3 weeks in may - help?
 

Hi there!
We will be visiting Japan this may, as first timers. This will be our first trip outside Europe, as Canadians. We like food, discovering a different culture, history and castles. We like to take our time visiting, but have major FOMO so we don’t mind the fast paced traveling much. First, a potential itinerary :

Day 1-5 Tokyo
Day 6 (Day trip from Tokyo) Kamakura
Day 7 (day trip from Tokyo) Nikko
Day 8 (Day trip from Tokyo) Hakone
Day 9 Nagano
Day 10 Matsumoto
Day 11-12 Kanazawa
Day 13 to 15 Kyoto
Day 16 Uji
Day 17 Kobe
Day 18-19 Osaka
Day 20 Nara
Day 21 Himeji
Day 22 Osaka – fly home

Now, I've left Okayama out and i wonder if that is a mistake? Could i have confirmation i made good choices? Is there anything my Canadian brain doesn't take into account ?

Also, should we book some tour guides for most those cities, or is that not a thing in Japan? I loooove having someone explaining what I see and the history.

Also FOMO is Fear of missing out :P

I haven’t been to all the places you plan on visiting but I can tell you that you are not allocating enough time to Kyoto. Kyoto deserves at least 4 nights, which is only three full days.

I know that a lot of people go to Kamakura as a day trip from Tokyo but we spent two nights in Kamakura and would go back. It’s a fabulous place with so much to see and really needs at least one full day to do it justice. It was one of, if not my favorite, place in Japan.

I understand that you want to see as much as you can, but you cannot see everything on one trip and you shouldn’t try to. We’ve been to Japan twice and have barely scratched the surface. I plan on going back again (and hopefully again after that). Try to go with the attitude that if you like it, you will return. I approach every place that way. In fact, I am currently in Vietnam for the second time, and returning to Bangkok for the sixth. That way I don’t feel rushed and can stop to smell the roses so to speak.

That is unrealistic if by "Day" you mean you are spending the night in the location that is listed. You have those three places listed as day trips so I get that they are not overnights. You have 8 nights in Tokyo, then what? Try again please, using calendar days, and tell us where you plan to spend the night. There are chunks of your days that can be day trips from one place or just enroute stops, but I can't tell for sure.

Doesn't matter how you do this three weeks, you will be, missing out on a lot. Thing is that you might actually visit more of Japan than many/most Japanese.

You aren't actually planning those day trips on those consecutive days, right? You will need soime flexibility.because of weather. e.g. you could be SOL if Day 8 turns out to be a rainy, foggy day.

IOW, I don't see a plan here. What you have, so far, is a list of places to visit and it is is in a good geographical order.

>> Day 9 Nagano

I guess i really should read this as
Day 9 travel to Nagano, night in Nagano

In which case I could suggest spending two nights in Nagano and visit Matsumoto as a day trip instead of spending the night there. You wouid be that much closer to Kanazawa when you travel there on Day 11 for, I suppose/guess, two nights.

I can't tell if Days 17-21 involve four different lodging locations or just one (Osaka) with day trips.

I've lost count of how many times I've gone to Japan in the last 40 years (dozens, I'm sure), but I still feel I've only touched a tiny number of the places I'd like to see! The trains make it easy to zip from town to town, but I'd say you have too many destinations.

At the very least, I'd eliminate Uji and Kobe, using that time in Kyoto instead. I'd skip Hakone for sure, as you really will be rushed to even finish the circuit, much less travel from & to Tokyo. In my mind, Nikko, Nara, Nagano and Kamakura are all wonderful towns, but they offer similar experiences, so you might figure out what you plan to do there and decide to skip one or two. Honestly you could spend weeks exploring just in the areas around Kyoto/Osaka/ Himeji and be fully satisfied.

I feel Japan is best enjoyed seeing some of the major "sites", but also leaving time to explore little neighborhoods, cafes, bakeries, pubs, shops, and shrines, gardens and just people watching.

Hi, I am new here but have traveled to Japan twice. I can say that spending the day in one place is not enough. I'll skip Uji as there won't be enough to see and spend another day probably in Kyoto.

Of the places you list, I would say you do not have enough time in Kyoto. There is a huge amount to see and it makes a good base for day trips to Himejei and Nara which I don't feel warrant an overnight stay. Whilst Japan has arguably the most advanced and efficient public transport system in the world making it very easy to get around, I still feel the old adage "less is more" applies and would cut out a couple pf destinations in order to enable a more relaxed pace.

I found these websites, exceedingly helpful in planning our visits

https://www.insidekyoto.com
https://trulytokyo.com/
https://insideosaka.com

Revision
 

Okay following comments and availabilities of plane tickets, here is my new possible itinerary:

arriving in Osaka on the 5th, evening

6 to 11 Osaka, day trips to Nara and Himeji
11-13 Okayama
13 to 16 Kyoto with possible day trip to Uji
That previous part is already booked, but they can all be canceled or modified.
16 to 20 Nagano city - or a city nearby Jigokudani Yaen Koen (the snow monkey park). I would like to spend some time in some Onsen, maybe Shibu Onsen. Being heavy, i'd rather have a private one with my room. Any recommendation where to stay ? If i can't find i will probably go Nagano. I'm undecided between a day trip to Matsumoto, Kanazawa or Nagano.
20-22 Kamakura
22-27 Tokyo with a possible day trip to NIkko.
27- flight home


Better?

me again! I wasn't done witht he previous posting. The process is overwhelming and there is a lot of grieving :P

I've read the other "viral" thread and learned so much. Very excited about the sending luggage ahead, it will make my traveling more efficient, for example stopping at Himeki on the way to Okayama.

I also read about the monkeys, which has given me much to consider. I think the region really still interest me, and the question of the private Onsen, or in which city is should base remains.

Thoughts? :D

Better, yes. Your new itinerary is unusual and I thought that this must be somebody who has been to Japan before - that there must be some good reason that the trip starts with 6? nights in Osaka. But, I checked your OP and see that you are first-timers.

The new itinerary does work, but I think you need to figure out how you will use all that time in Osaka. You might want to move some/much/most of it to Kyoto. That would be more typical. You can spend some more time figuring out a plan for the Nagano time.

As far as your size goes and visiting an onsen, I will just say that other people won't care. Ok, yeah, people might notice that you are not Japanese-sized but so what (eff them IOW). It is possible that somebody will be rude enough to say something but it will be Japanese so you won't know. If English then just say you are a rishiki (sumo wrestler).

While on the subject I will note that hot water might not be a good idea fo someone with a heart condition or HBP. I think the heat in a banya is what more/less killed Catherine the Great

>> I also read about the monkeys, which has given me much to consider.
I hope you are not referring to what I wrote on progol's thread. I have not been there. I was asked what I think of it and gave my reasoning for why I have skipped it (so far).

Some people loved the snow monkey thing.

There are two types of people when it comes to the deer park in Nara. One kind loves it, gets selfies, and enjoys feeding the deer. The other kind, like me, thinks :"yeah, cute deer, now get away from me, I am heading to Todaiji now". Chance of me enjoying the snow monkeys are slim, but not zero, but that is FAIK because I don't really know.

Like it or not, it would be a unique experience.

Mrwunrfl- I'm with you on the monkeys and deer! They may be cute animals, but ( In my opinion!) both the deer park and the snow monkey park are just open air petting zoos where the animals are spoiled from the attention. But that's me.
In fact, the only time I every enjoyed watching monkeys was in Dharamsala, India. There was a rooftop below my hotel window that a dozen mama monkeys were hanging out with their new babies. It was a lot of fun watching how the mamas fed, cuddled and disciplined the babies, with no humans hovering to distract them!