Not necessarily in that order. I am looking for the most streamline itinerary to cover these areas in about 7-10 days.

If we fly in, would it be better to arrive at Narita or Haneda ?

Does it make sense to do it in a certain order ?

This would be in November and hoping to enjoy hot springs at some of these sights.

Would appreciate suggestions on lodgings (traditional or modern ryokans would be great) that are moderate, not luxurious.

Thanks !

Haneda is closer to Kamakura/Enoshima, Hakone, so, it makes sense to fly there. However, you would have to check to see if your airline does fly into Narita or Haneda.

Where are you coming from, and which carrier?

As the first tree places are located south of Tokyo, it makes sense to cover them together, otherwise , you wll lose time criss crossing the area.

NIKKO is approx 135 km North of Tokyo. I have been there many times by train. I used to take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Utsunomiya , then take the small local train to NIKKO Japan Rail station.
Good if you have a Japan Rail Pass.
From NIKKO train station, I would walk up to the main shrines. It's a couple of kilometers, uphill all the way, alternately, take a taxi.

I am coming from Honolulu and have not purchase tickets yet.

Can we connect trains from Hakone to Kamkura and then Nikko, and back to Tokyo , or is there a better loop to make ?

Thanks.

Is it a big problem to be there over Nov 3 Culture Day ?

I notice many lodgings are already booked on Sats at Hakone.

If I were to spend three days at each Nikko and Hakone I would inevitably end up at one location over a weekend- which would be less problematic and crowded over a weekend ?

Thanks.

I cannot really comment on travel from Kamakura to Hakone, and I have never done that trip, but,I am certain that Japan Rail will get you there.

Try this link for some information: http://wikitravel.org/en/Hakone

Travel to NIKKO is easy.... You can either take Japan Rail Shinkansen from Tokyo station to Utsunomiya , and take the small Japan Rail train from Utsunomiya to Nikko as I mentioned. There are no direct trains from the areas south of Tokyo to areas North.
All Shinkansens terminate in Tokyo. You transfer from the Japan Rail Central to Japan Rail Eat who handle all the North bound services.

Any time there is a National Holiday in Japan, you will find accomodation can be quite heavily booked. I did live in Japan for 5 years,and have travelled extensively there. However, I was never into going to places for hot springs, so, cannot comment any further on that.

With regards travel from Honolulu to Japan, I am 99% certain that you will be flying into Narita airlport. Haneda is predominantly domestic, with only a few international flights .
I always flew into Narita from Australia, Korea, and also from USA . Narita is situated North East of Tokyo, and is one (1) hour by train or bus to the center of the city.

Fly into HND from HNL. Always much more convenient than NRT. I know the service is starting soon from Honolulu.

I would go to Hakone first, then up to Kamakura/Enoshima. Finally out to Nikko before returning to Tokyo. I would not travel to Hakone/Kamakura/Enoshima over any weekend if possible. That leaves Nikko which should be fine unless during the koyo season.

Here is a new link with a little about Enoshima on the JG site.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3117.html

Aloha!

Hello

I have been mulling over this trip, not finding any fares under $1000.

We may need to pare down to just Nikko and Hakone.

If so,is it reasonable to fly into NRT, spend that first afternoon, in Tokyo, then catch the shinkansen to Nikko the following day, spend 3-4 days there, then return to Tokyo and go on to Hakone the same day as we travel back from Nikko ?

Will there be trains available to connect to Hakone after we return to Tokyo? We would rather not spend an extra day in transit in Tokyo but rather go directly to Hakone.

Considering 2-3 days in Hakone and return via Haneda as you suggested .

Thank you for suggestions.