So my itinerary is pretty much set for my return trip to Japan in late March/first 1/2 of April for sakura season. I have 4 nights set for Tokyo (including a day trip to Kamakura); 5 nights for Kyoto (including a 1/2 trip to Himeji to see the castle that was under renovation during my Nov. 2013 trip, and a day trip to Yoshino if the blooms warrant); a couple of nights in Nara; a night in Koya-san; 4 nights in Kanazawa and 2 nights in Kawaguicho-ko before returning home. Many of you have wisely spoken in your past trip reports about the option of making a stop along the way on an otherwise travel day to see something of interest. So, I have one heavy intra-country travel day, leaving from Koya-san and ultimately heading to Kanazawa. Along the way, I've been planning to stop and see the castle at Hikone, which would mean I've then seen 3 of the 4 castles designated as National Treaures (Matsumoto in 2013 plus Himeji and Hikone on my upcoming trip). I then noticed that Inyuyama is not far (geographically speaking) from Hikone, which makes me wonder if I could also fit in a visit there which just happens to contain the 4th National Treasure castle. Another potential benefit is the Inuyama festival which is held the first weekedn in April each year. I haven't seen yet which days the festival will be, so it could be on the 1st and 2nd, or it could be on the 7th-8th (I'd be passing through on the 7th)

Either way, the castles will obviously always be there. I still need to check train times on Hyperdia but what do you all think about the potential for stopping at both Hikone and Inuyama on the way? Since I have 4 nights in Kanazawa, it means I have 3 full days, so even if I were to arrive at my Kanazawa hotel at midnight, I'll still have 3 full days of sightseeing there. If stopping at both Hikone and Inuyama is not feasible, which would you choose, based on the castles alone?

Arigato gozaimasu!

MB

both is kind of a crazy idea
Hikone is on your way

or you must mean Inuyama on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. that would be doable

>>both is kind of a crazy idea

am just thinking it thru Both on the way to Kanazawa is crazy. Both on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto is not crazy

FWWI: I stopped at Inuyama, in part to see it's castle, and was ill-prepared for how long it took me to walk there from the nearest train station. That probably means I simply didn't do my homework, and I admit that I got to Inuyama a bit later than I expected, but from the information I had in advance, I should still have had time.... As it was, I got to the gate just as they were disallowing further entrances for the day, and so could only see the castle from the gate itself. At least I did make it to Urakuen (and Jo-an) before closing....

Hope the helps!

I'd need to understand travel times to make any meaningful response.

We spent a good few hours at Hikone castle in April, but to be fair that was because the steps within the castle area were challenging for me, especially the ones back down at the end. But we also lingered because of the peak cherry blossom there as well. It's about 10 minutes walk from the station to the castle, by the way, dead straight along the road.

>> even if I were to arrive at my Kanazawa hotel at midnight

Considering the castle closing times, that won't happen because you stayed late at a castle. Hikonejo closes at 5:30 PM.

Both on same day would be tight and likely not give enough time for either castle.

Tokyo to Kyoto via Inuyama
HyperDia says you can arrive at Meitetsu Inuyama station an hour after your shinkansen arrives at Nagoya. That includes 5 minutes of walking time. Add another 15 minutes for getting lost and buying tickets. That would be 2.5 hours roundtrip, shinkansen- Inuyama- shinkanse.

Let's call it 3 hours to include some wait time for the trains. That's an estimate of your cost in time for going off your route from Tokyo to Kyoto.

You definitely want to visit the garden and have o-cha at the teahouse there. It is a nice garden and on the way to the castle. There is a hotel with a public bath, maybe it is an onsen. It is nothing special and mention it only in case you are a person who tries to take every opportunity for a soak. I do

I would make this stop without any schedule pressure. That is, I would not get a reserved seat in advance for Nagoya- Kyoto. I'd expect to be able to pick up a reserved seat ticket at the last minute or get an unreserved seat - its a major station so there will be plenty of people getting off at Nagoya (unlike, say, Odawara).

>>15 minutes for getting lost and buying tickets

and for tossing the 1 small backpack you may be carrying into a koin rokka.

I thought MB wanted to stop on his way from Koyasan to Kanazawa....
According to hyperdia, travel time to Hikone is about 4 hours and then from Hikone to Kanazawa 2 hours...to fit in Inuyama would be very difficult...

From Hikone to Inuyama is two hours with three train transfers and then to Kanazawa another three hours. At least that's what I see on a quick check of hyperdia...maybe there's a better route...

>>would be very difficult...

Spoken like a Japanese! I called it crazy.

Koyasan to Kanazawa via Hikone

That route, stopping at Hikone only, adds only an hour to the K to K trip. Get to Hikone by noon and you will have 5+ hours to spend there. There is a tourist loop bus with a few stops including the castle.

Wow, thank you everyone, especially mrwunrfl and Mara for researching Hyperdia schedules. mrwunrfl, you've given me great food for thought to consider doing Inuyama on the way to Kyoto. I had not thought of that but that makes good sense, as it would allow me plenty of time to then see Hikone on the way from Koya-san to Kanazawa. (Mara, I wasn't hung up on seeing both necessarily on that leg. I just happened to think about it as an option for any otherwise long travel day.)

kja-From what I've seen online for the Inuyama festival, they make it sound like it's only 10 minutes from the train station to the castle. False advertising, perhaps?

Hikone feels like a definite stop. Now, I'll need to decide whether the 3 hours of detour time + Inuyama castle time (let's say another 3 hours) is worth the lost time for Kyoto. I had 3 fulls days of Kyoto last trip and had budgeted 3.5 more days for Kyoto itself on this trip. I need to get to Arashiyama for sure, as well as spend more time in Gion. I want to revisit both Kiyomizu dera and the Philosopher's Path at sakura time to contract with thier appearance at koyo time. And I know there is an annual music/dance festival in Gion each year at sakura time that is a must to see.

Decisions, decision! For those who have been to Inuyama, is the castle worth it vs. some lost Kyoto time?

imo, the best way to go to Inuyama from Tokyo is to change to the Meitetsu Line at Nagoya. You can take a Meitetsu train to Inuyamayuen for about 1000 JPY and then after you visit take another Meitetsu train for under 200JPY to Shinunuma where you can change to the JR. See the diagram here to get what I am trying to explain:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3354.html

When I went to Inuyama castle I was staying in Gifu so just a fairly short trip....I went there on my 'original castle tour' to three of the twelve original castles this past spring.

When I got to the castle the person at the entrance asked if I would like an English guide - free, of course - and very shortly a lovely woman came - she took me through the castle and afterwards to Urakuen as well. Sometimes things just work out!

japan-guide says the castle is 15 to 20 minutes from the station, depending on which station you use. I got off at the one closest to the river and walked along the river, then up and around the hill. It definitely took me more than 20 minutes, and I knew I was running late, so I was trying to move as quickly as I could. Maybe there's a faster way, or maybe my fastest pace that day just wasn't up to snuff.... ;-)

BTW, when I was there, Urakuen was open later than the castle, so keep that in mind if timing is of concern.

>>annual music/dance festival in Gion each year at sakura time

MinnBeef, I think you are referring to the Miyako Odori. It is in Gion hanamachi in April. I can't recommend it more highly.

Whether it takes 10 minutes or 20 minutes to get to the castle doesn't really matter much because, if you do it right, you won't be feeling any schedule pressure that afternoon. I really enjoyed visiting there, castle and town. I went on to Gifu and then back Nagoya where I was staying.

>> Sometimes things just work out!

Cool story, Mara!

Mara-how would you rate and compare the Inuyama castle compared to Himeji, Matsumoto and Hikone? I found the train link you noted (thank you). To visit Inuyama would mean I'd need to give up about 1/2 day of my 3 1/2 days budgeted for Kyoto. It's a personal decision, of course, but how much did you enjoy Inuyama (or not)?

mrwunrfl-you are correct...Miyako Odori. Thank you for your enthusiastic recommendation! I recall russ_in_la mentioning it also in his trip report from a few years back. The lovely folks at Hotel Mume arranged getting tickets for him in advance. I hope they will be able to do the same for me as well.

Inuyama jo is a smaller castle. My main reason for visiting was that it is one of the twelve original castles - I have now visited 11 of 12....I guess compared to the ones you mentioned it is less spectacular, but I enjoyed it - I just love castles and their history.

Furthermore, I read on the town's website that it is a famous spot for sakura:
http://www.inuyama.gr.jp.e.jm.hp.transer.com/
and your visit seems like it would be at the right time.

It's obviously entirely up to you....and you really don't have to make a decision until you are in Japan, right?...it's just a matter of getting off the train....;-)

btw, looking at your itinerary I see you are going to Nara. I recommend getting one of their free guides - I had a wonderful day with one a couple of years ago:
http://nara-guide-club.com/index.html

Thank you for those links, Mara. And you are correct--I really don't need to decide until I'm actually in Japan. One question re. "just hopping off the train to Kyoto". If I do decide to visit Inuyama, would I need to make two separate train reservations-one from Tokyo to Inuyama and then one from Inuyama to Kyoto? Or could I just reserve Tokyo to Kyoto and literally "hop off and then back on" at Inuyama? I would think the former?

Your HOHO station would be Nagoya, not Inuyama. The shinkansen that you take from Tokyo does not stop at Inuyama.

You would hop off the shinkansen at Nagoya, go to the Meitetsu (Nagoya Railroad Co) station, buy a ticket (¥550 each way), and take the next train to Inuyama. After your visit in Inuyama, you would take the Meitetsu train back to Nagoya and transfer to the (JR) shinkansen to Kyoto.