Hi all, here's a follow up on my former topic. I did alter my initial ideas a bit. Please advice and or suggest on my itinerary (total length of stay two weeks, including flights from/to Europe, first time visit):

I sort of decided on a forked ticket, inbound Osaka, outbound Tokyo. Buy me a JR Kansai pass to travel to Kobe, Nara and Kyoto. I reserved 4-5 days for this but I probably should reserve more days, please advise on Kobe (and Osaka), maybe skip these in favour of Nara and Kyoto. Follow one of the sushi making workshops and sightseeing. Next would be to take Nozomi/Shinkansen to Tokyo. Should I layover in one of the stops? (Although I haven't found the stops yet...) Then in Tokyo get me a Tokyo subway ticket for multiple days. I would like to stay in Tokyo for 3-4 nights I think.

I got a couple of questions:
Should I reverse in-/outbound cities? Any reason why i shouldn't do a forked ticket? (Price wise there is no difference.)
Is shopping (for clothes mainly, perhaps some nice design utensils) more expensive in Tokyo then the other major cities? Does Tokyo offer more choice? Or are all the major cities more or less comparable?

You should definitely do an open-jaw ticket. (I've never heard the term "forked" for this type of ticket - where are you from?) It doesn't really matter which city is first. Look carefully at the various rail passes - in general, they don't make sense unless you are doing a lot of traveling while you are there. Don't just assume the rail pass will save you money.

With two weeks, you will likely want 5-6 days for Kyoto/Nara. We skipped Kobe and Osaka. Take a good look at www.japan-guide.com to help you decide which places to visit, which to skip. There is so much to see and do in Japan, we found we had to be careful not to try to cram in too many destinations. And I wouldn't bother to layover on your relatively short train journey between Kyoto and Tokyo.

Thank U Kathie! And you're right, I'm from The Netherlands and I got lost in translation from German booking site...

Any thoughts on the shopping side to Kyoto/Tokyo?

I agree with Kathie -- an open jaw flight makes tremendous sense and if you have any interest in traditional Japan, then give Kyoto and Nara at least 5 or 6 full days.

There are a few things you might consider before deciding where to start and end: For example, if you are hoping to see the cherry blossoms or fall leaves, then you should take that into consideration. There may be special events in one city or the other that you might want to visit. Etc.

I can't answer your questions on shopping -- I'm not a shopper.

If by "design utensils" you mean silverware, knives, etc. then I would highly recommend Kappabashi in Tokyo. Nishiki Market in Kyoto is also fun. I bought a wonderful 5" santoku knife in Kappabashi on my first trip and hope to find a nice sashimi knife on my trip this coming Spring.

I'm not a shopper either, but if you are thinking about clothes you may have a problem with sizes. I am an aging English woman, but I am taller than most Japanese, often by quite a bit.

We found interesting "design" items in both Kyoto and Tokyo, but we didn't do a lot of shopping in Japan. I can simply confirm for you that you will find things in both cities. I do agree with Thursdays that unless you are "Japanese-sized" you may find clothing shopping frustrating.

Booked! Open jaw ticket, to Osaka and from Tokyo. In between Nara (two nights), Kyoto (five nights), Nagano (two nights in ryokan) and finally 6 nights in Tokyo. All nights but Tokyo booked.

I will have to adapt my interests on the shopping due to my length...

You have a good start to your planning. Consider that you might want to take a day trip from Tokyo, as you have plenty of time there. Lots of possibilities.

FWIW, Tokyo itself isn't worth much more than3 full days, IMHO. Kathie's point about day trips is a good one, with Kamakura and Nikko being the most common. Since you are going to be in Nagano, give consideration to a day/night in Matsumoto. The castle is absolutely breathtaking and they have a small, pleasant merchants' district.

Good progress!

Many people visit Nikko as a day trip from Tokyo; I was glad to spend a night there.

Just great to hear all the suggestions, thank you! I will for sure make trips from Tokyo, Nikko is one of the many options I'll take into consideration. After Nagano I haven't booked anything yet, so I'm flexible on the rest of the nights. I'll have a look into Matsumoto.

Busy working on my itinerary. It has never ever been that detailed, thx to Hyperdia and google maps.

On traveling by train: I've read about the ticket buying procedure, I expect it to be somewhat overwhelming, but I'll manage. (The one thing I'm not sure about is knowing when to get off, I haven't read anything on the signs inside the trains are also presented in English.) Am I right that it would be wise to have a printed version (or photo on phone) of my train routes? Or how did you went with it?

Most trains will have electronic signs and will at least tell you the next station in English shortly before you get tere. Important trains will have an announcement in English as well. I have been on a couple of minor trains with no English, and of course commuter rail may have no announcements in any language. However, I keep track on the maps app on my smart phone. If you aren't traveling with a smart phone you may want to print/copy the train timetable. And maybe plan to pattern match the characters for your destination.

Train travel, both within major cities and intra-city was surprisingly easy.

Just what I needed, thx Thursdays!

When I bought tickets, I simply printed out the trains I wanted from hyperdia. This made purchasing the tickets very easy. But my tickets were printed in Japanese and I couldn't tell which tickets were for which trains. I had the concierge at my hotel write down for me what the tickets were for. I then found out that if you ask, the tickets can be printed in English. I later had the remaining tickets printed in English.

All of the trains I traveled on had an electronic sign showing the next station in both Japanese and English.

You can always look out the window when the train arrives at a station and look for the station name in English on a sign above the platform.

Make sure to get your JR tickets printed in English. Say it or write it.

I just saw your post, Kathie. I was thinking of you when I wrote the post that followed.

All tickets in Japanese... Thank you for sharing and hopefully saving other travellers a panic attack!
You mention 'asking', do you mean that the ticket vending machines also have the option to print them in English? (If not, do you know if it's possible?)

And yes, I thought about reading the signs outside, but then thinking about getting my things together, unlock luggage etc. I definitely don't want to jeopardize their on-time percentage. Does one have enough time for getting out? Is there a standard x minute wait before leaving again?

You are worrying way to much about this. Traveling on Japanese trains is easy and fun, and this is advice coming from an uptight traveler.

May I add:

1. I always purchase the tickets from the live guy in the booth, rather than the machine, so I can make sure I get it right.

2. There are always a bunch of employees standing by to direct you to the right track.

3. I keep my ticket in my hand, and virtually every Japanese person will be glad to help you.

4. I count the number of stops, in addition to looking at the signs. I also go by my watch and the expected arrival time.

5. I never miss an opportunity to start a conversation with someone near me on the train. Most people love helping and pointing out my stops.

Part of traveling in Japan is the ease of logistics, and you need to relax about that part. Just arrive at the train stations in plenty of time.