Japan - Will We Get Lost?
 

Two couples looking to go to Japan in probably Nov 2018.

I have seen some posts on the JR pass which I will read more about and I've seen some comments that luggage forwarding which I'm not quite sure I understand. We'd like to keep our itinerary relatively simple to navigate and don't know if the below will work. As with all newbies to Japan we would appreciate any feedback.

Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo
Day 2: Tokyo
Day 3: Tokyo (Day trip Nikko - National Park)
Day 4:  Tokyo
Day 5:  Tokyo (Day Trip Kamakura)
Day 6:  Hakone (Hot spring resort area near Mt. Fuji)
Day 7: Hakone
Day 8: Takayama (Area in the mountains of Central Japan with a beautiful small old town area)
Day 9: Takayama
Day 10: Shirakwa-go/Gokayama/Kanazawa (Explore the UNESCO World Heritage towns of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama areas. The area is known for its beautiful thatch roof houses. Spend the night in Kanazawa)
Day 11: Kanazawa (A city on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu Island that is known for its traditional crafts, seafood, geishas, and one of Japan’s top three landscape gardens — Kenrokuen.)
Day 12: Kanazawa
Day 13: Kyoto
Day 11: Kyoto
Day 12: Kyoto
Day 13: Kyoto
Day 15: Kyoto
Day 16: Kyoto
Day 17: Hiroshima
Day 18: Hiroshima (Visit the nearby island of Miyajima. The area is known for its floating Torii Gate.)
Day 19: Osaka
Day 20: Osaka
Day 21: Depart

Yes, you will probably get lost at some point. Not a big deal. Your itin descriptions sounds a bit like a tour. Is it?

November is a very good time to go. What day would Day 1 be?

It is a workable plan. You won't need a JR Pass because of the time you have in Kyoto where it will not do you much good. If you moved Hiroshima to be after Kanazawa then a 7-day pass might work.

Here is a description of luggage forwarding:
www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

That does sound like a tour description, but is very doable on your own. No reason you should get lost with decent guidebooks and maps, although a smart phone with a data plan is a great security blanket. But what if you do get lost? That can be interesting. And if you carry a card from your hotel you can always take a cab back.

It's natural to think you want maps with place names in English, but they won't help when you are confronted by street signs and subway maps in Japanese. Take a Japanese map as well (your hotel will have one), or a bilingual one if you can find it.

You don't need to understand the Japanese: just pattern-match on a significant character or radical in the name of the place you want.

Should be a great trip! You might get lost, though there’s no reason you should. And if you do, it’ll just be part of the adventure. ;-)

Luggage-forwarding is called takuhaibin; here's the info:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

Many people visit Nikko as a day trip; I was glad to spend a night there so that I had time to include Kegon-no-Taki, a bit of Lake Chuzenji, and a hike of part of the Kanmangafuchi Abyss.

I seriously regret that I didn’t give Kanazawa enough time. If I had to do it again, I’d give it at least 3 nights.

You might consider shifting a night or two from Kyoto to Nara. Many people visit Nara as a day trip from Kyoto, but there is plenty to see and do there – more than enough for 2 full days.

You might consider spending a night on Miyajima. It is much more enjoyable after day trippers leave.

I don’t hear very many people praising Osaka, so unless you have a particular reason for visiting it, you might want to consider alternatives.

At least some guidebooks have maps with both English and kanji.

Hope that helps!

I don't see that you have accounted for travel time. I'd suggest that you re-write your itinerary, showing when your travel, as it will help you see just how much time you have in each place. For instance, we had two full days (three nights) in Kanazawa and wished we had more.

Toward the middle/end of November you should have beautiful fall colors (koyo).

We used taxis in Kyoto, had our hotel write the names of the places we wanted to go on a card, and it worked perfectly. The only place we got lost was inside Shinjuku Station.

Well I confess we took pieces from 2 different tours and stitched them together. We're hoping it will give us a good variety of sights. Opinions ?

I appreciate the link to the information on luggage forwarding.

Will probably be our only trip to Japan and realize we won't get to see everything and picking one thing over another is a challenge!

Great comments Thanks

Forget the tours. Read some guide books and decide what YOU want to see. You have loads and loads of time to plan if you're not going for a year and a half.

IMO, your plan does have a nice variety.

I've already suggested some tweaks, but I'll suggest one more: You might want to consider spending a night on Koya-san -- it really is quite an experience, and unlike anything else on your itinerary.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html
If you decide to include it, note that one's choice of temples apparently makes a big difference. I was very pleased with Shojoshin-in, which a number of other Fodorites have visited and which still gets great reviews:
https://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/...n=Shojoshin-in

BTW, I think you are likely to have only a few hours in Shirakawago, but you can see examples of the thatched-roof houses from that area ("Gasshō-zukuri") in the outdoor park in Takayama, Hida-no-Sato.

Kathie is right about figuring out what your travel days are.

My guess is that each city listed is the place where you will spend the night.

That would be days 6, 8, 10, 13, 17, and 19?

That would be days 6, 8, 10, 13, 17, and 19 - are your travel days?

Thanks for your suggestions kja.

Everyone is right that we have some time to plan so this is a draft that we're thinking of doing on our own - if we don't feel too intimidated by getting around on our own.

Travel days are TBD. We actually hate spending only one night in a spot so hence another reason I call this a draft. Right now other couple is out-of-pocket on a cruise so I'll follow-up with them and see if we can pin down a little more.

I just spent five weeks in Japan on my own. I speak/read no Japanese. I had no problems - but I did find my smart phone useful for buses, as I have elsewhere.

I traveled without a smart phone. With the possible exception of Tokyo, I thought it extremely easy to get around. Bullet trains, and many local trains, are signed in English and there are announcement in English. Kyoto and Nara are laid out on a grid, and so particularly easy to navigate.

Tokyo can be a bit challenging, as few streets are named and the system for numbering addresses is a bit obscure. BUT good guidebooks tell you exactly what subway station -- and which exit -- to take, and there is English signage in most of the subway stations to help you find the exit you need.

Most of us found getting around in Japan on our own surprisingly easy.

My first trip to Japan I managed fine without a phone (well, I had some issues with the Tokyo subway), and I am sure I could so again, but a smart phone is very useful for buses. It tells me which bus, and when it is due to show up. It shows me exactly where the bus stop is. I can follow the route so I know exactly when to get off. It even tells me the fare, which on Japanese buses is a big help. And since I have T-Mobile it doesn't cost me any more to use it abroad.

It's useful for trains, too, but for some reason it doesn't know a thing about ferries, so it's always worth double checking.

I didn't mean to suggest that a smartphone wouldn't be an advantage -- I'm sure it would be. I was just pointing out that it is not <u>necessary</u> to get around successfully. :-)

thursdaysd, what were you using to find buses? Google maps?

Yes, I agree, I have T-mobile as well. :)

The maps app on my Android phone, which I expect is google maps.

Probably...thanks, thursdaysd - I never really looked for buses on it - will try next trip....

I have an app for Kyoto buses but it's really slow and pretty useless on the phone....