RitaTripp

I need advice! We arrive into Tokyo on a Monday at 2 pm and I'm not terribly interested in spending much time in Tokyo. So we have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to tour the country and we fly out of Osaka on Saturday morning to catch a river cruise in Vietnam. I have interest in: Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Himeji and Kamakura but obviously I can't do all of those cities. We move at a fast pace and I want to see as much as possible in those 4 days. What cities would you prioritize and in what order? Thank you for your suggestions!!!

Reading54

Maybe you should assign a score of 1 to 10 to how important each of these places is to you, so that others can help you plan.
There are many possible combinations. Your priority may not be the same as others'. But this is your trip, ....

RitaTripp

Good suggestion! I think we definitely want to go to Hakone and Kyoto. My husband and I love history, so I had thought Hiroshima, but if its only looking at the remaining building that survived, that may not make sense. I've heard that the Himeji Castle is the best in Japan, but if we go there, that is probably all we will see and then the questions is, is it that much better than the castles we will see in Kyoto?. And then I recently read that Kamakura is a "must do". I recognize it doesn't make sense to spend all of our time traveling, but at the same time, I want to see as much of the country as I possibly can. So...other than Hakone and Kyoto, I don't know enough to know whether we should make the effort to go to Himeji, Hiroshima or Kamakura. And what about Nikko? I'm getting overwhelmed with the options. While I love gardens, I'm not sure I want to spend a lot of time strolling through gardens. Again, history and learning is what we enjoy most.

Could we do:
Day 1: Hakone
Day 2: Kyoto
Day 3: Kamakura
Day 4: Hiroshima & Himeji and then end up in Osaka to fly out the next
what about Nikko??? should we go to Nikko instead of one of the other places?

curiousgeo

I would suggest one day in either Hakone or Kamakura (with possibly two days here) and three in Kyoto. Even at a fast pace you will just scratch the surface of what is there, much less actually enjoying what you see. I realize different people have different travel styles, but your proposed itinerary is just not doable.

There was a YouTube video of a traveler exiting Kyoto Station and being shocked that Kyoto was actually a large modern city and it took time to go from place to place.

Reading54

Assuming you are spending Monday night sleeping in Tokyo, and based on your placing Kamakura ahead of Himeji, you may contemplate:
Mon: sleep in Tokyo
Tue: train to Kamakura, sleep in Kamakura
Wed: travel to Hakone, sleep in Hakone
Thurs: travel to Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
Fri: sightsee in Kyoto, sleep in Kyoto
Sat: travel to your departure airport in Osaka (KIX or ITM). Depending on how early your flight is, and whether you are leaving from KIX or ITM, you may need to consider moving to a hotel closer to the airport on Friday night. ITM is closer to Kyoto than KIX is.

Or, do as curiousgeo suggested, spend Tue in Hakone, (or both Tue and Wed in Hakone,) then the rest in Kyoto.

By the way, Kamakura is geologically located between Tokyo and Hakone. Therefore, you should plan to visit Kamakura on leaving Tokyo, not after you have already gone all the way to Kyoto.

RitaTripp

Thank you both so very much! I'm going to do a little more research and may post again in a day or two when I figure out what I think my plan will be. Neither of you mentioned Hiroshima. Do you think I should skip it?

Reading54

>> Neither of you mentioned Hiroshima. Do you think I should skip it? <<
You don't have time for Hiroshima. Which day do you plan to squeeze in Hiroshima?
Friday? By giving up sight-seeing in Kyoto?
One way train from Kyoto to Hiroshima is about 2 hours. Therefore, for a round-trip of 4 hours on the bullet train, and spending 2 hours at the site, there goes 6 hours already.

Before posting back, please research transportation method and travel time from point A to point B, so that your question will be more realistic.

mrwunrfl

Which airport are you arriving at? If HND then you could fly on to pretty much anywhere in Japan the same day.

>> Hiroshima, but if its only looking at the remaining building that survived
The main attraction is the museum. It is quite moving. You mentioned an interest in history. In addition to the museum, you would see the Genbaku Dome and you could see the targeting point for the bomb and visualize the point in the sky that was the hypocenter of the detonation. That is, you can be in the place where the history was made. There is also a park with memorials. Easy to get there from Hiroshima station - take the cool streetcar IIRC, you would take it to the stop named Genbaku Dome-mae (mae meaning in front of).

>> is it that much better than the castles we will see in Kyoto?
Yes, it is. Himeji is the one castle to visit in Japan if you could only visit one. It is an easy walk or taxi ride from Himeji station. This could be a (shinkansen) stop on the way between Hiroshima and Osaka/Kyoto or a day trip.

>> read that Kamakura is a "must do"
It is not. Not by a long shot (imo, of course). I understand that others would disagree with me about this, but you have to ask why they think it is a must do and decide if that is what you want. If you were just staying in Kanto region then I still would not call Kamakura a "must do" for the region. I would not argue if you read that must-dos in Japan include Kyoto, Hiroshima, Hakone, Himeji-jo. Kamakura is down the list, my list anyway. I guess if you were interested in visiting shrines/temples and could not get to Kyoto then Kamakura could serve as a substitute.

>> Nikko
No, skip it. No worries.

>> Kyoto
It is the cultural heart of Japan and you can just look at the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan to see why. There are several temples and shrines to visit. There is one castle in Kyoto, Nijo-jo, that you should visit (a Kyoto must-do). This is not a substitute for Himeji-jo. If you have an image of a Japanese castle in your mind then Nijo-jo is not it, and you can read why it is different. It has a nice garden, too.

mrwunrfl

When is this trip? What month and day is that Monday? Please don't say May 1. That would be during Golden Week. August 6, A-bomb Day, is on a Sunday this year, so you would miss that.

What is your budget like? Are you an overnight highway bus (cheap, slow, uncomfy) traveler? Or green car on Nozomi super express shinkansen (expensive, fast, comfy)?

Some itineraries, like a day trip to Himeji, can be on local, limited express, or shinkansen (or a combo), with/without connections. You can save money or save time, depending on your choice. More convenience or comfort has higher cost.

RitaTripp

Okay....what about this...
Day 1 - land in Tokyo; go up one of the towers to get a view of the city (stay in Tokyo)
Day 2 - take train to Nikko - see the shrines and ride the Akechidaira Ropeway to see the Falls and the Lake (DO WE NEED TO GO ON TO SEE THE LAKE????); take the train back to Tokyo (stay again in Tokyo)
Day 3 - take Romance Train to Hakone and spend the night there
Day 4 & 5 - take train to Kyoto and spend both days in Kyoto and take the train to Osaka on the last night to stay in a hotel near the airport
(if for some reason we find one day in Kyoto is sufficient, we can always do a day trip to Hiroshima on Day 5)

What are your thoughts of this itinerary?

mrwunrfl

You can see my advice about Nikko in my first post. That was based on my assumption that you were interested in visiting the World Heritage Nikko stuff, not a ropeway.

I was adding to my second post while you made your last post. Maybe you didn't see either one.

progol

I’m planning my first trip to Japan for this fall so any suggestions should be taken with that understanding. But I’ve been researching like crazy and agree with others that you’re trying to bite off too much. Getting to each location takes time and you want to actually see something rather than just checking off a place.

First of all, where are you coming from? If you’re arriving from the US, you may be very jetlagged? When I plan my trips, I think in terms of nights, not how many days. It’s much easier to understand how much time you really have.

Monday - land 2pm. Arrive in Tokyo maybe by 4pm? Stay in Tokyo.
Tuesday - travel to Hakone - spend day sightseeing, Sleep Hakone
Wednesday - travel to Kyoto - arrive (at earliest) late morning. Sightsee. Sleep in Kyoto.
Thursday - explore Kyoto - sightsee. Sleep Kyoto.
Friday - theoretically, you could day trip here to Hiroshima, but is this realistic? To me, it doesn’t make sense. At best, 1 hour and 40 minutes from Kyoto and you’ll have to get to back to Osaka (which airport?). What are you doing with your luggage? Sleep Osaka (airport?)

Don’t forget you will be needing to get to hotels and dealing with luggage, whether forwarding it or putting it in lockers. And possibly jet lag.

RitaTripp

You're right...I didn't see your other posts when I posted my last note. First, I want to thank you for taking the time to respond!!!! We arrive Tokyo at 2 pm on Monday, Oct. 23. We aren't on a budget, but I don't need everything I do to be 5 Star either. But ultimately, my decisions are not based primarily on the cost. So I'm thinking we will get the JR Pass and take the fastest trains available, so we can spend time touring. When I was referring to the Nikki portion of the trip, I was absolutely focused on the World Heritage sites, but thought I could perhaps take the ropeway as a way to also view the Falls and the Lake from a distance, without spending hours on that portion of the trip. But maybe that doesn't make sense. And as I read your suggestion, you think we should skip Nikko. I genuinely value your input!!!!

So based upon your recommendations, what do you think about this plan...
Monday - arrive in Tokyo and maybe go up one of the towers for a view of the city, have dinner and go to bed
Tuesday - Hakone
Wednesday - Kyoto (stay in Kyoto Wednesday and Thursday night)
Thursday - day trip to Himeji (and perhaps see more of Kyoto too?)
Friday - Hiroshima then travel back to stay near the Osaka Airport

lcuy

If this is your final itinerary, this would be my recommendation:
Mon: Arrive Tokyo at 2p. Go to the JR station office in the airport and give the agent your itinerary. They will suggest a regional pass and will make reservations for you. If the lines are long, they may limit the number of reservations, so have them do your trip into Tokyo and next train.( Don't worry, you can do the other reservations when you get to Tokyo or the next day). You won't get out of the airport until at the least 4:30, so either sleep in Tokyo near the station, or travel to all the way Hakone-yumoto and get an early start on the Hakone circuit in the morning.
Tues: Hakone circuit, then take train to Kyoto that afternoon or the next morning. (about 3 hours)
Wed: Tour Kyoto. sleep in Kyoto. If you are interested in Nishiki market, many stores close on Wednesday
Thurs: Train to Himeji (1 to 2 hrs), then train to Hiroshima (about 2 hours). Sleep Hiroshima
Friday: Tour Hiroshima, then take train back to Osaka (1.5 to 2 hours). Sleep in Osaka
Sat: If you are flying out of KIX, allow plenty of time to get there, especially if you will be traveling during rush hour. The trains can get very full, especially if you accidentally take a local vs express train. (Trust me on this!). Kansai airport is closer to Osaka, so not so critical.
**Note: If I was doing this, I'd go directly to Hiroshima from Kyoto, then hit Himeji Castle on the way back to Osaka. There are lots of trains along this route, and if you end up spending more, -or less- time in Hiroshima (it can be pretty emotional, especially the museum), you can adjust your time at Himeji Castle. If you have a rail pass, you can change your train reservations without any fees.
Personally, I'd skip Hakone, so you have an extra day in Kyoto. While I love the outdoor art museum in Hakone, the whole area is basically a tourist stop. There are lots of notable places to see in Kyoto and the surrounding area. Hiroshima is a hugely important historical site, and Himeji is (IMO) the best authentic castle in Japan. If you sit on the west side of the train, you may have a view of Fuji south h from Tokyo, so you can say you saw it!
I

mrwunrfl

Which airports? Which airlines?
Tokyo Haneda (HND) or Tokyo Narita (NRT)?
Osaka Itami (ITM) or Osaka Kansai (KIX)?
What is the departure time of your flight from Osaka
You don't necessarily need a JR Pass.

Monday JAL 265 dep HND 17:55 -19:20 HIJ for 12,470 JPY (US $94) in economy or 18,630 in J
You should get to Hiroshima around 9 PM, check in (Sheraton at the station), hopefully not too late for dinner (Hiroshima-style oko,nomiyaki or oysters if in season). There was a bar with food just outside the hotel, next to the station.
Tue - Visit Hiroshima and Miyajima (night in either place)
Wed - stop at Himeji on the way to Kyoto for the night
Thu - Kyoto
Fri - Kyoto (or Osaka for the night and have Osaka-style okonomiyaki!)
Sat - bus to ITM or JR limited express to KIX

mrwunrfl

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (Tocho)
Tokyo Tower - Tokyo Travel (japan-guide.com)
Tokyo Skytree - Tokyo Travel (japan-guide.com)