clopido

Please help me with my itinerary: 26 days on the ground in Japan September 14 to October 10 - first 7 days in Tokyo then to Takayama and Kanazawa for 3 to 4 days then fly to Kagoshima, ferry to Yakushima for the cedar forest and Iya valley then back to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Miyajima, fly back from Osaka. Please let me know if this is too much. We are fairly active 60 year olds who love food, hiking, architecture and history. Thank you for your insight.

Kathie

Yes, i think it is too much for your time allotted. You have your first 7 days in Tokyo, which would be too much Tokyo time for me, but maybe not for you, then your remaining 19 days are divided among 10 places. I'd suggest you prioritize your destinations, and make sure you have adequate time for those, then fill in with lower priority destinations. For me, I'd spend the most days in Kyoto Also, remember that while the Japan transportation is very efficient, it still takes time to get from place to place. Figure it will take from half a day to most of a day each time you change locations. You have so many location changes, I wouldn't want to "waste" that much tome changing locations.

BigRuss

Other than a week in Tokyo, there seems to be no set priority among your other destinations.

Go to japan-guide.com and start figuring out where you want to be and what you want to see.

kja

You’ve already gotten some great advice! I’ll just
- second the recommendation to spend time, LOTS of time, with japan-guide.com and
- note that I think the Takayama / Kanazawa pair (or triplet, if you count Shirakowago) often merits at least a 5 or 6 night chunk.

I envy you a 26 day visit!

Adastra2200

Well, I'm still trying to figure out your exact plans here. Take 3-4 days for Takayama/Kanazawa and then fly to Kagoshima...from where?

You could fly straight from Osaka Itami to Yakushima on JAL, although the flight unfortunately is not eligible for any of their discount tourist fares. And you don't mention seeing Kagoshima at all - ignoring the Sakurajima volcano and Senganen Garden would be a tragedy.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...JMdkB9mF0qjnqK

Then you want to rush over to the Iya Valley - in Tokushima? It's nice of course but you're spending a lot of time going to just one place, which is not very efficient. If you can get somewhere far away like Yakushima, Okinawa, etc by air then that's fine, but otherwise to waste hours on trains to just go to one place is not going to make a great trip. I suggest you find some places closer to see if going by train or car or bus, and if somewhere far away, then fly. There are many good tourist airfares and dirt cheap low cost carriers.

I'd also say a week for Tokyo is too much - 3-4 days to see the city is fine, but take some days for some good day trips like Nikko, Kamakura, Hakone, the Fuji 5 Lakes, the Hitachi Seaside Park, Kusatsu, Karuizawa, Takao, etc. If you have a JR Rail pass, even Sendai is within reach. Or get the Tokyo Wide Pass and save a ton.

Japan Guide is one of the better comprehensive sites to look through, but it would be a mistake to rely only on it or any other single site. I've had to send them numerous corrections on some slip-ups they made, and even they have some glaring omissions on some of the best place to see. I strongly recommend you look up the official websites for the cities you plan to visit also - nearly all have tourist info with great places to see that are listed nowhere else. Many main train stations have a tourist info office as well - take advantage of them. You can often get free maps as well as the latest info on closures, festivals, and so on.
For Yakushima also, you can get some very good info on:
http://www.yakumonkey.com
http://www.yesyakushima.com

Plus if you have not looked through them yet, see if any rail passes might save you some money. Either the full JR Pass or regional passes.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

Kavey

Clopido, it might help to know how you arrived at this starting itinerary? Where did it come from?

Agree with everyone else that it's too much, and not very coherent either...

mrwunrfl

You've got some great ideas, but not yet a plan.

Tokyo - 7 days
Takayama and Kanazawa - 5 or 6 days.
Kyoto, Osaka, Nara - 7 days
Miyajima & Iya Valley - 3 or 4 days

So that's 22 to 24 days

If you actually wanted to go from Kanazawa to Kagoshima (where I gather you are not staying but just connecting to the boat) then you would fly from Komatsu to a connecting city (Tokyo) then to Kagoshima. That would be $200. then 15,000 for the roundtrip boat ride and another $100 to fly back from Kagoshima to Osaka. So, Yakushima is going to cost you $350 to $450 to visit.

My GUESS at the time cost would be:
An hour to get to Komatsu airport, hour wait, 1.5 hours flying, 1 hr connect, 1.5 hr flight, 2 hours from Kagoshima airport to get on the ferry boat, 3 hour boat ride. So that is about 11 hours. Return: 3 hr boat to Kagoshima, 2 hr transfer, 1.5 hr flight, 1.5 hr transfer to Kyoto or Osaka. Another 8 hours.

So, 19 hours is just a WAG. My point is that Yakushima is going to cost you time and money and that might very well be worth it to you.

I've read about good hiking in Kirishima, near Kagoshima. IIRC, japan-guide ranks it among the best of Japan. I stayed in Kirishima Onsen and visited the shrine and could advise on that, but I did not do the hiking.

clopido

Thank you SO much for all of your Stellar advice. You guys are the best. Really appreciate it. I am dropping Kagoshima on this trip. And adding days to Takayama. Will consult Japan guide.

Kavey

It's a great resource to help look at what interests you. Come back with more questions!