We're heading to Japan for the first time in April. Our plans are leaving from NY to Osaka. Take a day trip to Nara and spend a couple of days Kyoto. Then, head to Hakone & Tokyo, and leave to NY from Narita. Here are my questions:

1) Since we're using our frequent mileage to get free ticket, we're planning to fly from Osaka to Tokyo. Does it make sense to do that (since we have to take the train back from Kyoto to Kansai airport)? or should we take the train from Kyoto to Hakone?

2) Should I buy JR West Pass to travel among Osaka-Nara-Kyoto?

3) Do I need 10 or 14 days for this trip?

4) Is Nara closer to Osaka or Kyoto? Which one is easier for me to get to Nara?

5) Is Takayama worth a trip? We're thinking of going there from Kyoto before heading to Hakone? How long does it take by train from Kyoto and to Hakone?

Thanks for all your help!

With 10 or 14 days, you could add Takayama to your trip. If you did that then flying from Osaka to Tokyo would not make sense.

You could take a Hikari shinkansen from Kyoto to Nagoya. The train from there to Takayama would be two hours each way. From Nagoya, you can hop a Kodama shinkansen to Odawara and on to Hakone.

The rail travel times are fairly short. I think it is about an hour from Kyoto to Nagoya and another two hours from Nagoya to Tokyo. If you flew, you would have to take the train out to KIX, wait around, fly to Tokyo (probably Narita) and then find and take the train to get you to Tokyo.

Thanks for your help. I think I better off taking the train then. Plus, I can enjoy the scenary. Here's the itinerary:

3 days in Osaka (include 1 day trip to Nara)
3 days in Kyoto
2 days in Takayama
1 day in Hakone
5 days in Tokyo (include 1 day trip to Kamakura)

This seems a bit tiring for me. Any feedback is appreciated & welcomed.

If you are arriving into Osaka in the first week of April, Cherry blossom will be in full bloom there, in Kyoto, Nara or Tokyo. If your arrival into Osaka should be in the middle of April, then please plan to go to Osaka-Zohei-kyoku (nearby Teikoku or Imperial Hotel), where different kind of Cherry trees will be in full bloom, famous as Zoheikyoku-Torinuke. Otherwise, there are not so many things to see in Osaka so you may wish to directly go to Kyoto from KIX.

Change of plan since it will take us 2 days to get Japan. I'm now only have 11 days so I decided to take Takayama out of the list. As of now, most likely we'll be in Osaka, Kyoto in the 3rd wk of April. Is it too late for Cherry Blossom?

Just my personal preference, but I would give up time in Osaka and go to Takayama. Osaka is a big city and most of the attractions you might do there can be done in Tokyo. Takayama would show you a different side of Japan. Only downside would be the cost of travel, although with a rail pass that wouldn't be an issue.

I strongly suggest you to include Takayama and shorten the stay in Osaka, unless you are a gourmet. Osaka is famous for food, not necessarily expensive but good to eat. Otherwise, Osaka is just another big city like Tokyo.

You also can take a bus ride from Takayama to Matsumoto, and a train ride to Tokyo from there, or move north a bit, and shinkansen ride to Tokyo from Nagano. The bus ride takes more than two hours and it goes through deep mountains. By doing so, you can avoid taking the same train back to Nagoya. The charm of Takayama can be found everywhere in the Web so I will not talk, but the third or fourth week of April will be a good time for cherry blossoms there although it is tooooo late in Osaka or Tokyo.

In Takayama, there is famous Takayama spring festival on April 15th. If you could schedule to be there on this day, that should be wonderful.

Hi,

I will give you a rundown on our trip to Japan which we did in May to give you an idea how much time you will need.

tokyo - 4 nights
national museum/ueno park/asakusa/tsukiji fish market/imperial palace/kabuki-cho
shopping - harajuku/omotesando/roppongi hills/shinjuku/ginza
We were very dissappointed with the Imperial Palace and Meiji Shrine which were said to be "must sees" in Tokyo. If you do decide to go, be warned that from the first entrance you see, you will have to walk for another 45 min to an hour before you actually see anything. By the way, you can't see the Palace. You are just in the surrounding grounds and it's uphill all the way.
day trip - we only managed to go to Nikko as we did not realise the walking and distance involved.
The highlight of our trip was a trip to a farmhouse for dinner recommended by a friend. If you are a garden person, then go for lunch to soak in the beautiful manicured gardens and water features. This is a must!! It is about 1 hour out of Tokyo on the KEIO line from Shinjuku. Destination is Takaosan-guchi and fast trains leave at 20 and 40 minutes past the hour.Bookings are essential on 0426 61 0739. There is a grey and black bus that meets the train to take you to the restaurant.

hakone - 1 night
we stayed at fuji-hakone guest house. Okay if you don't mind folding your mattress away in the morning.

kyoto - 4 nights
read my post to orangeboy.

osaka - 2 nights
osaka aquarium/den den town for electronics/namba for eating/diamor in umeda-underground shopping.
The speciality is Okonomiyaki (japanese pancake)and any departmental store you go to in Japan, please checkout the food section in the basement levels. You will be impressed. Hope this helps you a little.

Thanks alot! Due to the time constraint, I only have 3 full days in Kensai area. I'm planning to do a day each in Nara, Osaka, and Kyoto (most likely we'll be staying in Kyoto). I'm planning to be in Tokyo for 3 days as well...I might add Nikko to the list if we're done w/ Tokyo in 2 days. Or what I might do is to extend our trip to Japan for a couple more days.