mrwunrfl, appreciate the excellent advice you've given me and others. Yes, the historic streetcars are still running in Hiroshima. There are also newer ones.

tripplanner,
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your trip report! I really appreciate the time you spent writing up your report while you were traveling and the photos you’ve posted are stunning.

I’m actually trying to figure out if we can manage another trip to Japan, combining it with Taiwan (you and yestravel are inspiring me!) and, fingers crossed, we might be able to do this next year. I was taken by some of the places we didn’t get to - I loved the feeling of Tomonoura especially. I’d probably focus on the area from Hiroshima to Osaka/Kyoto, but nothing is set in stone yet.

Any favorites? I know it’s hard for me to decide - each place had a special feeling.

Thank you for doing another outstanding trip report! I like to travel someplace AFTER you’ve gone there and written up your report!!

progol, you're welcome. You did extremely well for yourself in your planning, I must say, and I am thankful to have benefitted from your tips in Takayama, in Kanazawa, and in Kyoto.

Favorites? That's always hard but I would say some of my most memorable were Kamikochi, Tomonoura, Himeji, Hiroshima, and select moments in Kyoto.

For a return visit, if you're going to start in Kyoto and make your way south, I would suggest looking at Matsue, Hagi, Tsuwano, and along the Seto Inland Sea. This section of the Sea of Japan side receives much fewer visitors, so you may come across multiple happy finds.

tp and mrwunrfl, you’ve given me a lot to consider if we do make a return trip. It would likely be combined with Taiwan so I’m envisioning it would be no more than 2 weeks, so I can see it’ll be a challenge, once again, narrowing things down. But I’ll start a new thread once we are more seriously planning a trip. Or even if it’s semi-serious!

Thanks again to both of you!

Fantastic report and photos!

Some of the comments on timing have me wondering if I should reconsider the planned dates for my November 2024 trip. I was aiming to hit Kyoto by mid-November to be there for peak koyo season, but now I'm wondering if I should push the dates back a week or two.

Conversely, from your comments about the crowds, I'm also wondering if I should move the trip up to October. I'm more inclined to try for peak autumn colors since I work in higher ed and fall isn't often a time I'm able to travel. I figure I should try to hit the autumn leaves while I can and just deal with the crowds as well as plan some days at lesser-visited sites.

Things to think about...

<<Conversely, from your comments about the crowds, I'm also wondering if I should move the trip up to October. I'm more inclined to try for peak autumn colors since I work in higher ed and fall isn't often a time I'm able to travel. I figure I should try to hit the autumn leaves while I can and just deal with the crowds as well as plan some days at lesser-visited sites.>>

memejs, I’m a little confused - are you trying to catch peak autumn color in Kyoto? If so, you’d want to arrive later than mid-November, not earlier. This past year, peak color in Kyoto was at the end of November. October would be too early. We were in the Japanese Alps (Matsumoto, Okuhida, Takayam) at the end of October/beginning of November, and that seemed pretty close to peak. But this area peaks earlier than Kyoto. Even when we left Takayama and moved on to Kanazawa, it was noticeable how much less autumn color there was.

Oh sorry, I realize now that my comment was confusing. I was basically weighing two options: 1) Move the trip earlier, into October, to avoid the crowds of the leaf chasers or 2) Stick with the plan of being a leaf chase myself and move the trip a bit later so that I hit Kyoto in late November and am more likely to be there for peak koyo season.

Got it! As far as crowds go, I imagine you’ll run into them at the popular sites no matter when you go. Time of day (very early!) seems to be the best way to minimize crowds. We solved that by avoiding the most popular sites!

Koyo season in Japan lasts over two months because the country covers a large range of latitude (north/south), about like from Maine to southern Georgia border. And there is a range of elevation and in some places it is not far to travel from sea level to mountains. I would have told you that peak in Kyoto would be around Nov 18 or so, but it is later according to the map at the link below. Of course, you don't have to go to Kyoto for fall colors.

Autumn leaves (koyo) in Japan (japan-guide.com)

Thank you so very much for all the work that went into posting this very enjoyable and very helpful trip report. My husband and I are heading to Japan for the first time for a month starting mid-October. I have taken pages of notes from your trip report and the photos made it all come alive for me. We will stay flexible and, if places are too crowded, you have provided us with lots of other options. I've told my husband to just be thankful if we see any fall foliage color. We can't miss our family Thanksgiving so that limited how late into November we could stay. Thank you again.