Hi. We are staying in Kyoto for four nights on our first trip to Japan. Question...where else??? Should we spend the remainder (2 nights) in Tokyo or go to Osaka or someplace else? We booked on a lark and are scrambling to put this together. Thanks for the help we have already gotten from you!

Where are you flying into/out of? It would help people to know what your itinerary is to make sense of it.

We are flying in to Nagoya then heading to Kyoto. We thought we would want to go from Kyoto to Tokyo at one point. That is about as far as we have gotten.

First, if you are flying United then you should go to their website and register for the double miles offer for flights between San Francisco and Nagoya.

When are you going?

You could go to Shirakawago and spend a night in a gassho zukuri minshuku (like Koemon). Then a night at a nice ryokan in Takayama (like Nagase). Or take the train from Kyoto to Takayama and spend the night. Then the bus to Shirakawago. From Shirakawago there is a seasonal bus that goes to Nagoya.

Takayama is easily reached from Nagoya by a limited express train in 2 hr 15 min. You would probably connect to that train at Nagoya if you were coming from Kyoto. From Kyoto, I believe that there is one train a day that goes through Nagoya to Takayama without requiring a connection. At both the minshuku and ryokan you would be sleeping on futons, so you might want to go to Kyoto first if you will be staying in a Western style hotel there.

Going to Takayama & S-go would take advantage of the fact that you are flying into Nagoya. You can save Tokyo for another trip when you have more time and when you find a bargain fare to fly there.

That sounds good. I am flying into Tokyo, spending days there, then going to Kyoto and back to Tokyo to fly out, and that is a much harder itinerary to plan to include Takayama and Shirakago. I literally have agonized many about not fitting Takayama and Shikawago into my trip, and the only way I can live w/it is that I know we are alrady planning trips #2 and #3 and will get those two places in then.
I suppose you could go to Tokyo but do you have interest in anything specific there? We do. But I'm not sure I'd spend my last two days of sucha short trip there unless I had a very specific interest to focus on. If I only had two additional nights in Japan in Kyoto I'd either do as mrwunrfl suggested or I'd stay in Kyoto and add some day trips from Kyoto. From Kyoto you can go many many interesting places, depending on you rinterests We are going to Hiroshima, Nara, Ohara half day, and Kibune/Kurama half day, and Osaka for baseball and sumo tournament. So places from Kyoto are also a possibility.
But Takayama and Shirakawago have always sounded unique to me from everything I have read here and elsewhere.
I suppose you are taking advantage of the low airfares into the new airport, as many of us are or will be in near future. Not bad to have to make these decisions...

Well, after rereading my post, I see why mrwunrfl just spells out Shirakawago oce and then refers to it as "S-go"

oh forget it, i give up

Ok. Sounds like you guys know what you are talking about. Can you tell me more about "a ryokan in Takayama" or more about "shirakwago"? I guess it comes down to...do I really need to see Tokyo? I am in to history, art and food...sounds like I can get my fill in Kyoto. Is there anything I really must see in Tokyo? What about trying to catch a glimpse of Fuji? Thanks for all your help.

The following page has links to pdf files describing popular destinations:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/PTG/index.html
Under the Chubu section you will see a link for "Takayama & Shirakawago".

You can find out about the ryokan in Takayama and elsewhere from this page:
http://japaneseguesthouses.com/db/takayama/index.htm

Yes, visiting Fuji-san would be good esp. for scenic beauty. Maybe you can get a dose of art/history by also visiting Kamakura. See the pdf in the Kanto section of the JNTO webpage for "Hakone & Kamakura".

emd is right about Hiroshima. There is history there, of course. A stay in a ryokan on Miyajima would feature good local food like Hiroshima beef and fish from the Inland Sea. Take a look at the pdf for "Hiroshima & Miyajima".

Elsewhere on the JNTO site you can find more info and pictures. Try the links on this page:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/RTG/

The region for Kyoto is Kansai. The region for Takayama is Chubu, Gifu. For Hiroshima the region is Chugoku.

As far as Tokyo goes, it is essential Japan. After all, one out of every 5 Japanese lives in the Tokyo-Yokohama-... megalopolis (about 25 million, give or take 5 million depending on how you define it). If you want to see the big city, Tokyo is it. Your question about going to Tokyo is like saying that you are going on a trip to the eastern US, will be staying in D.C. for 4 days to see the sights, should you go to NYC also? Well, yes, no, maybe.

Another place to visit, not far from Kyoto, would be Kanazawa.