Mara

lcuy, on my first trip to Tokyo I went to a local festival celebrating ume/plum blossoms at the Yushima Tenjin Shrine - I had maybe two words of Japanese and everyone was so friendly and nice to me - probably where my love of Japan and its people started...lol...

kja

> Plum blossoms ...

My visit to Japan was nowhere near sakura time, but I caught some plums in full bloom in Takayama - wow! Stunningly gorgeous. Not a bad second option, if that's what you have the chance to see.

hawaiiantraveler

ume onigiri.....you all are talking about ume blossoms and all I can think about now is ume onigiri. I seek them out at every combi, 7/11,depato I see,lol

Aloha!

mrtaz49

hawaiiantraveler -- With my limited time, would this leg make sense, or it it too much?
Day 1 - Arrive in Fukuoka early afternoon. Train to Kumamoto for overnight.
Day 2 - Rent car in Kumamoto. Drive to Mt. Aso and explore volcano. Drive to Kurokawa, stay in Sanga Ryokan.
Day 3 - Drive to Takachiho. Visit gorge. Return to Kumamoto for overnight.
Day 4 - Early train to Hiroshima.......
Thanks!

hawaiiantraveler

I see you do your research well....

Sounds like a good easy plan to me. Go for it!!

Aloha!

mrwunrfl

Where will you be viewing the cherry blossoms? Maybe Dazaifu in Fukuoka? Or the garden near Kumamoto castle?

You can't count on the weather to cooperate on the day you are planning to go up Aso-san. Maybe check on conditions before you leave Kumamoto.

mrtaz49

mrwunrfl -- I think my best bet for early sakura will be Kumamoto castle. I'll probably be just ahead of the wave wherever I go.

Thanks for the tip. I'll check the conditions on Aso-san.

mrtaz49

Hi everyone. With the help all your great suggestions, I've got a basic itinerary. There are still some questions, so please jump in!

(H/T to MrHT for the first 3 days!)
3/17 - Arrive in Fukuoka early afternoon. Train to Kumamoto for overnight.
3/18 - Rent car in Kumamoto. Drive to Mt. Aso and explore volcano. Drive to Kurokawa, stay in Sanga Ryokan.
3/19 - Drive to Takachiho. Visit gorge. Return to Kumamoto for overnight.
****(Or is it better to go immediately to Hiroshima for overnight to give us more time for Hiroshima & Mayajima????)
3/20 - Early train to Hiroshima (or just wake up if we arrived last night) Visit Hiroshima sights. Ferry to Mayajima.
****Is it better to spend night in Miyajima or Hiroshima?
3/21 - Train to Kyoto.
****I'd like to stop in Kurashiki and/or Himeji. Does this make sense or is it too much?
3/22 - 3/25 - Kyoto. Day trip to Nara.
****Still haven't reserved Kyoto accommodations. Looking at everything from western hotels to ryokans to apartments/houses. Recommendations appreciated.
3/25-3/27 - Tokyo. Hoping for free nights at Park Hyatt with new credit card(thanks to alert on another Fodor's forum!).
3/28 - Nagano (for business)
3/29 - Sayonara from Narita

Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

hawaiiantraveler

3/19- Catch the shinkansen to Hiroshima from Kumamoto. There are rental cars right across the street from Kumamoto-eki. The Nissan rental has English GPS in their vehicles.

http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_i...&prefecture=43

3/20- Better to spend this night on Miyajima.
3/21 - Ok to stop on the way at either place but not both.

Kyoto-Whats your budget price for hotel or ryokan?

Aloha!

mrtaz49

Great. Planning to rent from Nissan. Do you know the Japanes car model names? I suppose we'd want something in the Sentra range but it's not listed and I don't recognize the names.
Ok.
Ok. Which would you recommend?
My wife says no limit. Me, not so much. Comfort, decent value, good location.

kja

> is it better to go immediately to Hiroshima for overnight to give us more time for Hiroshima & Mayajima????

That depends on what you hope to see and experience in these destinations and your preferred pace of travel. If it helps, I spent (as I recall) about 3 hours in Hiroshima, and in that time, I visited the Dome, the Peace Park (I would have liked a bit more time there), and the Peace Museum. I then left for Miyajima (as I mentioned above, I'm glad I spent the night there). I got up quite early the next morning and stayed on the island until mid-afternoon - plenty of time to take the cable-car to the top of Mt. Misan, walk down, and explore the town.

> I'd like to stop in Kurashiki and/or Himeji

I thought Kurashiki charming and well worth a couple of hours. (Add another hour or two if you want to visit the Ohara Museum of Art.) And I found Himeji-jo fascinating - but I was there before the current phase of reconstruction began. I'm not sure how that would change the experience of visiting it. See:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3501.html

If you do go to Himeji and have time, you might consider visiting the lovely gardens adjacent to it, Koko-en.


Sounds like a great trip!

mrwunrfl

3/19 - I agree with ht about going on to Hiroshima. It is less than two hours. As short as 1 hour and 37 minutes.

You could use the Northern Kyushu version of this rail pass:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_07.html

It would save about 6000 JPY per person. The only drawback is that you would not be able to use it from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto. But at Shin-Osaka you could transfer to a JR Rapid train for the 25 minute ride to Kyoto. It is only 540 yen.

3/21 - I suggest stopping at Okayama instead of the other choices. You would most likely be traveling through Okayama to get to Kurashiki, so a bit more convenient. The castle and Korakuen Garden are easy to get to from the shinkansen station. The castle and garden are next to each other. A good way to go would be a taxi to the garden. After the castle, walk to a streetcar stop and take the nice little streetcar back to the station area.

On a different day, I might have enjoyed Kurashiki more than I did on the day I visited there. I walked to the tourist area, walked through, taxi back. I did find a terrific shop that sold chopsticks, nothing else.

mrwunrfl

But what you do on 3/21 depends on how much time you spend on Miyajima (after your night there).

hawaiiantraveler

I forget which model the car I rented was but it was the 1100 cc model. I always rent that size of car in Japan. You don't need the bigger car and the smaller ones save on gas yet have plenty of power to climb the hills.

Of the two you mention I would still pick Himeji and visit the castle in repair which I hear is very interesting to see in this state especially since repair is well along. Kokoen Gardens is worth a trip too.

For your wife either The Okura or the Hyatt Regency Kyoto. Maybe Hiiragiya

http://okura.kyotohotel.co.jp/english/

http://kyoto.regency.hyatt.com/hyatt...index.jsp?null

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d.../hiiragiya.htm

For you maybe one of these:

http://www.citadines.com/japan/kyoto/karasuma_gojo.html

http://www.hotelmonterey.co.jp/en/htl/kyoto/index.html

http://web.travel.rakuten.co.jp/port...ng?f_no=104701

http://www.granviakyoto.com/

Aloha!

mrtaz49

HT - I see you have a clear picture of wife vs. husband hotel preferences How about house or apartment rentals? Have you done that in Japan? Has anyone here done it?

Thanks for the car tip. Another question occurred to me: Are they AUTOMATIC? I'm fine with stick or "wrong" side driving, but I don't think I can handle both at the same time.

mrwunrfl & kja -- Thanks for your advice. It's looking like we'll go to Hiroshima 3/19 night and stay there. 3/20 - Visit Dome, Peace Park and Museum in am. Go to Miyajima in afternoon to explore and stay overnight. 3/21 - Train to Kyoto with one stop (probably Himeji).

hawaiiantraveler

We are staying in our first "house" rental in Kyoto this fall with the rhkkmk's. We have rented Koke-an, it is a machiya and we are in these peoples capable hands also recommended on this forum.

https://www.kyotomachiyastay.com/index.php/en/

I was also looking here but the other offer seemed better:

http://www.japan-experience.com/rent...apan?ap=j0095g

cars are automatic.

Aloha!

kja

Sounds like you're going to have a wonderful trip!