Japn tour 10 nights
 

Hi, we are planning on travelling to Japan from London in April with my 8 year old son. This is our itinerary. I was wondering whether it is too much to squeeze in with day trips from Tokyo and Kyto? In particular should I leave out Takayama? Any suggestions would be very helpful! Thanks


DAY 1 - 30 March - TOKYO
DAY 2 - 31 March - TOKYO (Studio Ghibli)
DAY 3 - 1 April -TOKYO/KAMAKURA
DAY 4 - 2 April - TOKYO/NIKKO
DAY 5 - 3 April - TOKYO/HAKONE or KAWAGUCHIKO (Mount Fuji)
DAY 6 - 4 April - TOKYO-TAKAYAMA-KYOTO?
DAY 7 - 5 April - KYOTO
DAY 8 - 6 April - KYOTO/NARA
DAY 9 - 7 April - KYOTO/HIMEJI CASTLE
DAY 10 - 8 April - KYOTO to TOKYO
DAY 11 - 9 April - TOKYO to LONDON

Hi,

March/April is a lovely time to visit Japan as the Cherry trees might be in bloom already and it's a spectacular sight to see. Two cities in 10 days doesn't sound bad, I know some people who tried Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in 10 days and they still had ample time to do everything so consider yourself to be in a good shape, time and planning-wise.

The only problem I'm seeing is that the places you want to see seem to be quite far apart. Where is your starting point? It's important that you book a hotel that's central to the places you'd like to visit or at least close enough to the train stops, especially you have an 8 year old.

I'm quite doubtful about Takayama as well. The Japanese Alps is a breathtaking destination and you would want to enjoy it. Scheduling it on a transit day doesn't sound like the best day to go, perhaps you can move it on a different day so you can make the most out for your visit?

Another thing that you'd like to make sure as well is your transportation. Make sure that you have your transportation all mapped out, this will save you from a lot stress! Japan has a very efficient transport system so all you have to do is take advantage of it.

Hope this helps :) And have fun in Japan!

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond yonderbound. I will take all your points on board I think you are right about Takayama. Perhaps one day less in Tokyo and one full day in Takayama would be better. Maybe even two. Thanks for the tips re transportation. I still have a lot of planning to do!

Hi,

I think the answer to your two questions is yes and yes. I'm planning a 23 night trip for November 2016 and have done quite a bit of research so far and it seems as though Tokyo and Kyoto are the stand out places and they deserve a few days as a minimum. That being the case you then plan full day trips for most of your days. It looks like you will short-change the two best cities and spend lots of time most days travelling.

Good luck though.

Tim

It looks like you will spend most of your time inside trains and trains stations, likely not what you wanted. You need to have time in Tokyo, and especially, in Kyoto. All of the day trips mean you have little time in these places. If you want one more place in addition to Kyoto and Tokyo, I'd suggest you choose the place you most want to see out side of those two cities and spend two nights there. So I would suggest an itinerary that looks something like this:

Day 1 Tokyo
Day 2 Tokyo
Day 3 Tokyo
Day 4 train to new destination
Day 5 new destination
Day 6 new destination to Kyoto
Day 7 Kyoto
Day 8 Kyoto
Day 9 Kyoto
Day 10 Kyoto to Tokyo (or Narita)
Day 11 Tokyo to London

I'd suggest you take a late afternoon train to Tokyo or Narita so you have as much time as possible in Kyoto.

Agree with Kathie and like her suggested itinerary. Hakone could be your destination for a night or two for day 5-6 since it's an easy stop.

Your current schedule sounds hectic with little time to really see Tokyo and Kyoto. Doable of course, but you will still find plenty to do and see with Kathie's suggested schedule. You could still fit in one day trip in both Tokyo and Kyoto if you wanted.

I am largely in agreement with Kathie, and also agree that Takayama is too far to make sense for this trip.

Have you already booked your flights? If not, consider flying into Tokyo (Narita or Haneda) and out of Kyoto (Kansai) or vice versa (choose based on the cherry blossom forecasts) so you don't have to backtrack.

If you haven't already consulted it, japan-guide.com is probably the single best source of information available for travelers to Japan:
http://www.japan-guide.com

Hope that helps!

What Kathie, Curiousgeo and kja said.

And for what it's worth, seeing snow-capped Fuji-san is one of the highlights of my life-travel or otherwise. I cannot wait to go back and see it again with my plan to re-visit Japan for sakura time in 2017. I'd make Hakone your two-day destination between Tokyo and Kyoto. Maybe try to squeeze in a 1/2 day visit to Himeji Castle on your way back from Kyoto to Tokyo.