely want to include Kyoto, Osaka and Kumamoto. I was also looking for suggestions on rail passes. Would it be worth while to get a 21 day and a 7 day JR pass to cover the whole trip, or would that be over paying?

Thanks.

Day1 arrival in Tokyo.

Day2 o 8 Tokyo including, Yokohama, Kamakura, Nikko

Day 8 to 10 Mt.Fuji & Hakone

Day 11 to 13 Nagoya including Takayama, Shirakawago, Ise

Day 14 to 25 Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Mt.Koya, Himeji

Day 26 to 27 Hiroshima & Miyajima

Day 28 to 29 Kumamoto

Day 29 to 30 Tokyo to return.

would that be over paying?
Yes. I recommend Smart IC card and some regional passes. Day 24 to 30 be covered by 7day JR Pass.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400_tokyo_19.html

Without knowing your interests, it's difficult to suggest any specific itinerary - here is one by this website (go to trave section) for 21 days travel.

Whether rail pass is recommended depends totally on your itinerary, so we'd have to wait for you to come up with general draft itinerary :)

Have fun planning!

Sorry, I posted the initial question with little detail.

We have since built on the 21 day itinerary. Heres our draft. Let me know what you think.

Day 1-3 Tokyo
Day 4 Day trip to Nikko
Day 5 Day trip to Kamakura
Day 6 Ise/Nagoya
Day 7 Takayama
Day 8 Takayama/Shirakawa-go
Day 9 Kanazawa
Day 10-14 Kyoto
Day 15 Day trip to Nara
Day 16-17 Mount Koya
Day 18 Osaka
Day 19 Himeji
Day 20 Hiroshima
Day 21 Miyajima
Day 22 Beppu
Day 23-24 Kumamoto
Day 25-26 Yakushima
Day 27-30 Tokyo, climb Mount Fuji maybe

So we will be moving a lot. We were thinking we can buy the 21 day JR rail pass and activate it so that it lasts us for the trips between the times we are in Tokyo. Any thoughts on that?

Also anyone have tips on going to Yakushima?

Thanks,

K.F.

Day 25-26 Yakushima
Day 27-30 Tokyo, climb Mount Fuji maybe

The journey from Yakushima to Tokyo by train takes most of a day! Which day? Note that I recommend to spend at least two nights on Yakushima. In other words, I think you do not have enough time allocated to Yakushima and the journey back to Tokyo. You might also want to look into flying back to Tokyo to save some time.

Also anyone have tips on going to Yakushima?

Here you go:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4650.html