Your plan looks good for a rough draft but I would recommend saving Tokyo for the end of your trip. I love Tokyo but it can be overwhelming and we like doing it at the end rather than the beginning of a Japan trip. But that is only one opinion.

I am assuming you are doing a 14-day rail pass? If so, it is a waste to rely on the JR pass to get around Tokyo. You are better off with the combo tickets as the metro and toei lines are better than the JR lines, unless you really know what you are doing. I am writing a trip report on my last trip (we just got back on t-giving) and in the Tokyo section (which I have not posted yet) I will explain this further.

November in Japan is wonderful! No crowds and the weather in Honshi was delightful - 50s and 60s, dry, (no crowds, ample opportunity to experience the fall colors).

For Miyajima, I recommend the Auberge Watanabe for stay and meals. A cheap and convenient stay in Kyoto is the Palaceside Hotel. As for Tokyo, we just spent two nights in The Hotel Niwa and it was fantastic.

Hi usernameistaken-

Thank you for your insight. Yes, I am also considering ending my trip in Tokyo and starting the trip in Hiroshima. I know many people on these forums wisely recommend saving your departure city for the end of you trip in an effort to minimze airport transfer time. My reason for leaning towards starting in Tokyo is twofold. First, an anxiousness to just "get going" after a 12-hour flight. Also, since I know I'll have at least one day of jet lag, I am thinking I'd rather "lose that day" in Tokyo rather than "losing" it on my one and only day in Hiroshima. I also had read that most domestic flights did not leave from Narita but rather a different Tokyo airport. But from reading your trip report, I see that is not true, so I will have to take that into account as another reason for possibly starting in Hiroshima.

Thank you also for the JR and hotel tips.

So I'm surprised November is so uncrowded if the fall colors are still peaking/at peak. Most tourists must then visit in October? I noticed in your trip report that you had some rain but I'm guessing weather-wise, November is still a fairly sunny month?

I have a few suggestions but no time right now. I will be back.

Aloha!

It is a good plan, but early. Fall colors arrive in your travel region in mid-November. About Nov 18 in Kyoto and later in Miyajima.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2014_when.html

It won't be cold like Mpls. Nice weather. Take a look here:
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/city.php3?c=JP&refer=&name=Japan

Yes the second,third and fourth weeks in November would be the best for koyo viewing on Kyushu next year.

What time do you get into NRT? Are you thinking of going on to Hiroshima via plane that day?

If not you could decompress in Yokohama instead of Tokyo for two nights before heading to Hiroshima and Miyajima and continue your journey back north/east. Yokohama is easy to get to via NEX or the limo bus service direct from NRT and easy to maneuver in to get your "Japan feet' under you. This way you also get just one day of long train travel day and shorter ones for the rest of your time there and it will get you closer to Tokyo in the end for your departure.

We stayed in Matsumoto and in all the cities you intend to visit. During cherry blossom season and for koyo viewing. If you click on my screen name you will see that I have done a few reports about our travels throughout Japan. Click on a few of them if you have the time and you may pick up a few clues about travel in Japan during the fall foliage season. Come back with any more specific questions you may have regarding specific hotels, ryokans, etc.

Aloha!

Kyushu, what did I miss - where did OP mention Kyushu - I was there during cherry blossom season - is it recommended for koyo viewing?

As far as a JR Pass, it is really too early in your planning to decide which you may or may not need - with the plan you listed imo a 7 day pass would be better starting from Day 9 - I don't think the trip from Hakone to the Matsumoto/Kamikochi area, part of which must be accessed by bus, is worth the extra 16,800 JPY or $204 that a 14 day pass costs.

Enjoy your planning - that's half the fun!

We only had one day of rain (in Osaka and Kobe) on November 17. The other five days (Nov 16, 18-22) in Osaka, Arima, Tokyo, and Gunma prefecture, were just perfect. Temps were 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, dry, and sunny. We wore gloves but we did not need hats or scarves. The weather was really ideal. The leaves were orange, red, and yellow (with some green still) but a lot of the trees had lost a lot of their leaves. So maybe a week earlier would have been better for the fall colors. It was still pretty magnificient. We noticed that the ryokans were hard to book on the weekends but easy to book on the weekdays as a lot of the locals must have been heading to the onsen on the weekends.

I meant Honshu, Mara
gomen nasai

And yes Kyushu is also recommended for koyo viewing in November

HT..how ya doing! I fully agree..Kyushu, my "residence" for two years as a "guest" of the US government, is very colorful in November. Inland into one of the few mountain chains west of Nobeoka would offer a splash of color beyond the imagination. A veritable New England. I ony had a little Brownie black and white camera back then and couldn't capture the color. Went back to visit in '07, but in springtime.

Happy travels, HT!

stu

Hiya Stu!!!!

MB,
Itinerary I am suggesting would look something like this with a little more time built into all your stops to smell the roses.

Day 0: Direct flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo
Day 1: Arrive Tokyo in late afternoon. Settle into Yokohama. Wander a bit in the hotel area. If you have any SPG points the Sheraton Yokohama has a good location and is a great hotel for this.
Day 2: Yokohama, chinatown, landmark tower, kamakura if you must, redeem your jr pass if needed.
Day 3: Yokohama to Hiroshima via shinkansen train
Day 4: Hiroshima - what you didn't have time for yesterday
Day 5: Miyajima
Days 6 to 10 - Kyoto
Day 11: Hike in Kamikochi. Visit Shirahone Onsen
Days 12&13 - Matsumoto......maybe stay here with a castle view room and a hotel that feels like a ryokan

http://hotel-kagetsu.jp/englishtop.html

Day 14: Hakone (see Mt. Fuji, soak in an onsen, hike, etc.)
Day 15: Hakone ditto ditto
Day 16: Travel by bullet train from Hakone(Odawara) back to Tokyo. Last night dinner.
Day 17: Fly home from Tokyo to Minneapolis
just another option,lol

Aloha!

HT-thank you for your input and the suggested itinerary. Definitely good food for thought. So if I read your itinerary correctly, you'd advise skipping Tokyo almost entirely. Is that because Tokyo will be overwhelming to a first-time Japan visitor, or because you just don't think there's a whole lot there of interest?

"Kamakure if you must." You're not a fan of Kamakura?

MB

Hi, MinnBeef -

I'm sure you'll enjoy Japan and think you've identified a nice set of opportunities. Just a few thoughts -

I like HT's itinerary, but am not sure I'd skip Tokyo in favor of Yokohama. (I can't speak to that decision with authority, since I didn't visit Yokohama - its just that I can't imagine skipping Tokyo entirely if it holds any interest to you.)

For Miyajima, another ryokan you might look into is Momiji-so. At least when I was there in 2006, it was substantially less expensive than other ryokans on the island. Less pampering, too - but at the time, my budget didn't allow any of the other options. For info on Momiji-so and other ryokans, see:

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/miyajima/momijiso.htm

Enjoy!

I wouldn't skip Tokyo either - I went there on my first trip to Japan and didn't find it overwhelming....and I did a day trip to Kamakura but that was the extent of my first trip. If you are going to Kyoto you will see many temples there and possibly can skip Kamakura this time....

And here is another idea for your stay in Miyajima:
http://www.morinoyado.jp/english/index.html

BTW, I was glad I visited Kamakura, but thought Nikko added greater diversity to my experiences in Japan (which were somewhat different than yours will be) than Kamakura - the temples and shrines were less similar to those I had seen elsewhere and I also had time to visit Kegon-no-taki and Lake Chuzenji. Oh, and there's a wonderful museum of painted screens in Nikko, well worth a half hour or more. I didn't visit Nikko as a day trip (I got there in time for a late dinner, spent the night, visited the sites, and left in time to reach Tokyo for dinner the next night), but I believe that it is possible to visit it as day trip, at least during most times of year. I'm not sure how crowded Nikko is for koyo - that could make a difference in whether to visit it or not. For more info:

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

So if I read your itinerary correctly, you'd advise skipping Tokyo almost entirely. Is that because Tokyo will be overwhelming to a first-time Japan visitor, or because you just don't think there's a whole lot there of interest?

No, that is not what I am recommending. The obvious reco would be to stay in Tokyo. Tokyo is one of my favorite places to be and I LOVE TOKYO.....that said, Yokohama is just a short train ride away from ALL of Tokyo's sights and closer to Kamakura if you had wanted to go there. It is easier to acclimate in Yoko where rooms are cheaper than in say Shinjuku but I was just giving another option that was asked for. It will also be easier to leave for Hiroshima from Yoko than say Shinjuku or Tokyo station.

For a Tokyo city option the Shinegawa area would be a fine place to stay also with easy access.

You have a lot on your plate and are already visiting Kyoto which is why I hinted at skipping Kamakura. Save it for your return trip. If you are like most of us......you'll be back.

Aloha!

Mara-

Great advice on the Japan Rail pass. For simplicity's sake, I anticipate purchasing a 2 day tour package of Hakone, to make transport between there and Tokyo seamless. In that case, it would definitely make sense to hold off for a couple of days more and use a 7 day pass rather than 14. I would think my most expensive individual leg would be on day 16--Shinkassen from Hiroshima to Tokyo. Thanks for raising that issue.

Thanks also for the lodging tip on Miyajima--I'll check it out!

kja-

thank you also for the ryokan tip for Miyajima. Miyajima is actually one of the places I'm most looking forward to visiting. I am hoping for this idyllic, end of the earth experience (rightly or wrongly), particularly from staying overnight on the island. I definitely want to stay in a ryokan for that one night!

BTW-are you planning for a 2013 trip of your own?

HT-

Thank you for all of your feedback. You are the "Otherchelebi of Japan"! (kja will know what that means!) I definitely hope to continue picking your brain over the upcoming months as I finalize my itinerary and more detailed plans.

Gotcha on the Yokohama clarification. That is a good tip. One question--how is the restaurant scene in Yoko? I know it's a huge city and all. When I travel, my evening entertainment (most evenings anyways) involves dining at a good restaurant and then walking the neighborhook back to my hotel for the night. How do you feel the restaurant scene in Yokohama stacks up?

Mara-

BTW...thanks for the suggestion on Kamakura. Yes, I can anticipate temple burnout after 4 days in Kyoto + an earlier day in Kamakura. My main reason for including Kamakura at this point is to visit the giant Buddha in Hase, particularly since I don't plan to visit Nara. Do you feel a day trip to Kamakura to primarily see the Hase Buddha (along with a few temples, of course) is worth the day if I'll later be spending 4 days in Kyoto?

MB - I am a budget traveler so I always figure out my transport costs to the penny or yen as it were...lol....I make up a spreadsheet to keep track...lately I have started flying more domestically - depending on your itinerary that can work sometimes......but it is really early in your planning to worry about which rail pass you may or may not need...

Well, as far as Kamakura, when I went it was my only day trip during my week in Tokyo. It really depends on your time frame and how your itinerary ends up - I think Kamakura, a small town, is a very different experience from Kyoto of course and the Daibutsu is cool to see...

You would have the 7-day pass activated to start on Day 10, the day (I assume) that you would leave Kamikochi for Kyoto.

You would have to do the exchange in Tokyo before you leave for Matsumoto. On Day 10 you could go back to Matsumoto. Or you could take the bus on to Takayama, spend a few hours there, and then travel to Kyoto. Going via Takayama would add an hour to the travel time.

You could move the Hakone trip to the end of the trip. Just go from Tokyo to Matsumoto. OTOH, if you leave Hakone on the Odakyu train to Shinjuku you could just connect there to the L'Ex to Matsumoto.

If you skip Kamakura you could leave Tokyo a day earlier. If you want to spend a day to see a big Buddha then you can do that from Kyoto to see the big guy in Todaiji in Nara. It would be a much more rewarding day. The only issue with this is that you would need to add an eighth day for the JR travel.

Or skip Kamakura and leave Tokyo/Hakone a day earlier. Then after Kamikochi, spend a night in Takayama or Shirakwago, and Day 10 go to Kyoto.

You can do it without the 7-day or 14-day JR Pass if you fly home from Hiroshima, Fukuoka, or Osaka.

Osaka is probably your best bet. You can fly from there to MSP with one stop in Seattle.

The other option is to fly from Hiroshima to Tokyo the day before NRT-MSP.

This would give you a lot of flexibility by not having to fit into a 7-day pass but still be less expensive than the 14-day pass (45,100 JPY).

> If you skip Kamakura you could leave Tokyo a day earlier. If you want to spend a day to see a big Buddha then you can do that from Kyoto to see the big guy in Todaiji in Nara.

True enough, but I personally would not choose between Nara and Kamakura based solely on big Buddhas. I thought Kamakura's Daibutsu much more to my tastes than the one at Nara's Todaiji, but there were other things at Nara that appealed to me - its 2 magnificent collections of sculpture, Kasuga Taisha, the temples in Ikaruga.... (I'm so glad I didn't have to choose between them! And I had 2 full days in Nara, in addition to my 4 days in Kyoto, so the context in which I was making decisions was quite different.) I would think its a matter of weighing out priorities and timing and transit....

> Day 3: Yokohama to Hiroshima via shinkansen train
Day 4: Hiroshima - what you didn't have time for yesterday
Day 5: Miyajima
Days 6 to 10 - Kyoto

For what it's worth, I spent only an afternoon in Hiroshima. I visited the Peace Park and Peace Museum (I won't try to put either in words), and I walked around a bit (but not much). I know I missed much that Hiroshima offers, but given my priorities, I was willing to forego the other sites in Hiroshima. Of course that means that I don't know what I missed. I reached Miyajima by late afternoon in plenty of time to check in to my ryokan. The next day, I had time to see what I wanted to see on Miyajima before leaving for Nara - I walked through some woods and around the shore at low tide, took the cable car to the top of Mt. Misen and walked back down, visited Itsukushima Shrine and Daisho-in, and strolled through town. So I spent just one night on the island. BTW, I visited Miyajima early in my trip, so I was still getting up REALLY early when I was there.

> I can anticipate temple burnout

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I don't remember hearing that you ran into "mosque burnout" in Turkey, so I'm not sure you would run into temple burnout in Japan - I think it all depends on which places you select and your personal interest in them.

> When I travel, my evening entertainment (most evenings anyways) involves dining at a good restaurant and then walking the neighborhook back to my hotel for the night.

Then in Kyoto, you might want to look into options for lodging in/around Kawaramachi-Dori to the west of Pontocho.

> BTW-are you planning for a 2013 trip of your own?

Of course! But I'm still struggling with even the most basic decisions....

Great restaurants in Japan abound and I am sure they do too in Yokohama being Japan's second largest city. With that said we rarely go for the expensive places and usually will check out the sushi bars or local Japanese offerings in the area. If there are izakayas around they would be our first place to go to. Not knowing your budget its hard to recommend an area to stay in but as I mentioned above the Sheraton Yokohama gets good marks and is right next to the train station which in Japan means more eating venues. Larger train stations in Japan will have a bevy of restaurant and food vendors galore and the JR Yokohama station does not disappoint in that area. There are a plethora of eating venues inside and outside of this station along of course with the choices right inside the Sheraton hotel itself. There is also a mall attached to the train station with even more places to eat and walking the neighborhood would acquaint you with still more places to dine out if you preferred.

Aloha!

So I've pretty much decided that my itinerary will include:

- 3 days Tokyo
- 2 days Hakone
- 1 day Kamakura
- 1 day Matsumoto
- 1 day Kamikochi
- 4 days Kyoto
- 2 days Hiroshima and Miyajima (including an overnight stay at a ryokan on Miyajima)

I'm still debating the relative pros and cons of starting my trip in Tokyo and ending in Hiroshima/Miyajima vs. starting in Kyoto, heading south, and then back north, ending in Tokyo. I will definitely check back with the experts on this board to get some final input there. Here is the current question I have though...

My schedule should be flexible enough that I can travel just about any 16-17 day period between mid-October and American Thanksgiving (late in November 2013). Many of you have mentioned that fall colors will peak in Japan in November-I'm guessing perhaps the first 10 days or so of November in Tokyo and perhaps about the 10th-20th in Kyoto?? However, what about in the Japan Alps (Matsumoto and Kamikochi)? I am greatly looking forward to a day of hiking in Kamikochi-ideally amid spectacular fall colors. With the mountain elevation, will the colors typically peak much earlier in the Japan Alps (late October?) or also November? I do know that Kamikochi closes for the season Nov. 15th.

As the J-Alps are only 2 days of my 16/17, I don't want to worry too much about perfect fall color there. Considering my overall itinerary, what would you all say is the best 2 week period to maxmize fall color viewing between Tokyo and Hiroshima?

Thank you all !

Have you seen the japan-guide guide to fall colors?

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2014.html

You're going to have a great trip!

Considering my overall itinerary, what would you all say is the best 2 week period to maxmize fall color viewing between Tokyo and Hiroshima?

Nov 8 - 22nd

Aloha!