4 days kyoto plus 2 days Takayama or 6 days kyoto??
 

We are travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto on 25 November ( staying Ana Hotel ) and plan to leave for Takayama on 29 Nov. for 2 nights ( then back to Tokyo ).
1. Is 4 days in Kyoto enough to cover our planned itinerary :
- 25 Nov. Shinkansin Hikari from Tokyo to Kyoto - arrive 12 noon. In afternoon, visit Tofukuji, Fushimi Inari, the to Nara.
- 26 Nov. Morning Arashiyama ( Autumn colour change ). Afternoon Kinkaku-ji, Ryoan-ji.
- 27 Nov. Morning cover Higashiyama area ( Kiyomizu Dera, Sanju Sangen-do ). Afternoon Ginkaku-ji, Nanzen-ji, Enkan-do and path of Philosophy.
- 28 Nov. Himiji Castle. Late afternoon / evening to Osaka ( Dotomboti for dinner )
- 29 Nov. Morning Nijo-jo, Kyoto Imperial palace. Afternoon - travel to Takayama.
There are 4 adults travelling. Should we travel by bus or take a taxi?
Do you think we can have time to visit the Gion area?
Welcome any comment / advise on above.
2. Is it better to miss Takayama and spend the extra 2 days in Kyoto?
3. What weather, temperature can we expect in Takayama at end of November and what are the daylight hours? We have "booked" our accommodation in Takayama ( Best Western and Nagase Ryokan ). We are now finding it difficult to get accommodation in Kyoto if we change our plans !!
Thanks !

Whether your plan is do-able depends on the pace at which you prefer to travel. My biggest concern would be the 25th: You would likely have very little time in Nara to see anything by the time you get there.

If you want to see Gion, you could plan to have dinner in that area one night or just walk around after visiting Higashiyama on the 27th.

Hope that helps!

definitely 6 days in Kyoto. Takayama was the one disappointing place in my trip. I was in Kyoto for almost 2 weeks and want to go back to see all I missed.

I suspect you are including Takayama to go somewhere that is countryside? If so, you should understand that Takayama is a small city with the usual concrete buildings...it just has a small preserved area and a morning market and temples that are old and picturesque. It's a nice enough place for a day trip, but I wouldn't spend 2 days.

For countryside or something unique, I'd recommend Shirakawa-go or Gokayama for a night in a minshuku in a gassho house (grass roof). They are small villages, Shirakawa-go more touristy than Gokayama, but both nice. More to do in S-go, more rustic in Gokayama..they are near each other.

You do have a lot on your plate for Kyoto, so adding 2 days there wouldn't be a bad idea. It is a huge city, and takes time to get from place to place.

If you go to Takayama, you should certainly not take a taxi...bus or train. Taxi will bankrupt you.

Weather in November is chilly and often rainy. Plan on wearing layers...it'll be around 10 degrees without sun, and maybe 20 if there is sun, so you'll need to put on layers or take them off to adjust for temperature change.

Thanks all for your response.
We have decided to stay 2 more days in Kyoto. and leave Takayama for the next trip (perhaps in warmer season) to include Shira-go and Kanazawa.
The problem now is to find the hotel. We rang ANA hotel to extend 2 more nights but it's fully booked . any suggestion. may be Ryokan ( I believe more difficult for Novemember). I am a bit disappointed to have to miss the experience of staying in a Ryokan (Nagase in Takayama) but it seemed the roykan in Kyoto are more pricy. our budget is around Y15- Y20,000 per person per night including breakfast and dinner.. If not we are thinking of staying near the station to go to Nara and Hemiji for that 2 extra days. What about the alternative of staying OSAKA. but is tranfer and travelling to Osaka confusing? .It look confusing for me (so many different station)