Steve_P

My wife and I are planning a trip for approximately 29 days in Japan. We will be 65 and 62 at the time and enjoy active vacations. We love architecture, museums, nature, cultural attractions, hiking, beautiful, unique sights in large cities and small towns, and sometimes being off the beaten path. We have not been to Japan before so really expect to see a broad variety of sights. The following is a rough itinerary for the purpose of trying to identify the main locations we will visit and determining the timing of it all. My wife hates to move around too frequently so we are looking for a balance of not doing too much and getting around to locales that really reflect the varied cultures within the country.

I would greatly appreciate any input into the order of the trip, the ease of getting from one place to another, whether we are doing too much to enjoy all of the places we have identified, whether we should stay longer or less in any of these locations, if there are places others would suggest we go instead of the ones we've identified, and any other suggestions you may have. If you have any ideas for a several day walking/hiking component than Nakasendo, we'd love your thoughts there also.

Here's what we have so far:10/17 - 10/23 Arrive in Tokyo at 3:20 p.m. on the 17th; stay until morning of 23rd (6 nights)

10/23 – 10/25 Depart morning from Tokyo to Hakone; stay until morning of 25th (2 nights)

10/25 – 10/26 Depart Hakone to Nara (1 night)

10/26 – 10/31 Depart mid-to late afternoon from Nara to Kyoto (5 nights for Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hineji?)

10/31 – 11/5 Nakasendo (we hope to do some kind of a multi-day hiking tour for up to 5 nights)

11/5 – 11/7 Depart morning from somewhere to Hiroshima, stay until morning of the 7th (2 nights)

11/7 – 11/8 leave Hiroshima morning to Miyajami (1 night)

11/8 – 11/10 leave early morning Miyajami to Takayama; stay in Takayama 2 nights; see Shirakawa go from either Takayama or Kanazawa

11/10 – 11/12 leave Takayama to Kanazawa (2 nights)

11/12 – leave morning Kanazawa to Tokyo (1 night)

11/13 Return Home
Thank you in advance! We would be most appreciative of your suggestions!

Steve

mrwunrfl

>> Nara (1 night)
She won't like that. You can day trip there from Kyoto or Osaka.

>> Miyajami to Takayama
That is a long trip. (ferry, local train, one or two shinkansen, and a limited express train). I did it. Did not like it at all.

There are a lot of ways you can do this You could fly one-way between Hiroshima and Tokyo to make the travel a bit easier. You could fly from Tokyo and then train to all your stops. Or you could train around and then fly back to Tokyo. A good alternate airport/city would be Fukuoka.

Your 5 nights "Nakasendo" would be an extended stay in Kiso Valley and maybe Kamikochi (with a visit to Matsumoto Castle)

One way to do your trip, putting the active/busier part at the beginning and easy at end:
Tokyo, Kiso Valley, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, Hakone, Tokyo.

Steve_P

Thank you mrwunrfl! I am so sorry I didn't respond earlier! We are approaching our son's wedding this next weekend and I haven't had much time to do anything. I've made an attempt to restructure our trip as follows:10/17 - 10/23 Arrive in Tokyo at 3:20 p.m. on the 17th; stay until morning of 23rd ; possible day trips to Nikko and Yokohama and Kamakura (6 nights)

10/23 – 10/26 Depart morning from Tokyo to Hiroshima; see Hiroshima and Miyajimi; stay until morning of 26th (2 nights)

10/26 – 11/01 Depart Hiroshima to Kyoto; see Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji (6 nights)

11/1 – 11/6 Nakasendo (we hope to do some kind of a multi-day hiking tour for up to 5 nights; end around Matsumoto or Nagano)

11/6 - 11/8 Leave early morning to Takayama; stay in Takayama 2 nights, see Shirakawa-go

11/8 – 11/10 Depart morning to Kanazawa (2 nights)

11/10 – 11/12 leave Kanazawa to Hakone (2 night)

11/12 Back to Tokyo

11/10 – 11/12 leave Takayama to Kanazawa (2 nights)

11/13 –Return Home

I would love any suggestions anyone may have about the ease and timing of getting from place to place, and whether we are traveling at too fast of a pace. We would also love suggestions if there are places we are missing that we shouldn't or places we are going that may be less interesting. Also, if anyone has any thoughts about hiking the Nakasendo trail for 4 - 5 days, we'd love to hear them.

Thank you in advance!

Steve

mrwunrfl

>> 11/6 - 11/8 Leave early morning to Takayama; stay in Takayama 2 nights, see Shirakawa-go
You don't have time for Shirakawago.

>> any thoughts about hiking
on this thread:
3 weeks in central alps, Tokyo and Kyoto in May - advice appreciated - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (fodors.com)
janh0038 mentioned this:
Tori-toge Pass/Maruyama Senmaida | Introduction | Kumanokodo Iseji (mie.lg.jp)

You could also check japan-guide.com for hiking, search for:
Alpine Route aka Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route - can be a day trip or multi-day. November could be late for that.
Kiso Valley - the general area of your Nakasendo walk
Kamikochi

and that town that progol visited around Narai somewhere.

you could consider dropping Kanazawa or Takayama. You have only 1 full day for each which is ok. Or swap the order. But, you really need to figure out those 4-5 days for hiking.

ParisMetro

Hello,
Miyajima is next to Hiroshima City, and it takes only 30 minutes by regular train to the ferry terminal for Miyajima.
If you are staying in Hiroshima, I think it would be a good idea to spend half a day sightseeing.
That way, if you want to take the train to Takayama the next day, you can leave from Hiroshima Station, and if the sea is rough, the ferry may not operate.
If you want to stay overnight on Miyajima, why not do it on November 5 to avoid the risk?　
Also, since there will be a three-day weekend from November 2 to 4, I suggest you make your hotel reservations as early as possible.
Hiroshima Prefecture is known for its oyster farming. You can see oyster rafts in the sea around Miyajima.
Fried oysters are a common dish in Japan. It's not street food and is only served in restaurants and diners.