Japan Itinerary in early April
 

We are traveling to Japan in April and looking for help with the itinerary; arriving into Tokyo on April 5th and departing April 14th. How many days do we need in Tokyo and Kyoto? What other cities are recommended? We are considering Hiroshima/Miyajima for a day but not sure its worth the trip. We are a group of 6 in our late 20s, early 30s. So far this is what we are thinking
Japan Itinerary
Apr 5 - 2:30pm arrival in Tokyo, rest of day relax
Apr 6 - Tokyo
Apr 7 - Tokyo
Apr 8 - Tokyo
Apr 9 - Kyoto
Apr 10 - Kyoto
April 11 - Himeji Castle (Kyoto)
Apr 12 - Hiroshima/Miyajima
Apr 13 - Tokyo
Apr 14 - Tokyo, last minute shopping, 6pm flight to NYC

Should we forgo Hiroshima and instead visit Nara near Kyoto? What about Nikko or Hakone near Tokyo?

Any suggestions would be greately appreciated.

Sergey

Your itinerary and the timing look pretty good to me.

The only change I might suggest would be to see Himeji on the way to Hiroshima/Miyajima. Then you have a full day to see the sites without spending travel and check in-check-out time.

Personally, I'd allocate more time to Kyoto than Tokyo, or at least one extra night, especially if you think you'd like to see Nara. Also, I'd get there earlier to improve chances of being there during hanami (first week of April in Kyoto, so I'd told)

I agree that you should simply see Himeji en route to Hiroshima/Miyajima, and I would certainly organise to spend one night on the island as a contrast to being in a city all the time. Also, personally I would allocate more time to Kyoto than Tokyo but that depends on personal preferences.

you can also spend half day on one of kyoto for Nara.

Pity you are not using open jaw flights.

Do you really want to stay in Tokyo twice? I am presuming you are training between cities. It seems because of your late flight back home, you probably can stay in Kyoto until the departure day and Shinkansen to Shinagawa or Tokyo then switch immediately to Narite Express without having to get out of the station. It takes less than 4 hrs starting from Kyoto to Narita International.

Whether to choose Nikko, Hakone, Nara, or Hiroshima depends on your objectives. For me, Hiroshima Peach Park was a priority. After that, Miyajima was a trivial addition to the itinerary.

I am not a fan of Tokyo. If you are looking for a traditional Japan, you might want to heed the advices of others to put more emphasis on Kyoto.

I think that visiting the Peace Park in Hiroshima is a great idea for a group. Spend the night in Hiroshima.

There are a lot of ways to plan your trip. Your idea of returning to Kyoto from Himeji is fine, if you don't want to move around a lot. Also, doing that means that you wouldn't be carrying any luggage that day. (one or two people stashing luggage at Himeji station for a few hours is one thing, but six people).

On the 11th, you could ship your main luggage from Kyoto to NRT and then visit Himeji in the afternoon. Night in Hiroshima.

Well, most of Tokyo is not traditional Japan, but it is a wonderful city to visit with a lot to see and do, and there are still pockets of traditional Japan here and there. We split our Tokyo time, too, and it worked well for us. We stayed near Shibuya for 2 nights on arrival in Japan, and then in Asakusa for 3 nights at the end of our trip. Two very different experiences.