My husband and I are planning a trip to Japan- neither one of us has ever been!

We are flying into Tokyo on August 1st and have to be in Nagasaki for a cruse on August 9.

Can people please help us plan an itinerary to get from Tokyo to Nagasaki, while seeing interesting must-see sites along the way!
Speaking to others, we know we want to spend a few days in Tokyo and a few days in Kyoto. Should we do Hiroshima and/or Hakone as well?

Since we have never been we have no idea how long we will need to be in each city, etc.

Thank you so much!!!!

You have seven full days once you get to Tokyo. We have never been to Tokyo or Hakone so I can't say anything there, but for sure, Kyoto is worth three days..it is a beautiful city with many great placws to see.

We have been to each Kyoto, Nagasaki and Hiroshima twice now, but have flown in and out of Osaka. Osaka is just OK, but we love Kyoto and find Hiroshima and Nagaski very enjoyable also.

On our first trip, we went from Kyoto to Himiji Castle to Hiroshima, visited the "A" Dome, Hall of Remembersnce and Miyajima Island and back to Kyoto in a long day, several years back. Very easy and well worth even that short of trip! We had a wonderful time that day. Left Kyoto at 7 got to Himiji Castle as the castle opened at 9, did the tour and had lunch in town, caught 11:30am train to Hiroshima, road the tram to the "A" Dome and the park then took the tram/local train and ferry the Miyajima Island spent several hours touring the temple and park and the sunset behind the Tori Gate and had an early dinner, took the ferry and local train back to the station, caught the bullet train to Kyoto and were at the hotel by 9pm. The only thing that would have made the trip better was spending the night on the island.

So, I would suggest adding at least Hiroshima and Miyajima for a night stop over with two days of travel and sightseeing. The Island is at its best in the late afternoon and early morning which works well for traveling by train. You can then see the other sights in Hiroshima on the way to and from the island.(I suggest the "A" Dome and park, the castle and a the gardens near by are the best and easy to do in a few hours. You can walk from one to the other. We didn't do the Museum in Hiroshima as we had previously been to the one in Nagasaki.) With some care in planning with the train schedules, you could also work in a stop in Himiji on the way from Kyoto to Hiroshima, you need about two hours to get from the station (walking) see the castle and get back. It is a beautiful castle and one of very few that isn't a reconstruction. That takes up two days at least.

Kyoto is wonderful and well worth three full days.

Hiroshima with the overnight night on Miyajima is also worth the time.

My suggestion:
Aug 1 - Arrive Tokyo
Aug 2 - Tokyo
Aug 3 - Tokyo to Kyoto (2.5 hours)
Aug 4 - Kyoto
Aug 5 - Kyoto
Aug 6 - Kyoto
Aug 7 - Kyoto - Himiji - Hiroshima (Take an early train to see castle on the way or go on the 6th for more time. total train time maybe 3 hours)
Aug 8 - Hiroshima - Nagasaki (I don't know, but doable. Do a later train to do some touring in Hiroshima. I would spend the night in Nagaski to be sure there is no hitch meeting the cruise.)
Aug 9 - join your cruise

This would give you a great experience in some great places. Also you should think about doing the all day trip the the ancient capital if Pusan is a South Korea port. We did it and it was one of the best ship's tour we have ever done..and we really don't like the ships tours.

We just answered a post like yours. Another fodorite will be on your cruise.

See this:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/trip-question.cfm

I wondered about that, but since the name is differet and the question a bit different I adjusted my earlier reply.

I wonder what cruise line. We have cruised those waters three times now combined with land trips and always had a great time. Love Japan!

We love Kyoto-If you fly into Osaka, it is a 75 minute train ride right from the Kansai/Osaka Airport. Very easy to land and get your bearings in Kansai/Osaka and hop on a train.
You have to travel light and be able to carry your suitcases up and down stairs and into trains.
The Train Station at Kyoto is absolutely fabulous- totally unlike what our usual ideas about train stations. There is a 5 star hotel right at the station , an elegant department store and numerous shops selling food , pastries and everything else in a clean , efficient space. There are hotels around the train station that are not as expensive and the station is a hub for transportation. Lots of English but also volunteers who are fluent in English to help figure out the Shinkansen routes south to Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
We like Kyoto better than Tokyo just because it is smaller, has a smaller more compact central core with beautiful temples and gardens, all within easy reach of public transportation or cabs.
Kyoto is also a 2-3 hour bullet train "Shinkansen" ride from Tokyo. By way of warning the Shinkansen stops for only 5 minutes or so at each stop so you relaly have to be prepared to get off at your stop. Quite efficient and on time trains with no wasting time.
Aloha- Vicky

Japan has baggage delivery services. When you land in Japan you can ship your baggage from the airport to Nagasaki and then just carry what you need for the week.

Would be a coincidence if these folks were on the same ship.

Yes, it would be mrwunrfl. We used the baggage service and it worked like a charm. Very easy to do even if you don't read or speak Japanese. The bags were delievered the next day to our hotel. It was easy just to carry a small carry on for what we needed for the first day and night. Love those trains!