jdc26

Hi everyone and thanks for all the wonderful comments/information given for my initial trip which was planned for last year, but which had to cancel after a tree fell on my house, displacing me for almost a year while the repairs were being made. I’ve made a slight change from that initial itinerary, i.e., cutting out Takayama.

Below is my new itinerary. I prefer a leisure travel style and prefer to choose a few destinations from where I can do day trip as oppose to many one nighters. I’m not into museums and temples and don’t have to see the “must see” or “must dos” of each city. I’m an outdoor person preferring to hike, long walks/strolls, people watching and just absorbing the culture of a city/country.

For my day in Tokyo, my friend has suggested that I leave those days open for her and she will plan my time there which will include day trips to Kamakura, Yokohama (where she friend lives), Izu Peninsula (we’re actually going to spend a couple days there, basing in Miyama where she once lived), Chichibu hoping to get a glimpse of the pink moss which I’m hoping will still be around while I’m there.

Please provide any comments you have based on my itinerary below. I’m also debating whether a Japan Rail Pass would work for me, but after having checked the fees using hyperdia.com, it appears that the cost is about the same with a moderate plus or minus. I did contact the Japan Rail Pass and after giving them my itinerary they said the 21 day pass would work for my itinerary activating when I leave Matsumoto for Kanazawa. I also have a friend that lives in Yokohama and on her trip to visit me last year, she brought me a Suica Card which she says I can use everywhere in Japan by adding to it.

Leave IAD May 9, 2017 at 12:20 pm
Arrive Tokyo Narita May 10, 2017 at 15.25 (3.25pm)

10 – (arrival day)
11 – Tokyo (with day trips)
12 – Tokyo (with day trips)

Leave Tokyo – 13th to Matsumoto
14 – Matsumoto (with day trip to Kamikochi)

15 – Leave Matsumoto 15th to Kanazawa
16 - Kanazawa
17 – Kanazawa

Leave Kanazawa 18th to Kyoto
18th to June 1st Kyoto (with day trips)

Leave Kyoto June 1st to Hiroshima
1 to 5th Hiroshima (with day trips Miyajima, Okayama, Onomichi and Iwakuni)

Leave Hiroshima 5th for Tokyo 5-8
5 - Tokyo (night)
6 - Tokyo (with day trips)
7 - Tokyo (with day trips)
8 - Tokyo (with day trips)

Btw, all my hotel reservations have been tentatively booked and for Kyoto, I'm renting an apartment.

Thanks in advance.
jdc

kja

Sorry for the news about your house and tree – hope you are past the worst!

Just a few comments:

IMO, 2 days is not much for Kanazawa, particularly given what you say of your travel style. But then, if you plan to skip all its museums, it could work for you. You might want to make time for tea at Gyokusen-en.

While in Hiroshima, you might want to consider a stop in Kurashiki, perhaps on the same day that you visit Okayama.

While in Kyoto, you might want to see if you can attend the magnificent Kamagawa Odori
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/kamogawa-odori

I don’t mean to question your interests – viva la difference! – but I am a bit disconcerted by your statement that you “aren’t into … temples” because many temples in Japan are known far more for their gardens than anything else. I hope you take that into consideration as you plan your trip. But that’s just an observation, one that I hope you will take as a constructive comment and not a criticism or challenge.

Hope that helps!

jdc26

@ kja, thank you for your kind words regarding my house. The worst has passed and we were finally able to more back in a couple months ago.

I suppose I can leave Tokyo for Matsumoto on the morning of the 12th and use the 13th for hiking in Kamikochi and add day 14th to Kanazawa.

Your comments are appreciated so I don't take them as a criticism at all. As of now, I'm not making any plans as to what I will do each day, as I like to see what my mode is when I get up in the morning (that's usually my travel style). If I'm in the mode to view more gardens, I will visit more temples.

Thank you for the link of the Kamagawa Odori. I will definitely look into seeing a performance while in Kyoto.

Kavey

Gosh, what an awful experience regarding your house. I'm glad you yourself are safe, but it sounds like a traumatic loss nonetheless.

As Kja said, vive la difference, and if you really don't want to visit temples, that of course is your prerogative. However I would say that the temples across Japan were one of my absolutely favourite people-watching places. Observing the wide range of people that visited, what they did (which provided a nice way of seeing the cultural side of religious worship in Japan) and even how they dressed, how they interacted together, was a joy. I watched everyone from groups of young children, to teenagers in school uniforms, to single women at a shrine for love, to men and women of all ages.

In addition, the gardens at many of the temples are indeed unique and beautiful places - the garden of Tenryūji in Arashiyama is a delight, for example, as are many others.

So for me, while I find the variety and architecture and colour of temples interesting, it's also the cultural insight, the people watching and the gardens that draw me to many of them.

dgunbug

A pity you took takayama out...that was one of our favorite cities.

jdc26

@ Kavey, I do enjoy people watching.

@ dgunbug, I was planning on going to Takayama, but my Japanese friend said that while Takayama is a famous sightseeing place in Japan she thinks it's very similar to Kyoto so I should save it for another trip, which I plan on doing.

Kavey

Then I would suggest that you visit some of the temples, but perhaps not necessarily ALL the tourist book top ones. Some of those, plus some of the smaller ones or those that are not quite "Top 10 Sites" level.

I'll come back with a list of my personal favourites for people watching later, if that's of interest, am just heading out now.

jdc26

Kavey, thank you. That would be wonderful. I'm now working on modifying my itinerary to exclude Matsumoto and hiking in Kamikochi and save them for a later trip so I can add more days to Kanazawa. The only change I can't make is to Kyoto since I'm booked at an apartment there and don't want to change my dates. So am thinking arriving Kanazawa on the 14th which would give me 4ntgs/3days.

Boveney

So glad you are managing to get to Japan after what must have been a nightmare come to life. I do realize you won't be able to see everything but urge you to reconsider dropping Matsumoto entirely. The 'Black Crow Castle' there is truly extraordinary. We took a two and a half day trip there from Tokyo mostly because we wanted to go at a very leisurely pace. That's way too much time to allot on the type of trip you're doing but just to give an idea, here are the things we enjoyed besides the castle: walks along the riverside and the old shopping street, visiting the museum dedicated to works of Matsumoto-born avant garde artist Yayoi Kusama, and taking a short local train ride and then cycling to one of the biggest wasabi farms in Japan (Daio Wasabi Farm, Azumino), stopping alone the way to visit an old samurai house, shrines,etc.

jdc26

@Boveney, wow, thank you. One of my main reason for going to Matsumoto was/is to see the castle, but cycling (another fave of mine) to the wasabi farms sounds amazing. I just may consider dropping it and may just cut a day from Hiroshima and stop there on my way back to Tokyo.

someotherguy

I'd keep Matsumoto for the reasons Boveney gives, and Kamikochi (the only nature spot on your itinerary, nice hikes), and Takayama (unique food and ambiance, see the gassho houses at Hida no Sato), and drop Kanazawa.

dgunbug

We liked takayama even more than Kanazawa, but they pair up nicely. The Hida folk lore village just outside of town is well worth seeing.

dgunbug

Also, meant to add that IMO Kyoto and Takayama are very different. Takayama is a much smaller town in the mountain region with a very different feel to it and Kyoto is a larger city.

mrwunrfl

>>not into museums and temples
>>an outdoor person

You could spend a couple of days in the Japan Alps, considering your interests, just in the area between Matsumoto and Takayama as well those cities.

>>Takayama is a famous sightseeing place in Japan she thinks it's very similar to Kyoto

I don't agree. Takayama has its own Hida region thing going for it (Hida no Sato, Hida beef, etc). The small city is easily walk-able or bike-able. Kanazawa has a rep as little Kyoto, more than Takayama, but both have their unique points of interest that you won't find in Kyoto.

>>1 to 5th Hiroshima

With that time in the region and an interest in cycling, consider the Shimanami Kaido:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/18/travel...ing/index.html

japan-guide has a good list of hiking opportunities including near Tokyo.

You've been doing some adding and subtracting in your itinerary and we have been helping you do that. However you do the math you can't make a mistake because they are all good options.

Kavey

"you can't make a mistake because they are all good options."

Agree wholeheartedly with this. I always agonise over itineraries because of course, we all want our trips to be as wonderful as possible, but actually, it's all been fabulous. Even places we've liked less than others (Hakone, Osaka) we don't regret visiting and have still had some enjoyable experiences in.

Regarding favourite temples, I'm going to link some of my blogposts, with photos and descriptions...

I particularly loved people watching at Yasaka Shrine, Yasui Konpira-gu Shrine (this was one we stumbled across when walking between two on the top attractions list, and I preferred this one to Kennin-ji Temple which had just left - not much people watching at all there).
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/02/mes...of-love-1.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/02/mes...of-love-2.html

I haven't written it up, but I also loved the smaller temples in the covered shopping arcades of Shin Kyogoku, near my hotel. My favourite is known as Tako Yakushi (but officially called Eifukuji) and is dedicated to the octopus, there's a leaflet available that tells the story of why. Very small but I found it fascinating.
Here's a post from another traveller that gives more info: http://www.japannavigator.com/2013/0...ddha-tako.html

If your dates line up with the monthly flea festival at Toji, it's a great time to visit.
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/10/ima...ket-kyoto.html

If you enjoy nature and walking, then Fushimi Inari-taisha is for you, you can enjoy the central complex but then walk up the paths, most tourists don't go that far up the paths, including us.
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/02/mes...of-love-3.html

Kavey

In terms of choosing between Kanazawa and Takayama, you will likely enjoy either, so don't sweat it too much.

For me, Takayama was very different from Kyoto, it's a much smaller place, in the mountains, a much smaller central area, two wonderful morning markets, beautifully preserved historic neighbourhoods (that are faaar less crowded than those of Kyoto, even during the autumn festival which is when we visited). There's plenty to see and enjoy here for a 2 night stay, or even 3 if you prefer leisurely pace. The Hida beef here is to die for, btw, and at least as good as Kobe. Kobe has just done a much better job of marketing itself internationally, which Hida has not.

Kanazawa, in contrast, I found it's two historic tea districts far less enticing and interesting than either of those in Kyoto or Takayama. The Samurai district was interesting because it was something I'd not seen before. For me, what I adored in Kanazawa was the justifiedly famous Kenrokuen - one of the top 3 gardens in Japan - and Omichi Market. An amazing food market, I just loved walking around it. If you're into modern art, there's a well-regarded modern art museum, that's not really our bag though. We did love the Port Ono Karakuri Museum, but that's not in the town centre.

jdc26

Thank you guys very much for all this wonderful information.

@Kavey, many thanks for your blogs of fave people watching temples. I'll definitely check these out.

@mrwunrfl, thanks for the info about Shimanami Kaido cycling route. I'm actually planning on doing some cycling on that route.

@someotherguy, I've decided to keep Matsumoto and Kamikochi.

@dgunbug, I'm thinking about taking a day from both Hiroshima and Tokyo (at the end) and adding Takayama.

someotherguy

Along the Shimanami Kaido, make sure to visit the Oyamazumi shrine on Omishima; it's not only a very attractive shrine, but it contains nearly all (80%) of the high-grade samurai armor in Japan. It's not mentioned in Japan-guide.com so seems to get overlooked.

https://en.japantravel.com/ehime/oya...-treasure-hall

Kavey

You're welcome, hope they are of some help. By no means suggest you go to all, if you don't fancy it, but have highlighted the ones that I liked for people watching. The golden pavilion and silver pavilion I haven't included because although I appreciated seeing the temples and gardens, I didn't find them as serene an experience, nor as interesting on the people front.

jdc26

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my inquires.

How easy will it be taking the Limo from Narita to:

Tokyo Buc Hotel
2-8-12, Kachidoki, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo, 104-0054, Japan

or should I look into another way to get to the hotel.

Thanks again,
jdc