usernameistaken - yes, I spend more planning time deciding what to leave out than I do deciding what to put in! Sad...

You might find these activities in Kyoto interesting. http://www.inuishikki.com/makie-english.htm
http://www.roketsu.com/
http://www.shibori.jp/english.htm

And for Kanazawa

http://wikitravel.org/en/Kanazawa is a quite good guide, pretty complete. Restaurant recommendations are good.

http://www.hot-ishikawa.jp/f-lang/english/

http://www.kanazawa-tourism.com/ is very good for finding hands on experiences like gold leaf and kaga yuzen...I would imagine that everyone would enjoy making something for a souvenir.

http://www.ochaya-shima.com/english/index.html in Higaghichaya is a really nice place to visit, and they are friendly. Nearby is a gold leaf place where you can make something with gold leaf if you like.

I'll say it again, we missed you KimJapan!!!

Aloha!

I don't know about the other castles, but when we visited Matsumoto Castle, we were able to go inside and climb up a one or two flight of stairs. My dad who wasn't in the best of physical shape at the time declined and stayed at the bottom, which is just as well. The stairs can be challenging for some.

Thank you, KimJapan - very glad to see you here!

Now that HT has given me the idea of skipping Tokyo at the front end of the itinerary, I'm wondering about the possibility of going straight to Kyoto from Narita (I can't change the routing because of the rules for the award tickets). My flight is scheduled into Narita at 2:35 pm. Or I suppose I could just stay in Narita? Any comments?

thursdays,

Certainly no reason you couldn't head directly to Kyoto. If you're at all like many people I know (incl myself), you'll have plenty of adrenaline and energy when you get to Narita, so some extra traveling won't hurt.

You can get to Kyoto either by flying or by train -- you'd get to Kyoto around 7.30 or 8.

It's another 3+ hours added onto an already long commuting day. The 3 hours will be on the shinkansen though so you will be comfortable at least. If arriving in NRT at 2:30 figure customs and baggage,convert pass or buy NEX tickets,1 hour if lucky, catch NEX into Tokyo/Shinagawa 90 minutes, then catch the shinkansen to Kyoto another 3 1/2hrs so arrival in Kyoto station after 8:30 pm at best.

I would make my way into Shinagawa and stay there the night. Good neighborhood near the station with lots of restaurants and shops, then hop to Kyoto in the morning on the shinkansen and sit on the right hand side of the train for that early morning view of Mt Fuji just after Odawara if you are lucky.

Aloha!

If you like waterfalls and nature, my recommendations are for Nikko over Kamakura and as much time in Takayama as possible. I barely scratched the surface of the Japan Alps on my trip with a bike ride up to some waterfalls, but I loved every second of it, and the city of Takayama is nice too, so you don't want to have to pick between the mountains and the downtown!

I liked Nikko and Kamakura, but Nikko had both shrines and nature - Tokugawa Ieyasu's grave is surrounded by lovely dark tall trees and feels isolated and quiet even when there are hundreds and hundreds of tourists crowded around. Also, it's a bit tricky with limited bus rides, but we had a full day in Nikko, so we went up to the Chuzenji/Yumoto area, used one of the hot springs, and saw some lovely nature and a few waterfalls. The road leading up there is famous as one of the windiest roads in the world, and when you get to the top there is a boardwalk over some highlands, a lot of lovely forest, and several waterfalls. When we went there the weather was so foggy that we couldn't see Kegon-no-taki even though it was right in front of us and we could hear it clearly! Sad because I've seen photos and it's breathtaking. Still, there are other waterfalls like Ryuzu falls, and when we went higher up (closer to Yumoto), the weather was sunny and amazing.

Contrary to what Rizzuto said, I loved Tsukiji. Loved it! One of the highlights of my trip. Getting up at 4 am and seeing the city wake up, watching the workings of this dynamic little world, dodging various little motorized fish-carrying vehicles whose drivers seemed intent on scoring points by hitting the tourist, watching the tuna auction, and then following it by having some of the best sushi (mostly sashimi actually) of my life was a unique and memorable experience.

Regarding staying at a Ryokan: absolutely do it. One of the best experiences of my life was splurging at Hiiragiya in Kyoto (about $500/night including kaiseki dinner and breakfast, but they do have some less expensive rooms).

As for shortening days in Kyoto, do not do it. As someone who often is eager to leave a place after two or three days, feeling like I have seen it all and done it all, it pained me to leave Kyoto after four days. I cannot wait to go back.

Thanks for all the new input. I don't think I'm up to the trek to Kyoto right after the flight from the US - even in business class there's a good chance I won't sleep.

I'll probably also have jet lag, so seeing the fish market my first morning still seems like a good idea - but I'm now thinking of leaving for Kyoto right afterwards.

Another possibility would be to drop Hakone altogether in favor of another day at Takayama or Matsumoto - opinions on that?

People who likes arty stuff and who enjoy staying in places that are remarkable because of their architecture might consider Benesse House on the island of Naoshima, between Hiroshima and Kyoto. (http://www.naoshima-is.co.jp/?index#/house)

I've never stayed/been there (though I hope to), but it's said to be a one-of-a-kind place, sort of an art installation that incorporates a hotel.

I've stayed at some places where the architecture or environment of the accommodations were as memborable as the place that I'd visited -- Shompole, Sayan (Ubud), Hotal Aria (Prague) -- and I've always thought those places were worth at least a side trip to get there. Benesse House sounds like it might be one of those places -- has anyone been there?

Late to this thread, but since I'm similar in my travel patterns, backgrounds, and tastes I mAy have some good info to share. Plus I'm planning my third trip to Japan this November.

Some random items...

Tsukiji: I've been twice and will likely return in November. You don't reallyhave to go at the crack of dawn.

Onsen: Did I miss a mention of onsen/ sento? Unless you've got a very serious aversion to the idea you shouldn't miss this experience, and as it turns out you can have the experience in lots of different settings, not just ryokan. There's a chain of budget hotels called Dormy Inn that pretty much all have them. Open air versions particularly great.

Kanazawa: great market there, and the park is lovely. I used a Goodwill Guide and she did a great job of arranging my visit according to my interests. I'll look back at my notes to see where we went. I stayed at the Dormy Inn that's very close to the train station. It's a new property that features an onsen on the top floor: partly open air (to the sky, and it was snowing, very pleasant. Amazinglygood buffet breakfast as well.

Shirakawa-go: not at all difficult to access by bus from Kanazawa (purchase tickets the day before at office in front of train station. Stay overnight at a minshuku and then catch the same bus the next AM that will take you on to Takayama. You'll arrive in Takayama in time for lunch.

> Did I miss a mention of onsen/ sento?

Onsen and sento are not exactly the same thing. Perhaps you rather mean onsen.
Onsen = hot spring usually in mountain areas.
Sento = traditional (not today's modern spa type) public bath house in town. Sen = money, coin and to = bath (hot water). There are less and less sento because most houses and flats have private bath.

Posted toon early.

> Onsen and sento are not exactly the same thing
In other words, hotels can have onsen but cannot have sento.

I'm familiar with the distinction between onsen and sento, and in fact that's why I used both terms, though I was actually getting at the distinction between natural hot springs vs heated water. And given the recent re-defining of what constitutes natural hot springs it all gets a bit confusing.

In any case both sento and onsen experiences might be of interest to the OP.

Oh, and a rotenburo (outside onsen, often mixed gender) would be particularly nice for the OP, particularly one with a waterfall into it, or with a view onto a waterfall. These may belong to a ryokan, in which case they may be reserved for ryokan guests or be available for day use, or they may be in a park or administered by a municipality.

OP is still here, but has been distracted by a weekend in Washington (see http://tinyurl.com/2a4kskx ) and planning for a week in Canada in July.

OP is absolutely keen on onsens, and on one splurge night in a ryoken with same, probably in Kamikochi.

<b>rizzuto</b> - thanks for the Benesse House suggestion. Unfortunately, when it comes to modern art I have the visual equivalent of tone deafness, and I've given up fighting it.

<b>Therese</b> - thanks for the info. I was thinking of visiting Shirakawa-go on the way to an overnight at Takayama - is it your experience that's not possible? I try to limit one-nighters. I'll certainly look into the Dormy Inns, especially the one in Kanazawa!

I visited Shirakawa-go in January and stayed overnight at Shimizu. I've just started a trip report here that will have some more detail about the minshuku itself. If you visit Shirakawa-go I'd stay overnight and thereby miss the tourist hordes that are there during the day. Buses are timed in such a way that you can arrive as they are leaving and depart as they are arriving. Again, I've got more detail in my trip report. I got to see the sort of snowfall that earns it the name Snow Country.

A day visit is definitely do-able, but it would be just as crowded as any other popular site in Japan. Imagine Venice on Saturday afternoon.

> I'm familiar with the distinction between onsen and sento

If you know the difference, that's fine. I just thought to mention sento is not to recommend to everybody. But I would understand if some want to experience it. For me onsen is a place with "bandai" where you pay. Maybe I have an idea for onsen of old style.

> Maybe I have an idea for onsen of old style.

Ooops, I mixed it up. Should have said "sento" of old style.