22 Day Japan itinerary and rail pass suggestions
 

Hi All,

I have been doing some research about our potential itinerary and would really appreciate some feedback.

My boyfriend and I will be in Japan for the first time from 19 May to 9 June (22 days) and would like to get an all-round experience of Japan. We are both pretty active and enjoy a variety of things, culture, shopping, food, night life, museums, exercise/ walks, spas etc... We have chosen to spend quite a bit of time in Tokyo as my boyfriend really wants to get the vibe of the city and for the other time Kyoto and day trips/ overnight stays in other places that I have read and people rave about. We also trying to time our travel to stay in the bigger cities on the weekend. Regards our first go at the itinerary I have a couple of questions:

1. Would you recommend we drop/ replace any of the places on the list

2. Are the days/ nights enough in the places chosen

3. Is going to Nikko realistic

4. When and how long for would you recommend we buy the JR pass for / when to activate

5. Any other suggestions are more than welcome!

Our proposed itinerary:

1 19-May Sunday Tokyo (arrive early morning)

2 20-May Monday Day Trip: Asakusa

3 21-May Tuesday Day Trip: Kamakura (would be interesting to see a coastal/ fishing village)

4 22-May Wednesday Tokyo

5 23-May Thursday Tokyo

6 24-May Friday Tokyo to Hakone (for the hot springs, stay in a ryokan and some nature)

7 25-May Saturday Hakone to Kyoto

8 26-May Sunday Kyoto

9 27-May Monday Kyoto

10 28-May Tuesday Kyoto

11 29-May Wednesday Kyoto

12 30-May Thursday Kyoto to Nara

13 31-May Friday Nara to Osaka

14 1-Jun Saturday Osaka

15 2-Jun Sunday Day Trip: Himeji Castle

16 3-Jun Monday Osaka (maybe do a shopping trip to the designer outlet, although don't know how affordable it will be!)

17 4-Jun Tuesday Osaka to Takayama (for the crafts markets)

18 5-Jun Wednesday Takayama to Nikko (for the nature, waterfalls)

19 6-Jun Thursday Nikko to Tokyo

20 7-Jun Friday Tokyo

21 8-Jun Saturday Tokyo

22 9-Jun Sunday Tokyo

Thank you so much in advance

my comment centers on the first 2 days. assume you are coming from north america... have you allowed for jet lague?

I love that you are giving yourself plenty of time in fewer places, I think you'll get a far better feel of each place that way.

I've only done one trip to Japan so far (17 nights last October) and loved it so much we're going back for more this October. So I'm no expert.

Our itinerary was Tokyo, Takayama (2 nights as coincided with festival), Nara, Kyoto, Koyasan, Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima and back to Tokyo.

Kyoto was my single favourite but I enjoyed the whole trip. Of all the places, the only one I didn't warm to was Osaka, but we only spend half a day / 1 night there so we'll go back this trip and give it another chance. So with my coloured view in mind, you do seem to have 4 nights in Osaka which sounds like quite a long time.

You could spend one of those nights doing an overnight trip to Koyasan to spend the night in a temple, a different experience and for us, worthwhile, even though we're not religious.

And our one night trip across to Hiroshima (to see the peace park and museum) and overnight in Miyajima was worthwhile. The trains are SOOO easy that even though it's fair distance, it doesn't feel like a haul.

There is so much to do in and near Tokyo and Kyoto that I think you'll easily fill your days there! We saw only a fraction of what I had researched in our 5 nights in Kyoto (the nights at Koyasan and Nara and Osaka were on top of that) and similar in Tokyo.

1. No. This is what interests you so looks good to me. There are always other places to see but this looks like a solid first trip plan.

2. I would stay two nights in Nikko if you plan to see all that you have written. Takayama to Nikko will take a few hours leaving you no time to see much on that first day so the second day is when you will do the bulk of your sightseeing. I would also spend two nights in Hakone as to allow you more time to see the sights. You have the days so no problem. You do know that Himeji-jo is undergoing renovations till next year right? See here for details:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html

3. Yes, See #2

4. Maybe a 14-day pass starting on the day you leave Tokyo. Check prices on your routes at www.hyperdia.com and weigh the prices of trips vs the cost of your pass chosen.

5. After you figure out a final plan we will make suggestions.

Aloha!

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Appreciate it. Although now it's making decisions harder and harder! :)

rhkkmk- we are coming from Australia - believe time difference with be 1 hour so shouldn't have any jet lag.

Kavey did you do a day trip to Nara or overnight - can't decide which way to go. Koyasan experience sounds pretty interesting as well - was it very expensive to stay in one of the temples? Also, still deciding on Miyajima can't make up my mind if I want another day trip - it's going to be a lot of travel overall!

hawaiitraveler I think will take on your feedback with Himeji castle and skip it and do two nights in Nikko. Wondering whether should do the same in Hakone or just stay one night. Also seems like getting from Takayama to Nikko is going to take ages!

One last question - did most of you book accommodation in advance or did you book anything along the way?

Will post the final plan soon.

We did an overnight in Nara which we really appreciated. Here's my review of it: http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/01/kai...o-in-nara.html

Koyasan was expensive, but not as high a price as the ryokan accommodations we chose. But we splurged and booked the (private) hanare at Shojoshin-in which was a large detached building next to the main temple building. It had its own private bathroom too. It was 30,000 Yen including dinner and the dinner was a delicious (and filling) vegetarian kaiseki meal served by one of the monks in a private room in the main building. Shojoshin-in was right next door to the famous Okunoin cemetery so a really good location. Watching the prayers in the morning was very interesting. I'm not religious but I appreciated being able to observe.

Because the trains were sooooo easy to use and so comfortable, we didn't find the travel felt tiring at all - indeed for us it was part of the experience, as it was so different from home. Even the vending machines and train food options were of interest!

BTW We skipped Himeji because of those renovations too!

Sounds like a great trip!

> 1 19-May Sunday Tokyo (arrive early morning)

Can you fly into Kansai and out of Tokyo? That would let you avoid backtracking.

> Kamakura (would be interesting to see a coastal/ fishing village)

I only saw a part of it, but I would not call Kamakura a "fishing village" - more like a small city on the coast, and not that interesting a coast either IMHO. I'm not saying you shouldn't visit it, just saying it might not be what you are picturing.

> Himeji Castle

Are you aware that Himeji-jo is under renovation? I believe at least part of it is open, but you may not be able to see parts.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html

> 12 30-May Thursday Kyoto to Nara

I was glad to have 2 full days in Nara, but am not sure how you would fit that in.

> Takayama (for the crafts markets)

Although I enjoyed my time in Takayama, I thought the crafts markets better in Kanazawa and Kyoto.

> From HT: I would stay two nights in Nikko if you plan to see all that you have written. Takayama to Nikko will take a few hours leaving you no time to see much on that first day so the second day is when you will do the bulk of your sightseeing.

I agree.

> Koyasan experience sounds pretty interesting as well - was it very expensive to stay in one of the temples?

It depends on the temple. I stayed in Shojoshin-in, and I think if you check this board and other sites, you'll find a high level of satisfaction with it. People who have stayed in other temples seem to report less consistently positive experiences. http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d...hojoshinin.htm

> still deciding on Miyajima can't make up my mind if I want another day trip

IME, one of the main reasons to visit Miyajima is to stay overnight so you can see the Itsukushima Shrine at both high and low tides. Just my opinion....

> did most of you book accommodation in advance

Absolutely! I don't like wasting my precious travel time trying to find a room when I can do so in advance.

Kja, yes good point on other temples. I've often seen less than positive reports on other temples, varying from poor accommodation to an insufficient meal. That said, I did read one place that offers meditation sessions as well as guided walks into Okunoin with one of the monks, and neither of those are available at Shojoshin-in. For us, the location and the high satisfaction with the experience as it was, is what decided us on that temple, and a good friend had been a few months previously too.

Good to know, Kavey. I didn't mean to suggest that there aren't temples that wouldn't be as suitable, or even more suitable than Shojoshin-in ... just that not all temples are equal and that price should probably not be the only consideration.

Oh absolutely, just made me think of the other info... :-)

Hi everyone

Thank you so much for your feedback and apologies for more questions!

Will look into your recommendations for Koyasan - and read up on the reviews :)

kja to your point wondering whether Takayama is too much out of the way (travel time seems quite far). It does look like a nice place to visit but considering whether we should skip it for another small quaint town with craft markets worth visiting (overnight or day trip, if so where?.. any recommendations on what to replace it with)

Also, what do you think about changing the order of the itinerary and going to Nikko for 2 nights while in Tokyo and doing Hakone on the way back from Osaka to Tokyo:

Arrive in Tokyo early Sunday (2 full days)
Leave bags and travel to Nikko for 2 nights
Back to Tokyo for 2 days

This is the long travel point:
Tokyo - Takayama (leave morning)
Takayama - Kyoto (next day)

Kyoto for 4 full days - 5 nights

Kyoto to Nara in the morning and next day in the evening to Osaka

Osaka to Kayasan overnight and back

Spend a day in Osaka

From Osaka travel to Hakone (stay overnight in an onsen) back to Tokyo

Tokyo for the last 3 days with a day trip to Kamakura ... even if it's not a fishing village :)

18-May Sat Travel
19-May Sun Tokyo
20-May Mon Tokyo
21-May Tue Tokyo - Nikko (afternoon)
22-May Wed Nikko
23-May Thu Nikko - Tokyo (morning)
24-May Fri Tokyo
25-May Sat Tokyo - Takayama
26-May Sun Takayama - Kyoto
27-May Mon Kyoto
28-May Tue Kyoto
29-May Wed Kyoto
30-May Thu Kyoto
31-May Fri Kyoto - Nara
1-Jun Sat Nara - Osaka (evening)
2-Jun Sun Osaka - Koyasan (afternoon)
3-Jun Mon Koyasan - Osaka
4-Jun Tue Osaka (shopping)
5-Jun Wed Osaka - Hakone
6-Jun Thu Hakone - Tokyo (evening)
7-Jun Fri Day Trip: Kamakura
8-Jun Sat Tokyo
9-Jun Sun Tokyo