ali_travels

My boyfriend's brother is getting married in Kobe in late March, and we're planning to spend 13 days traveling in Japan before and after the wedding. We just booked our flights in and out of Tokyo.

I've never been to Japan before, but my boyfriend has and is thankfully familiar with getting around and all that. We're trying to compromise with it being my first trip, so seeing some "must-sees" while also exposing him to new places (he's been to Tokyo, Kobe, Kyoto, Nozawa Onsen--which he loved, Tokyo and Fukuoka). We're thinking of focusing our time more on countryside--temples, hot springs (rotenburo), etc. I've been scouring trip reports and other posts for some ideas.

Here are the preliminary thoughts:

Days 1-3
Arrive in Tokyo, spend one night there or head straight to Hakone or Nikko to recover from jet lag for two nights

Day 4
Head to Kobe for pre-wedding dinner (are there any sites on the train ride from Tokyo area to Kobe worth making a several hour stop for?)

Day 5
Wedding in Kobe

Day 6
Kobe-post wedding activities; potentially a half-day trip to Osaka for the sumo tournament (as recommended by joannecam)

Day 7-9/10
taking a page from Hawaiian Traveler's cherry blossom trip report, we're thinking of traveling to Miyajima for a night, stopping to see the Himeji castle along the way, then possibly head down to Kagoshima for another night or two

or

visit the Arima Onsen (supposedly a nice resort area near Kobe), then go down to Miyajima

Day 9-11
one-two nights in Nara, depending on above plan

Day 11-13
two nights in Tokyo

This may be too compressed, and we want to enjoy the countryside, so any help teasing this out would be much appreciated. Any suggestions of places to go near Kobe, which is of course the central component of the trip, are appreciated!

Thanks,
Ali

WillJame

You haven't included Kyoto in your itinerary. Consider flying into Osaka's Kansai airport, and flying out of Narita. Are you staying in hotels entirely? Where?

ali_travels

We've talked about excluding Kyoto, since my BF has already been and I'm thinking I'll get enough of the city experience in Tokyo/Osaka and the temples/cultural experience in Nara and other places... Is that not a fair assumption?

WillJame

Where to begin.... Very few people who have ever experienced Japan would bypass Kyoto because they've already "been." It would be like going to Paris and deciding not to take your bf there on your second trip because you've "done" it. I'd say that you should scrap everything else before you skip Kyoto. It is no way comparable to Tokyo or Osaka, and offers many times the opportunities for sight-seeing that Nara provides.
If anything, I'd suggest making Kyoto your base and travelling from there to Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Himeji, etc. With 13 days in Japan, at least 3-4 should be devoted to Kyoto. That's my view, anyway. Your itinerary has too many little trips here and there without getting you rooted into experiencing in depth any one thing.
But, then, maybe hit-and-run and experiencing as many new things as possible is your style--in which case throw my advice out the window.

ali_travels

That's a very strong case to be made for Kyoto. We'll revisit it.

Does anyone have an opinion on Hakone vs. Nikko as a restorative jaunt from Tokyo?

Also, Hawaiian Traveler suggested Nikko as a better alternative to Nara. What would be the main trade-offs there?

Thanks for your helpful replies =)

hawaiiantraveler

at,
Hmmmmm.....taking a look at your itinerary, the popular and nice hotels in Kyoto may be impossible to book at the time you are traveling at this late date anyway because of the cherry blossoms season so you may be right in skipping Kyoto this time....though the thought of walking down the Philosophers Path under the cherry blossoms is mighty tempting to me.....but probably too late and definitely too expensive at that time of year....

I would skip Kagoshima as it is too far south(west) and travel there would take up too much of your time on ground. Maybe a night in Hiroshima coupled with the night on Miyajima Island and seeing Himeji-jo on the way back up towards Nara....

Two days at Arima Onsen sounds like a great plan to me.

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/arima/index.htm

This place is on my shortlist when we return to the area and visit AO

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d.../kosenkaku.htm

Too bad you have to go all the way back to NRT to fly home. If you could get an open jaw ticket and fly into NRT and fly home from KIX (Osaka)it would save you one night and you could stay near Kyoto/Osaka and maybe sneak 2 nights in Kyoto in, lol

I wouldn't think of adding any more to your plate this time around as you have enough to manage in all the places you have mentioned >

Anyway, start making your reservations now, then you'll find out what you can and cannot do at this late date. Have fun!

Aloha!

kja

> Also, Hawaiian Traveler suggested Nikko as a better alternative to Nara. What would be the main trade-offs there?

Nara is very ancient and has a number of very traditional temples and shrines. It has an interesting preserved/restored merchants' district and is in a generally flat area. See:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html

Nikko is in the mountains. It's most famous shrine - Toshogu - is much more ornate that most Japanese shrines. From Nikko, one can also visit Lake Chuzenji and the Kegon waterfalls. See:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html

Both are wonderful! Hope that helps.