My husband and I have been to Japan many times and are returning next year with 6 friends to enjoy 20 days of travel. I would appreciate any input or suggestions. We are all in our 60's and 70's used to travel and all fit and keen walkers.
March 28th Tokyo arriving 5pm staying in Ueno
March 29th Tokyo
" 30th Hiroshima visit the Peace Park
31st Hiroshima early morning start to Miyajima for the high tide and a hike
April 1st Kinosaki Onsen via an early trip to Himeji
2nd Kyoto
3rd Kyoto
4th Kyoto
5th Kyoto one day will be to Miho Museum
6th Nagoya visiting friends
7th Nagoya including a trip to Tsumago and hike to Magome
8th Kanazawa staying in a Minshuku
9th Kanazawa including gardens and 21st century museum
10th Takayama probably train or has anyone done the bus trip from Kanazawa?
11th Takayama staying in a ryokan
12th -16th Tokyo leaving on 16th for New Zealand
I am happy with what we have organized but it needs some fine tuning. I have cut out Matsue and put in Kanazawa and there was too much traveling with Matsue then Takayama. No hotel yet for Hiroshima we want to be at the station for two early morning starts. Kyoto we have stayed in the Kyoto Central Inn before but I believe it is getting very tired. So somewhere central costing preferably no more that US $280 per room. Suggestions here appreciated as I want to book immediately.
Any suggestions of not to miss walks or sights we may not know about really appreciated.

Yes, I took the bus from Kanazawa to Takayama -- easy.

I wanted at least 5 days for the combination of Kanazawa and Takayama, YMMV.

And I'm glad I stayed on Miyajima rather than in Hiroshima. JMO.

In Hiroshima, we stayed at the Sheraton, which is right next to the JR Station. We had a room on the club level (using points) that was pretty nice, and the location was perfect for us. IIRC, there's a Granvia right at the station too. We used a Goodwill Guide in Hiroshima. We had limited time there and she really helped us get to all the major attractions efficiently. We also had a Goodwill Guide in Himeji.

If you can plan your trip to Miyajima on a non-weekend, you might be happier. I'm probably one of the few people that didn't love it, mostly because of the crowds (secondly because of where we stayed, although others rave about the place so I won't bash it here).

The bus trip from Kanazawa is easy. IIRC, book your bus tickets in advance. The time we wanted was sold out.

We stayed at Sumiyoshi Ryokan in Takayama. It wasn't fancy and it was the first ryokan we ever stayed in, but we had such a good time there with the matriarch of the family. We were there for the autumn festival, which made it extra special.

Consider just flying to Hiroshima. Maybe even Fukuoka.

>>31st Hiroshima early morning start to Miyajima for the high tide and a hike

Where did you find the tide tables this far in advance? That is a Saturday and that might be cherry blossom time in that region, so it could be busy.

>>April 1st Kinosaki Onsen via an early trip to Himeji

I want to advise not stopping in Himeji that day to get to Kinosaki Onsen sooner, but it does make a lot of sense. I'd definitely go early and try to be the first in line for entering the castle. It will be too early for cherry blossoms in Himeji so that is good as far as visiting the castle on a Sunday goes. Also too early for Kinosaki, but that is ok. Staying at a place in amongst the onsen might be better than near Kinosaki Onsen station.

Yep, Sheraton Hiroshima would be my choice for the location you want. I would be willing to give the Granvia a second chance.

I would not go to Takayama on those dates. A week later, maybe. Because of the weather at that elevation. I've read that Magome/Tsumago (I haven't been there) has much of the same attraction as Takayama.

Instead of Takayama I recommend staying in Nagoya longer. You could visit Inuyama for the nice castle and Urakuen - a famous teahouse in a garden. Another good visit would be to Ise Jingu, also not far from Nagoya.

You could add both days to Nagoya or maybe one to Nagoya and one to Kanazawa (with an option to day-trip to Shirakawago depending on weather and interest).

Adding to Nagoya or Kanazawa makes sense simply because it gives the weather more chance to cooperate than with a shorter visit.

Yes, if you are already seeing Tokyo at the back end of your trip, getting a connecting flight to Hiroshima or Fukuoka can make more sense. Tokyo to Hiroshima is at minimum 4 hours by the fastest bullet train, the Nozomi. I didn't check to see what rail pass if any makes the most sense for you.
You can always plug in some cities and see for yourself.


Actually, it is quite simple to see when high and low tides are - the moon and earth follow predictable orbits. You can see them easily on a site like
http://www.tides4fishing.com/jp
But they haven't updated the info for 2018 yet. The weather of course is a different story.
Or try
http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/sites_japan.html
It looks like high tide will be about 11:11 AM on Mar 31, 2018. If you stick around til about 5:20 PM it'll be low tide and you can walk out on the beach to the giant torii gate.

You can also see that day's activity on a board at the front of the Itsukushima Shrine. I also highly recommend seeing the Daishoin Temple.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...KGUB-HPKNxP10Q

If you're going to Kinosaki, I recommend you consider getting the Zentan Bus day pass for 500 yen, as well as the Yumepa ticket for 1200 yen where you can go to all 7 hot springs if you want. If you have the time, Amanohashidate is also one of Japan's best sights.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3990.html

If you want to take some nature walks, in addition to your plans, you might try going to Takao, Mt Mitake or Okutama from Tokyo.
For Kyoto, there is Kibune, Kurama, and Takao (different than above).