we are just starting to plan for a 2-3 week trip to Japan this August. This was supposed to be planned by a Japan boutique travel agent, but they bailed at the last minute, so we will be on our own.

Although we have been to Japan several times on cruises, we really did not see much. We are thinking of Tokyo and Kyoto, but are open to suggestions. We are not on a tight budget, but neither want to hit every four seasons there.

where would be a good place to begin to set up 2-3week itineraries.? When it comes to Japan we are relative neophytes.

Any suggestions for itineraries and and hotel suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We are open to an ryokan ? Traditional Inn for a short stay, but prefer a nice smaller hotel, than a Hyatt or Four Seasons.

Thank you

One of the best resources we found in planning our trip was www.japan-guide.com

I assume you know that it will be hot and humid in Japan in August.

If you are still wanting a travel agent in Japan, I can give you the contact info for the person we used, who rented a machiya house for us in Kanazawa.

I agree that August is not the best time to visit Japan, can you go later in the year?

You don't give your interests, but there is a lot to see in Japan other than the two main cities. Besides the website Kathie listed, I would borrow some of the glossy guidebooks like DK Eyewitness and decide what you really want to see.

You need to peruse the Japan Guide online (see above from Kathie) and the hyperdia.com website, which helps plan trains.

And helping you help us - pick one: 2 weeks or 3. You can do a lot with either, you can do more with the latter.

Thanks everyone for their input so far. I have taken your advice and we (mostly Wife) have perused the Japan-Guide site, but are still at a loss to determine where to go. We are not looking for any sports or hiking, but rather sites/temples/etc.
We are planning about 2 weeks to 16 days, but this is not set in stone.
Our reservations so far are for the last week of August to the second week of Sept.
My idea of vacation now is more of a stay at 2-3 cities, with day trips from each city, rather than hit 5-6 cities if possible. Tokyo and Kyoto are must sees this trip, but are not familiar with anywhere else (Although we have been to Nagasaki and Hiroshima already, no need to go back)
I would like to first determine where we should go, then work on individual hotels/ryokans

Any assitance would be very appreciated. We are experienced travelers, but mostly everywhere except Southeast Asia, except China/Taiwan. For this Japan trip we are basically lost.

Kanazawa?

See https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...more-kanazawa/

Also following posts, links at the top of the page.

Kanazawa is a great suggestion for a third city but as it's a popular cruise port, OP may already have visited. And with only 'two weeks to 16 days,' sticking to Tokyo and Kyoto with daytrips from both probably makes most sense, allowing leisurely exploration rathen than a rushed tour. As your dates are last week August into September, you will miss Obon (which is good - holiday closures, inflated prices, crowds - and bad - festivals, fireworks, dancing in the streets....). There's lots on this board about daytrips from both Tokyo and Kyoto and sites like Japan Guide and Japan Cheapo also offer lists.

Some quick ideas

Overnight or two nights in Nikko with transfer through Tokyo to next destination.

Takayama or Hakone as stop between Tokyo /Kyoto

Two day trip to Onsen town from Tokyo.
We did Kashiwaya Ryokan bus package to Shima, Gunma, see my trip report. Many similar onsen packages of various destinations.

We just spent two nights in Kobe with day trip to Arima onsen. Nice change up from Kyoto /Osaka. Day trip to Himeji?

Full rail pass you could do 5 day expedition to Sapporo/Hakodate/Aomori


Have a good time whatever you decide

I think we have pinned down the cities to visit/stay in as home bases, although this is not written in stone:

1. Tokyo (Approx 5 days)
2. Kanazawa (2 days)
3. Kyoto (5 days)
4. Back to Tokyo (2 days) and leave for US

This now totals 14 days, and I probably can add 2-5 days more somewhere in Japan, more time in one of these cities, or somewhere on the way home.
I would really appreciate any feedback anyone can give me as to the itinerary so far. I do not want to be lugging around suitcases to more cities for overnite stays (bad back) , rather use any of these for home bases, and take day trips from these.(last train trip got one of my suitcases stolen)

I have valued the opinions of many posters for the last 20 some years, and try to provide my insights when I can, but I have nothing to offer on the Japan site.

I have been advised by someone to use the services of a Japan specialist, but have been quoted $500-$1000 fee (even though it can go towards the trip) for information that we may choose to ignore? Any opinions on this, I have been travelling for 40+ years, and never had to use a travel agent.

Are there any other ideas on home bases? As soon as I decide on the cities to stay in, I can then begin search for Riokans/Hotels/Inns and after that places to visit. A private
tour guide will probably be helpful for one day in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Maybe Matsumoto or Takayama on the way to Kanazawa?

(See: https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...u-in-takayama/

And https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...s-crow-castle/ )

There is no need whatsoever to use an agent.

Use hyperdia.com to plan your train trips, and ask here for hotel recommendations. You might consider a "goodwill" guide for Tokyo and Kyoto - they are volunteers.

The price quote you were given for a "Japan specialist" is ridiculous, IMO.

We don't usually use agents, though on occasion, we do use local agents.

We loved our time in Kanazawa, and I would return. Kyoto was the highlight of our trip. We didn't make it to Nara and that would be at the top of our list for the next trip.

If you want more time in Tokyo than your initial 5 days, then add time then. If the reason to go to Tokyo at the end is to fly home, you can easily make it from Kyoto the day you fly home (assuming your flight isn't early morning).

If you want to add time, I would add it to Kyoto..... easy to do day trips to Himeji, Nara, Osaka, as well as lots to see and do in and around Kyoto itself.

These two (related) sites have a lot of useful information -- Truly Tokyo. Inside Kyoto. The Tokyo site provides this comparison of the two - Tokyo or Kyoto - which should you visit?

Just have to say that tt7's advice here is consistently well informed and valuable - but that Truly Tokyo comparison of the two cities is the most laughably reductive approach imaginable.

Glad to see OP is including both on this itinerary, plus Kanazawa and if trying to decide whether to add additional days to one of the two main cities, a good approach would be to see what day trips can easily be done from each city. Kamakura, eg, is super easy from Tokyo. My friend and I were the only visitors at the 'moss temple' there last month - that is an experience near impossible to achieve in Kyoto.

And I agree: no need for travel agent.

" If the reason to go to Tokyo at the end is to fly home, you can easily make it from Kyoto the day you fly home (assuming your flight isn't early morning)."

You can set your watch by the shinkansen schedule - indeed, the trains are more accurate in keeping time than your watch. If you have a 6 pm flight home from Narita, you can take a 11 am Hikari shinkansen (or a faster Nozomi considering that based on your itinerary you may not want a JR pass) to Shinagawa, you will arrive right when the schedule says you will and you will be able to catch the exact Narita Express (if you're going home from Narita) you want and easily make the three-hour check-in window.

If I would like to ask for recommendations for hotels/riokans for these 3 cities, shall I ask here on this thread or start a new topic?

We are looking for either traditional Japanese Boutique Hotels or else a nice chain hotel, preferably smaller.and a Ryokan where it would be nice to be in one, Kyoto?

• Tokyo : we are looking for recomendations, we have looked at the Aman, but no deals, so $900 is more than I wanted toi spend on a city hotel, maybe a special resort, but not someplace where Im going to see the city, not stay at a resort all day. We also saw the Park Hyatt, but would rather not go there- too big, Mandarin Oriental - saw no deals, Asakusa ?? Ritz Carlton?
• Kyoto: Are not familiar with any there
• Kanazawa : The Ryokan we saw: Gora Kadan was beautiful but the price was exhorbitant,

Another question regarding trains (Bullet Train) I went onto the hyperdia.com site, but did not see anything as far as 1st Class, is it like European trains? Prefer not to be crammed in like sardines if I can avoid it.

Look for Green Class on the Japan Rail Pass.

..... 'laughably reductive' it may be but I do think it provides a useful comparison of the two cities for those who have not visited them.

As for Kamakura, yes a good day trip from Tokyo. Just don't make the - inadvertent - mistake we made the last time we went. Turned out it was "Respect For The Aged" day. We couldn't understand why the train was so crowded and by the time it reached Kamakura, it was absolutely crammed .... so much so it took 10 minutes to get out of the station, everybody shuffling forward. Poor planning on my part. For somewhere uncrowded in Kyoto, go to Arashiyama fairly early (by 8.30) and when you get to the top of the Bamboo Grove, visit Okochi-Sanso / Lonely Planet Okochi-Sanso when it opens at 9 am. Last time we went, we had the place to ourselves, until we made it around and to the tea room, by which time a few more people had arrived.

As HappyTrvlr has already advised, if you want the equivalent of first class, you want a Green Car JR Pass, rather than the regular JR Pass. Seating in the regular carriages is 3 x 2 whereas Green Car is 2 x 2, plus you get a foot rest etc. The regular seats are similar to an airline economy seat but with much better leg room. We've always used the regular seats and have never felt crammed (even when we've been 2 in a 3 seater with a stranger next to us). Like most things in life, you pay your money and take your choice.... . In a standard 16 car Shinkansen train, the Green Cars are usually cars 8, 9 and 10.

I'm afraid that I'm not much help with hotels, as we tend to be the 'cheap and cheerful' end of the spectrum, rather than the Aman / Park Hyatt / Mandarin Oriental / Ritz Carlton end of the spectrum. For us, we're there for the sights and not the hotel and spending time in the hotel or the room is of little interest, as long as it's clean etc. Depending on how important (or not) the hotel "facilities" are to you, you may want to look at AirBNB or a similar service. Effective June 15, all AirBNB properties (and presumably also ones advertised by similar services) have to be registered with the Japanese government, which has recently resulted in 80% of the AirBNB listings being removed. One way to approach it would be to focus first on the area you want stay in, and then look at what's available there. Sites such as booking dot com or Agoda can give you an idea of what's available in what areas and at what price. In general, Japanese hotel rooms (and apartments) tend to be smaller than what you may be used to.

In Tokyo, we've stayed a few times at the New Otani (though not in the last few years). It was once the hotel in Tokyo but is no doubt surpassed these days by some of the newer properties. It has three 'parts' - the Tower (cheapest), the Main Building (more expensive) and the Executive House ZEN (more expensive). Lots of restaurants on-site (including a branch of Paris' Tour D'Argent and, for something a bit retro, Trader Vic's). It's situated to the west of the Imperial Palace and is close to a subway station (Akasaka-Mitsuke) so it's pretty easy to get around town.