internetwiz

My husband and I will be making our first trip to Japan in late September/early October. We like a combination of scenic beauty and cities. I didn't want to make this a frenetic trip, so please let me know if this itinerary makes sense.

Day 1 - Arrive in Osaka around 6:30pm, train to Nara
Day 2 - Nara
Day 3-8 - Kyoto
Day 9-10 - Kanazawa
Day 11-12 - Takayama (the autumn festival is 2 days later, but I couldn't make it work in this schedule, plus I wasn't sure if I could still get accommodations. Suggestions?)
Day 13-14 - Nagano
Day 15-16 - Hakone
Day 17-21 - Tokyo (depart from Narita on day 22)

Are there any other places that I've missed or should substitute for what I've mapped out? Am I trying to do too much? I realize that it takes time to get from place to place, so any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

kja

My take is that this is a doable itinerary that should be quite enjoyable.

You might give some thought to shifting a night from Kyoto to Kanazawa so that, even once you consider transportation and relocation, you still have close to 2 days in Kanazawa and 1.5 days in Takayama. (I think that will still give you at least 6 days in Nara / Kyoto, which is, IMO, a very reasonable length of time.)

You might also consider cutting one day from your time in Tokyo, but of course, it all depends on your interests. An overnight in Nikko might be worth considering.

I didn't visit Nagano or Hakone, and so can't comment on them. I will say that an overnight stay at a temple in Koyasan (I stated at Shojoshin-in) was, for me, a highlight in a highlight-filled trip. I also treasured my time in Hiroshima and Miyajima.

I trust you are familiar with japan-guide.com?

internetwiz

Thank you, kja. The middle of my itinerary isn't set in stone, so shifting a night to Kanazawa shouldn't be an issue. I meant to include a night in Nikko, probably after Nagano. I'm working from a terrible, tiny map, awaiting for a decent on I ordered from Amazon. I did get a large on from japan-guide.com, but since I can't print it in a legible size, it's only been moderately helpful.

Is it worth shifting my Nagano and Takayama stays to take advantage of the autumn festival? I didn't see a way to make it work and wasn't sure if it really mattered.

TIA.

kja

Your call on the festival, at least IMO. If you like festivals, I've read great things about the one in Takayama. The downside is that it can get very crowded.

mrwunrfl

>>shifting a night from Kyoto to Kanazawa

I agree with kja. That was my first thought.

Kanazawa to Takayama would probably best be by bus. Could be, maybe, JR via Toyama. If bus is the best way then you seriously have to look into stopping, for several hours or, better, overnight in Shirakawago. It is not to be missed if it is on your route.

I don't think it really matters about the autumn festival, but I doubt very much that you would have any trouble finding loding for a night or two before the festival. I went to the spring festival one year. The last day was Saturday. By noon on Sunday the touwn was emptied of tourists (except me).

mrwunrfl

From Takayama you would take the train (a very scenic train, I have read) to Toyama and then on to Nagano. I'm not sure about the travel between there and Hakone, but I think it is not bad. Check hyperdia.

You don't really need a map, much, but hyperdia.com to get rail (and some bus) travel times and schedules.

I will suggest an option, something to think about, and that is to skip Takayama. Just visit Shirakawago (or Gokayama) and then just go on to Nagano. Shirakawago as a day trip from Kanazawa. If you overnighted in S-go then your best route to Nagano would probably be just going back to Kanazawa, otherwise would be bus to Takaoka and then the shinkansen.

kja

mrwunrfl provides excellent advice, as always. But before you decide about Shirakawago and Takayama, here are some things you might want to consider:

Among Takayama's delights is a museum with an extraordinary collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau glass and interior design (including a complete room by Macintosh). Might not be something in which you are interested, but I mention in just in case.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/s...kayamaart.html

Another thing to consider is Takayama's Hida-no-sato museum: An outdoor museum that includes one of the traditional "praying hand" houses from the Japanese Alps (like ones you would see in Shirakawago) as well as other buildings moved in from around that area. Since it is a museum, you can walk around and in and through these buildings, and there is an audio guide if one wants to learn more.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5901.html

Finally, when I was in the area (2006), there was no where one could store a suitcase while in Shirakawago, so exploring there en route really wasn't an option for me. I was able to enjoy views of the village from in / near the bus, which stopped there for a while. Perhaps there is a place where one can store luggage now, or perhaps you will be taking advantage of Japan's wonderful baggage forwarding option.

I think it really depends on your interests -- no bad choices here!.

mrwunrfl

"Coin lockers are provided at the Shirakawago bus stop in Ogimachi"

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5953.html

kja

@ mrwunrfl -- What an improvement!

Reading54

InternetWiz:

You may request tourist maps from JNTO (Japan National Tourist Organization) online at this page:
http://www.japantravelinfo.com/conta...neral_form.php

Use the "OTHER" field to fill in destinations other than Tokyo, Kyoto and Hakone. In about 10 days, you should receive a package of maps.

internetwiz

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I need to look more at Kanazawa, Takayama, Matsumoto (instead of Nagano) and Nikko and try to figure out how to get from one place to another. It sounds like the trains run north and south and the buses go east-west, so the logistics should be interesting.

I've ordered brochures and maps from JNTO and have downloaded some information from Japan-Guide, so I'll have some things to get me started.

internetwiz

I have some follow up questions for you: from Kyoto, plan to go to Kanazawa. Would you recommend a day trip to Wajima? After Kanazawa, we want to go to Takayama, Matsumoto and possibly Gujo-Hachiman, before heading to Hakone.

Are we going to have trouble finding public transportation (busses) to navigate through the mountains or should we rent a car for a few days? We ended up with a gap in our schedule and I was trying to figure out where else to go for a day or two. The other option is to try to get to Nikko from Matsumoto.

Thanks again for your help.

Mara

I loved Gujo Hachiman....it is a bit hard to access though not undoable...I used public transportation - I came from Tsumago via four trains and two buses, I think... as it was back in 2010 five Japan trips ago. I took the highway bus on to Takayama.

Their English site appears to be updated since back then:
http://www.gujohachiman.com/kanko/index_e.html and japan-guide has a lot of information. I think I was about the only foreigner there - this was in mid April. I stayed two nights. You can do a self-guided walk (on the town website) up to the castle and all around the town.

Another possible side trip - from Takayama - is Furukawa - a cute little old-fashioned town about 15 minutes by train. Unfortunately the day I was there it was raining and the local festival was pretty much cancelled but my main aim was the candle shop which was the location for a famous NHK asadora - morning drama - called 'Sakura.'

Hope this doesn't add too much confusion. ;-)

internetwiz

Thanks, Mara. Does it make sense to visit those places in this order:

Kyoto - Gujo-Hachiman - Kanazawa - Takayama - Matsumoto - Hakone?

I'm not sure any of this makes sense. I'd like to take a single night somewhere in the Alps, but Shirakawago does not sound like a good option for us, so if there are any places between Nagano and Hakone that are nice, maybe that would be better.

Suggestions anyone?

Mara

http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/kyoto_osaka.html

It might be easier to go from Gujo to Takayama - that seems to be more of a hub for the bus routes...

And the trip from Matsumoto to Hakone involves quite a bit of time and changes....