And if anyone who hasn’t become totally bored with my tweaking wants to respond, I’m now considering the following 2 plans. The first is one I’ve already noted earlier and the second is a slight variation on one I posted yesterday. I’ve taken to heart the comments about consolidating Hiroshima and Onomichi in the second variation.

We will be flying into Osaka on Friday, Nov 1, which is the weekend of Culture Day (I believe will be celebrated on Monday, Nov 4. I suspect that will be an especially busy day at tourist sites.

1)
Osaka -2
Takamatsu -3 (Naoshima, the garden, maybe Teshima or smaller island if time)
Hiroshima -2 or 3
Onomichi - 2 or 3 (if extra day here, visit Tomonoura or ferry to Setoda)
Himeji - 1 (castle, garden, mount shosha & temple)
Kinosaki - 2
Kyoto - 5 (includes day trip to Nara)

2)
Osaka -2
Kurashiki-1 (visit Himeji on the way, arrive later in day to enjoy ambience without spending too much time in town)
Takamatsu -3 (see above)
Matsuyama -2
Hiroshima -3 (day trip to Onomichi)
Kinosaki -2
Kyoto -5

#1 or #2? I like them both for different reasons, though am leaning toward #2.

I like #2. While we loved Onomichi it was very quite at night without (at the time) a lot of options for dinner. And my favorite part of Kurashiki was walking by the canals at night with them all lit up. So I like the idea of spending the night in Kurashiki but still getting to see Onomichi. We had a great yakitori dinner in Kurashiki at Kurashiki Takataya (also sometimes liseted as Takadaya).

Thanks so much, valgachi! This itinerary is definitely feeling like a winner!

I am in agreement with you and valgalchi....

I have been to Onomichi twice but never stayed over there and it does seem a bit quiet...although I think a friend of mine did stay there...whatever...As far as the trip from Hiroshima to Onomichi - the 30 minute shinkansen ride leaves you at Shin-Onomichi station so you will have to bus or taxi a few minutes to get to the 'downtown' area where restaurants and shops are as well as the ropeway to the park and temple walk....not a big deal at all imo.

And I like that you will go across Shikoku to get to Matsuyama....

Thanks so much, Mara! I think I’ve got something I’m pleased with.

I see you’ve been to both Onomichi and Tomonoura - out of curiosity, which would you recommend as a day trip from Hiroshima? I’m inclined to visit Onomichi as it’s really intrigued me for a while, but the photos by tripplanner in his recent report really capture a beautiful town. We would only do one.

For what it’s worth our family has visited Kinosaki. Everyone of us thought it was the highlight of our trip. It’s a beautiful, walkable town with a great spirit of omotenashi (hospitality) that we encountered everywhere. Strolling around in our yukata, visiting various hot springs, stopping for refreshments along the way was fun and relaxing. It was an easy 2 hour train ride direct from Kyoto.

That's a tough choice. I visited Onomichi when I stayed over in Kurashiki and Tomonoura when I stayed in Fukuyama. From Hiroshima it's an easier trip to Onomichi...which is one consideration. I enjoyed the temple walk and the Art Museum in the park and the Movie Museum as I said above. And in Tomonoura various places associated with Sakamoto Ryoma, some temples and museums and a short boat ride to a nearby island - I didn't get off - just went right back.
So I guess it's really hard to decide - have you gone on to japan-guide.com where they give information about both? I guess Tomonoura is more varied as far as number of places to see but there is a longish bus trip if that's an issue....
I just looked at my photos from back in 2009 for Onomichi and last year for Tomonoura...I just might pick Onomichi but I could change my mind....;-)

curiousgeo, thank you, that is so heartening! Kinosaki has been on my radar for a while and it’s a definite in my plan. I’m really looking forward to it! We will go to Kyoto to end our trip after Kinosaki so an easy ride in a relaxed state!

It’s so hard to have to make choices! And Japan is filled with so many different options that one has to make difficult choices in planning a trip! I do think I’ll keep to my original plan to visit Onomichi since it’s also been a place that’s called to me for a while. I only became aware of Tomonoura through tripplanner’s recent trip - such a beautiful place which he captures so well. If the opportunity arises and we can see both, that would be great, but I’ll keep to my initial plan of Onomichi. And of course, an easier trip to get there, especially for a day trip, makes sense.

>> Shinkansen trips of 40 minutes
That is the travel time from Hiroshima to Shin-Onomichi.
Onomichi Station would be more like 64 min
The other JR station is Higashi Onomichi Station.

I think you want Onomichi Station, but you would really need to work out the last miles to where you are going, of course.

One route was via Fukuyama - there is a castle next to the that station. Mentioning it only for the hardcore castle fan (who probably would already know about it, you can see it from the shinkansen) but definitely can be skipped. I was basing out of Hiroshima Sheraton and just dropped by Fukuyama-jo but no need. YMMV tho.

Well, as a hardcore castle fan, Fukuyama jo is a recent (1960's) reconstruction. I visited it in 2018 and put in my notes that it was easy to get to the top floor where there was a nice view as the stairs were modern as against some of the original castles I have visited which have almost vertical staircases that you need to grab on to ropes to pull yourself up....

Mara, you are a hardcore castle fan. I will guess that you probably decided "I want to visit Obijo and will got to Miyazaki" while I decided "I want to visit Miyazaki and will got to Obijo". ;)

I visitied Fukuyama-jo a few days before our GTG with ht+1 in Tokyo. That was 2012, right? To remember the date of that trip I google "first commercial flight of 787" That was in Oct 2011. The GTG trip was the following year. I took my first 787 flight from Okayama to get to Tokyo. It was on the same 787 that flew the first flight the previous year.

Interesting that you took notes. My only memory of that castle was the completely bare ground in front of the castle. Some of the grounds at Hiroshima-jo were trodden bare but I did enjoy the castle more than expected.

>> almost vertical staircases
Himeji-jo would be one of those. This might be relevant to the OP and others.

The first time I visited that castle was 20 or more years ago. IIRC, there were slippers available to wezr on the polished wood floors and stairs. Too small for me so I went in with just socks. Nor good, the floors were slippery. To get to the tippy-top involved climbing. - I suppose they could be described as stairs. More like a ladder to me and I was extremely careful. I went back in 2017 to see cherry blossoms and admire the grounds but there was no way I was going inside again.

I suppose/assume that it is different today than 20 years ago. There ars a lot more aged people and Japan has gotten better at accommodating them. And a lot more foreign tourists. My guess is that they made it safer (dummed it down) acfter making some number of ambulance calls.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d956ecc08c.jpg
You can see the person holding on to the rope at the left. This is Maruoka Jo north of Fukui - one of the 12 original castles.

progol, after 11 days of traveling, 2 nights in Kinosaki was a welcome break. A nice place to relax and recharge before heading back for our last 5 days in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

mrwunrfl - our GTG was November 25, 2011. I keep extensive - more or less - notes, like a diary of every trip I take. I started doing this in 1999 and now that my memory isn't as great as it used to be (lol) they come in handy...

mrwunrfl and Mara, it’s fun to read your reflections of past GTGs as well as descriptions of the various castles. I don’t think I’ll be fortunate to see so many, but I do want to see Himeji, especially having seen the Matsumoto castle, which we loved. And the steps were pretty steep there, too.

curiousgeo, I’m very excited about visiting Kinosaki - it sounds like a lot of fun. I’m just hoping I can find a ryokan without robbing a bank to pay for it! They are definitely pricey! I’m willing to splurge only so much, but, fingers crossed, we’ll find one we like. It looks like we’ll be there during snow crab season, too.

And I still like the following itinerary:

Osaka -2
Kurashiki-1 (visit Himeji on the way, arrive later in day to enjoy ambience without spending too much time in town)
Takamatsu -3 (Naoshima, the garden, maybe Teshima or smaller island if time)
Matsuyama -2
Hiroshima -3 (day trip to Onomichi)
Kinosaki -2
Kyoto -5

Hey progol - good to see you - and I still like your itinerary as well. Just curious - have you made your plans for the first half of your trip - Taiwan?? I've never been and will be looking forward to your trip report....:)

Hi, Mara,
Glad to know you still like my itinerary! It’s pleasing to get a stamp of approval! And I still feel pretty good about it - I only wish I could add more time….

For Taiwan, check out yestravel’s trip report. I’m going for 17 nights so not as long as the 3 weeks she had, but I’m using it as a base for my own planning. Taiwan does drive on the right so we’ll rent a car for part of the trip, but the train system is supposed to be fantastic and we’ll use it as well.
https://www.fodors.com/community/asi...aiwan-1718733/

Are you on Facebook by any chance? There is a good planning group there by Nick Kembel, a Canadian who lived there for many years. He married a Taiwanese woman and has 2 kids, so much of it is geared to activities with kids, but he has a good knowledge of the country. He also has a couple of travel blogs:
https://www.taiwanobsessed.com
https://www.nickkembel.com/taiwan-travel-guide/

My tentative plan for Taiwan is:
Taipei -5 (adjust to time difference, see city, day trip)
Taroko Gorge -2
Taitung 2
Tainan-3
Shizhuo - 2
Taichung -2
Taiwan airport - 1 (early flight)

No, progol, I don't do Facebook...will check out that Trip Report sometime, thanks.

I drove one day in Japan last year...driving on the left wasn't that bad - luckily for me a friend of a friend let me drive her car a bit. I drive very infrequently so it was easy to get used to the 'wrong side of the street.'

Mara,
You can check the blogs I posted the links to - no need to do Facebook!

I’m told that driving in Japan is pretty easy but we still prefer to stay safe and not have any problems. I remember that first time we drove in the UK - and saw a truck coming towards us! You can believe there was a quick change of lane!