Looking to firm up a tentative itinerary for first timers to Japan, approximately 3 weeks, celebrating a BIG Anniversary!
Either traveling ourselves or with another couple, looking for comments on location and timing..
Thanks in advance,

Tokyo, 4 nights. Park Hotel vs Imperial. Pros and Cons

Yamanaka, 3 nights, Kayotei Ryoken

Miyajima, 2 nights, Itsukushima Iroha

Naoshima, 3 nights, Benesse House

Kyoto, 5 nights, Genji Kyoto

Hakone, 2 nights, Hakone Ginyu

I welcome constructive help and information, favorite restaurants, shops, etc

Do you mean Yamanaka near Kanazawa? That's a great decision! I was just there last month. It's an absolutely gorgeous area, I really wish I'd been able to spend longer there. I only had a day so I had to time my visit very carefully with the three daily buses and was not able to see everything.

The must-sees are obviously Kakusenkei gorge and Natadera (don't skip Natadera, it's one of the best temples I've seen in a long time), but here are some other things to do:

• Bashō no Yakata Museum -- A museum / house dedicated to Matsuo Basho, a haiku poet, who passed through here during his famous Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Deep North) trip. If you haven't read the book, I recommend checking it out before your trip! Do not confuse with Flanagan's novel of the same name. If you like Basho, there is "Basho cafe" in Yamanaka.
• Yamanaka-za Theatre -- They do geisha performances on Saturdays, very affordable price.
• Ioji Temple -- A little hard to find, but you cross under the busy road to get there. Nice atmosphere.
• Higashiyama Bonheur for a restaurant

That's Natadera for you, in case you weren't convinced...

If your itinerary is in the correct order, I might consider changing things around a little. Going from Yamanaka to Miyajima will be quite a long trip! That's bus + express to Osaka + bullet train... at least a few hours travel. If possible, try Tokyo > Yamanaka > Kyoto > Miyajima > Naoshima > Hakone.

• Nice things to do in Hakone: Choanji temple, Mount Ashigara if you're into mythology (the legend of Kintaro), another geisha performance (1st & 3rd Saturdays), Chisuji Falls
• Cafes/restaurants in Hakone: Try amazake and the dango/mochi at Amazake-chaya (if you're walking the Tokaido or taking the bus through there, otherwise it's a little far), monaka at Naraya cafe, the tofa at Hakone Picnic, Shikajaya for a great lunch, sweets from Chimoto (I recommend kusa dango and hachiri), the Owakudani black soba at Hakone Akatsukian Hakoneten (next to it is Hakone Kannon temple where you can do calligraphy and there's Tamadare Shrine with a waterfall nearby)

PS: If you're interested, I can post a trip report of the Yamanaka area. I'm currently still writing about Berlin and New Zealand trips so I'll have to finish those first, but I'm sure I'll get it up before 2024...

Yamanaka to Miyajima would take a good 5 hours. It would be bus to Kaga Onsen station, train to Kyoto or Shin-Osaka to transfer to the shinkansen to Hiroshima transfer there to a local train to Miyajimaguchi then walk a block or two over to the ferry terminal, then ferry to the island and walk to your lodging or have them pick you up.

Yamanaka to Naoshima would take a half hour longer than that, I think, and would be bus, 3 or 4 trains, and ferry to get to the island.

I think I would go Yamanaka to Kyoto to Naoshima to Miyajma and then fly from Hiroshima airport to Tokyo Haneda. Airports in Japan are easy to manage and flights can be inexpensive (or free with FF awards). That last day would be busy: ferry then walk to the JR lpcal to Hiroshima then bus to airport, fly, Keikyu train to Shnagawa then shinkansen to Odawara then some local travel in Hakone.

Maybe that last day is a bit much Might move Hakone to be before Yamanaka and then fly from Hiroshima (HIJ) to your Tokyo departure airport, hopefully Haneda. Not sure if there are HIJ to Tokyo Narita Airport flights. You could fly and stay overnight at the airport or connect same day to your international departure flight. Better yet, book your return home to be from HIJ.

Back to your itinerary: Miyajima to Odawara (gateway to Hakone) would be about 5 hours, so not so bad. Better than flying if you keep Hakone at the end.

But, your plan works if you don't mind the long travel times.

I strongly recommend that you visit the Hiroshima Peace Park and Museum and the Genbaku Dome (given that you will be going through Hiroshima station to/from Miyajima). This is a grab your shoulders and look you in the eye recommendation.

You would be doing yourselves a favor by stopping in Hiroshima for the night, before and/or after Miyajima.

Peter_T,
My husband and I will be traveling to Japan for the first time this fall and I’ve got 2 nights booked in Yamanaka. We will be coming from Kanazawa so will have at least a little time to explore. Thanks for the list of things to do! Sadly, we won’t be there over a weekend, so will miss the geisha performance.

There are many places in the country that do geisha performances, not just Kaga onsen. I looked at your itinerary in your other post, so you may be interested in
these things:

• I'm sure there must be some sort of opportunity to meet geisha in Kanazawa, they're always advertising it as a "geisha city". From a quick google search, I found Kanazawa Tours, and it seems this website lists several opportunities (you can search with your exact dates). I have no experience booking with these tours so can't tell you how good they are.
• If you are several days in Kanazawa and Takayama, I'm sure you're planning a trip to Shirakawa-go. I recommend stopping by Gokayama as well. There they do folk songs (with advance reservation) at one of the accommodations. The website is in Japanese but you can translate by sticking the URL in Google translate.
• In Kaga onsen there is a place called Yunokuni no mori that offers craft classes (like makie paining on lacquer), and another place called Rokuro no Sato ろくろの里「工藝の館 where you can do wood turning (here are some photos of that).
• In Kyoto there is a company called Maikoya that organises private meetings with geisha, combined with tea ceremony or dinner. Of course there are other non-private performances like Gion Corner, etc. in Kyoto.
• Since Kyoto is such a big city, you'll find all sorts of activities. I recommend looking up a list somewhere and finding something to your taste. For example, you can see sword shows at Samurai Kembu Theater, try koto classes at Soushunan, do zazen meditation at Kenninji, there are dozens of tea ceremony experiences, RAN Theatre Kyoto does live music (including Okinawan music)...