THR

Hi all,

I would really appreciate review of my itinerary for our 18 day trip October next year. So far, we have:
Tokyo: Arrive 11 October, stay four nights (11-15 October)
Kyoto: Arrive 15 October, stay six night (15-21 October)
Takayama: Travel Kyoto to Takayama, stay two nights (21-23 October)
Kanazawa: Travel Takayama to Kanazawa, stay two nights (21-25 October)
Yokohama: Travel Kanazawa to Yokohama, stay 3 nights (25-28 October).

Note: We need to be in Yokohama for 26th October RWC match (semi-final).

Notes:
1) We are not 'fast' travellers; and don't want to really spend < 2 nights at any location.
2) We have accommodation booked at Tokyo and Kyoto; but our stays, and even itinerary, for Takayama, Kanazawa and Yokohama is flexible
3) Further to point 2, we would consider staying in another location (e.g. Tokyo) instead of Yokohama, and just travel to the game and back on the day
4) We will do side trips from our various 'base' towns (e.g. Nara from Kyoto; Kanagawa from Tokyo (or Yokohama).

I guess my primary questions are:
1) Are there better alternatives to Takayama and Kanazawa (e.g. Fukuoka?)
2) Is it better to stay in Tokyo than Yokohama (or another location)?

Would really appreciate some feedback

thursdaysd

I am not a particular fan of Tokyo and would take a night from Tokyo and add it to Kanazawa. You might substitute Kamakura for Yokohama. I would not add Fukuoka - out of the way for this trip. If you wanted to add somewhere, and you don't really have the time to spare, I would suggest Matsumoto or Shirakawa-go.

shiprin

I disagree with the criticisms of Tokyo. If it's not your thing, that's fine

But Tokyo has so much going on that you could stay for a year and still discover things
I think you'll have a great time staying there for four nights.

Kyoto is good too but a it is also much closer to the surrounding cities. I would maybe do 3 nights in Kyoto and then travel to Osaka and Nara, which are very accessible by local train from Kyoto!

Adastra2200

Indeed, Tokyo has quite a lot to offer. It's the capital and modern heart of the country. Yes, crowded, and the morning subways are no fun, but aside from that there is a lot to see and explore. And if you think it is all some big concrete jungle, you'd be sorely mistaken. You could easily go explore Takao or Okutama, and within the city itself there are a dozen beautiful traditional gardens like Koishikawa Korakeun, Rikugien, Kiyosumi, Hamarikyu, Kyu-Shiba Rikyu, Shinjuku Gyoen, and many others. As for Shirakawago, it's getting very touristy but it is still something to see, and only takes a few hours - you could visit on the way to Kanazawa from Takayama. An overnight at a farmhouse there can be an experience too, but it is not cheap.

I'm at a loss though on what you really mean by "better alternatives". And Fukuoka? What exactly are you looking for? Fukuoka has a number of good places - mostly unknown to even the well traveled and hence a lot of misinformation that there is little there. If really interested, you can read this comprehensive guide. But it's on the other side of the country. Seeing Kyushu is not a bad idea at all - but if you are going all the way there, it is worth a number of days to take it all in. For Kyoto, taking a day to see Nara is definitely worth it. You could also go see Himeji for a day or half day. If the latter, you could see Kobe for half a day too. Himeji Castle is the best in the country, and the Kokoen Garden near it is excellent. And while Yokohama has some great places (Sankeien is superb), even with the match, it's not worth all that time. As mentioned, seeing Kamakura and Enoshima for a day would be a great idea. Or go see Hakone - the Hakone Free Pass makes it easy.

kja

Should be nice! Just a few comments:

Your time in Takayama and Kanazawa strikes me as a bit short. You might add at least one night to one or the other (or both, since you prefer a pace that isn't fast). FWIW, I loved each and think they are sufficiently different from the other places you will be visiting to make them well worth including on your itinerary.

If you haven’t already done so, spend LOTS of time with japan-guide.com

tt7

My initial reaction when I saw your suggested itinerary was that it seemed sensible/realistic/well-balanced .... choose your own descriptor....

Some of us much prefer Kyoto to Tokyo and others hold a contrary view - it's very much a question of personal preference. It's good to see you're including Takayama and Kanazawa. Though you could certainly spend more than two nights in either or both of them, you only have so many days available to you and two nights in each is enough for you to experience at least the highlights of each. I certainly would not reduce the number of nights in Kyoto.

Nara is very worthwhile as a day trip from Kyoto. As for Osaka, my advice would be don't bother (even as a day trip). Others would no doubt disagree but for us Osaka is like a mini-Tokyo - without most of Tokyo's attractions. In all of our trips to Japan, we've only ever been there twice and then only for a day or so. Kyoto, on the other hand, we never tire of, no matter how many times we've visited .... As has already been mentioned, Fukuoka doesn't really make sense given the other locations you've chosen and your timing - stick to what you've got.

As for Yokohama, I would stay in Tokyo itself rather than Yokohama, provided you can get to the game (and home again) easily enough. With a 5 pm kick-off, that should not be difficult. If I have my places correct, the International Stadium Yokohama is (reasonably) close to Shin-Yokohama Station (where the Shinkansen stops) or JR Kozukue Station - but that station is on the JR Yokohama line, which does not go to central Tokyo (at least, not directly). Note that Shin-Yokohama (where the Shinkansen stops) and Yokohama Station are quite some distance apart. If you haven't already, I would carefully research how you're going to get to and from the game, particularly as there's going to be 70,000+ people all trying to do the same thing at the same time.

You mention a possible trip to Kanagawa. As far as I know (and I may well be wrong ....) Kanagawa is a prefecture (state, if you will) of which Yokohama is the capital, and there is no town/city called Kanagawa. There is a Kanagawa Station on the Keikyu Line but that's one stop/one minute from Yokohama Station. The most common day trip from Tokyo to somewhere in Kanagawa prefecture (other than to Yokohama) is probably to Kamakura, which is well worthwhile if time permits. Although we've never done it, the Cup Noodle Museum in Yokohama seems to get good reviews. It's not particularly adjacent to Yokohama Station but might be something to do on the morning of the game, if you decide to stay in Tokyo but want to get to the Yokohama vicinity early in the day. The nearest station to the Museum is a couple of stops from Yokohama Station (and then a bit of a walk). You could presumably then get to the game (JR Kozekue Station) by re-tracing your steps to Yokohama Station.

THR

Thank you all for such fantastic feedback. Really appreciate your guidance!

I certainly did mean Kamakura, and not Kanagawa (no idea where that came from).

We will likely look to stay at Tokyo the last three nights and travel to the game (with much preparation), as has been suggested.

Ideally would love to extend beyond two nights in Kanazawa and Takayama, but our schedule doesn't really permit. While we are only going to the one RWC game (Yokohama, 26th October), we are meeting friends in/around Tokyo vicinity on the day, so need to be in Tokyo on 25th, at some stage, and we have already booked Tokyo and Kyoto accommodation.

As for those saying too much time Tokyo - it's really not that many days. 3 full days. Plus we want to try and go to Narisawa...

I will take on board all of your feedback and research your suggestions. But they're all greatly appreciated.

shiprin

I really think 3 days in Tokyo is perfect. It's such a huge city that it could easily be it's own country. It's much bigger than Singapore for example. Plenty to do for sure!

By the way, how are you travelling around Japan?
Definitely make sure you catch a shinkansen (bullet train) in between cities at some point! It's an experience unto itself

tt7

.... which raises one question I didn't ask - are you planning on getting a JR Pass? Probably not?

The 7-day and 14-day JR Passes cost ¥29,110 and ¥46,390. A JR Pass only makes sense if you do enough long-distance travel during its validity and they are of limited use in and around Tokyo and Kyoto, as you can't use them on the subway or buses (or, obviously, on non-JR trains). Given your itinerary and dates, a 14-day JR Pass (starting on October 15, expiring on October 28) may make sense but it's probably borderline. Sample fares -
Tokyo - Kyoto ¥13,600
Kyoto - Takayama ¥7,650 - ¥,9,960 depending on the trains you use
Takayama - Kanazawa ¥4,950
Kanazawa - Tokyo ¥ 14,120

As you can see, for those trips, a 14-day Pass would not be cost-effective (and a 7-day Pass doesn't really fit with your intended itinerary). There are undoubtedly other trips you could use it on (including to whichever Tokyo airport you're flying out of on the 28th) but it may be difficult to make it pay .... in which case just pay-as-you-go. The one downside to a JR Pass is that you can't use the Nozomi Shinkansen, the most frequent and fastest trains (because they make fewest stops); obviously no such restrictions if you're pay-as-you-go. If you haven't discovered it already, Hypderdia will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about train times, routes, fares etc. If you need any help figuring out how to use it or interpreting it, please just ask.

One thing you absolutely should get is a Suica card. Top it up (cash only) at ticket machines or, if you have an iPhone 8, X, XS, add a virtual Suica card to Apple Wallet and top it up via Apple Pay. Use it to pay for the train (local trips), the subway, buses, at vending machines, at convenience stores and many cafes etc. It saves all the hassle of trying to figure out the correct fare, getting a ticket etc. etc.

THR

Thank you so much! Great information.

I am researching the JR pass now. As you say, we would need the 14 day pass. Just need to work out whether it is better to get PAYG. We will be doing side trips to Nara and possibly others (Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama), so it might be slightly beneficial. But perhaps PAYG might be more convenient given we can use all train types!

Kavey

We stayed our first night of our third trip to Japan in Yokohama just because we'd not been there before. It was pleasant but there wasn't much of real interest and I would certainly not give it 3 nights. In our one night stay, we pootled around the Yokahama China Town and the port areas, and did a day trip to Kamakura which was lovely. We didn't do the pot noodle museum as we'd previously visited the one in Osaka.

I'd give Kanazawa one more night if you can. Favourites there for us include the famous garden, the food market and a little museum about clockwork automation puppets in the port area.

You could also give one of those Yokahama nights to an overnight in Nara, rather than just a day trip. We stayed in Kankaso ryokan in Nara and loved it.

If you're flying out of Narita airport, you could consider Narita for a single night at the end if you were looking to swap out Tokyo... there's not a tonne to see but if you stay in the heart of the old town you can explore the beautiful temple and enjoy traditional eel for dinner. We did that on our last trip for a change and appreciated it.

Although I'm one of those who prefer Kyoto to Tokyo, I don't think you have too long in Tokyo, there is so much to see and do there, you won't run out of activities and experiences!

shiprin

There was a really good point in here about Suica cards. I highly recommend getting one and just topping it up. It will save you so much time not having to mess around with tickets at the station.

if you put too much on it you can also use it to shop at the convenience stores!

tt7

Those trips probably won't add enough to make the JR Pass worthwhile. If you do decide to go to Osaka, the Shinkansen will get you to Shin-Osaka (which is not the same as Osaka but is one stop, four minutes away from Osaka) in 14 minutes but costs ¥2,610 or take the Limited Express Thunderbird for ¥1,530 (both including the express/seat fee). Alternatively, a rapid line service heading, for example, to Himeji will get you to Osaka (after a stop at Shin-Osaka) in 31 minutes for ¥560 (no seat fee), so much better if you don't have a JR Pass.

The JR line to Nara costs ¥710 so doesn't add much to the Pass. If you don't have a JR Pass, use the Kintetsu line (gates are on the south side of Kyoto Station) to Kintetsu Nara Station. It's closer to Nara Park / Todai-ji and costs ¥620 (47 minutes) or ¥1,130 for the Limited Express service (35 minutes, seat reservation required). Note that in Hyperdia, 'KintetsuNara' is all one word.

One place that would make the JR Pass worthwhile is Hiroshima (¥10,890 each way). Take the 7.20 am Shinkansen (Hikari # 491) from Kyoto and you'll be in Hiroshima by 9.05. Spend the morning at the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Peace Park and Museum. Get an early afternoon train back as far as Himeji (optimum would be the 13.22 Shinkansen Sakura # 552, arriving Himeji 14.18) and visit Himeji Castle, considered one of the best in Japan. It's an easy 25 minute walk straight up Otemae-dori from Himeji Station (though to save time, perhaps get a bus there and walk back). The Castle closes at 5 pm, with last admission at 4. Get a combined ticket for the Castle and the adjacent Kokoen Gardens. Note that sunset at that time of year is about 5.30 pm. Get an early (or late) evening train back to Kyoto. It'll make for a busy day but both places are well worth visiting and you'll certainly get your money's worth out of the JR Pass. Choosing whether or not to visit Hiroshima is obviously a personal choice (it can be confronting) but, having been, we were glad we did.