So, the tickets are booked - March,27 to Tokyo and April, 12 back home from Osaka. I did some reading (books and forums), and I think I have the first draft of my plan(below). However, my plan does not include Matsue and Tsuwano. Fodor’s gives a glorious review to these two towns naming them ‘rare beauty’ and ‘real old unspoiled Japan’. So, I really would like to see them, and thinking of dropping Takayama or Koyasan to see Matsue. What is your opinion? Should I keep the current plan? Should I make any modifications to the current plan?

Here is my current plan
Day 1,2,3 – Tokyo (this includes the arrival day)
Day 4 – Nikko (Overnight???)
Day 5 – to Takayama
Day 6 – Takayama (day trip to Shirakawa Go???)
Day 7 – to Kyoto
Day 8,9 –Kyoto
Day, 10 – day trip to Nara
Day, 11 – to Koyasan overnight
Day 12 - to Kurashiki with the stop in Himeji
Day 13 - Kurashiki/Okinawa
Day, 14 Miyajima island overnight
Day 15 Osaka (want to try the SPA world)
Day 16 Departure from Osaka

Thank you for your help!

The thing that strikes me is that you are moving around a lot and covering a lot of ground.

This year, we've been to Nara twice, each time for 2 nights, and not seen everything yet. It is possible to do a whirlwind tour of the main sights in the deer park in a day trip, but in our experience, Nara is a nice town to enjoy as it does not feel like a huge city like Kyoto. There are some lovely places to stay for every budget.

Takayama was a let down for us...typical small city with a touristy part. It is heavily touristed by both domestic and international tourists. The old part of the city looks nice but is rather contrived and crowded. You will almost surely be too early for cherry blossoms there, but will be good for timing for cherry blossoms in Kyoto and Tokyo...probably.

Shirakawa-go is nice, but rapidly becoming too touristy. It is a nice village with lots of gassho houses (thatched roofs), many souvenir shops, some touristy restaurants, and minshuku galore. I prefer the Gokayama villages nowadays as they are less geared up for the buses...but the buses serving the Gokayama area are quite few and far between.

I assume you mean Kurashiki and Okayama, not Okinawa (which is a group of islands in the south). One day for both...too rushed, pick one or the other.

A night on Miyajima should be lovely.

I don't have any first hand experience with Matsue and Tsuwano.

KimJapan, yes, I agree, it is a little rushed, but I don't know when I am going to be there next time...

Yes, I meant Okayama. So which one to pick? Kurashiki seems like a lovely town, but I want to see the garden in Okayama too...

I think, I can stay overnight in Nara, but I just thought it would be less moving if I do it on a day trip.

I've read various opinions on Takayama - from glorius to dissapointing. That's why I was thinking to skip it (possibly) and try to incorporate Matsue. I am torn!

You could stop in Okayama to see the garden then move on if you like. Kurashiki is not a town, but a city the size of Kanazawa...which is not big, but certainly not a town. If you are looking for towns, then perhaps skip Kurashiki, Okayama, Takayama and S-go and add in Matsue and Tsuwano and another day to Kyoto or Nara. You'd get some experience outside of the cities, and also be able to slow down a bit.

Yes your schedule is a little rushed but it look like a very enjoyable one.

If its your first trip to Japan you will find a lot of "authentic" Japan in S Go, Takayama and Koya san....don't over worry, you will enjoy this itinerary you have created. Believe me its a pretty good plan for a first visit.

You are not even mentioning the cherry blossoms which will be glorious during your visit and I will wager should be one of your most pleasant memories of your trip

Save the other things for your next visit

Aloha!

Matsue is a great place to visit. See the sunset over the lake and the shinjimi fishermen in the morning. Great castle and there are a few sights dealing with the life of author Lafcadio Hearn. Nearby is the magnificent Izumo Taisha.

Matsue fits in with your interests in visiting Okayama and Kurashiki. I haven't been to either place but believe that each of those is a half-day visit. They are only 16 minutes apart by local train. From Okayama you can take a limited Express train (2h 29m) to Matsue. From there you COULD go to Hiroshima/Miyajima via Hagi - an interesting pottery town, but that might be a bit much (I spent just one night in Hagi and it was not enough).

I suggest dropping Takayama (but if you don't then, yes on the day trip to S-go or, better, stay overnight). I can't suggest skipping Koyasan because I haven't been there, but note that I have skipped it 6 times now.

Thank you so much for reviewing my plan, and giving me your opinions!!!
It is always a problem - so much to see, so little time!
Mrwunrfl, if I decide on Matsue, how many days do I need? Did you do Tsuwano too? For some reason, I can't find much info on these 2 towns. I can't even find decent photos on the web. Can we do without any knowledge of Japaneese in there? Here is what Fodor's says: "Matsue is a city blessed with such overwhlming beauty and good food that you will be stuck on what to look at and what to do first". Would you say you agree with this?

We have been to Matsue and were well rewarded for the time we spent there.We sayed at the Minamikan and were rewarded with fine meals ,a lovely view and kind attentive service. Two sites we truely enjoyed were the Adachi Museum (about 40 minutes away) and the Tiffany Museum.Who could imagine such a thing in Matsue. It was so gorgeous we spent the good part of the day here. Your trip looks wonderful.Enjoy!