Please Critique My Itinerary
 

I'm heading to Japan in May and after changing many times this is the itinerary I have come up with. How does it look?

11th May Land in Narita, head to Tokyo
12th Train from Tokyo Kyoto
13th Kyoto
14th Kyoto
15th Kyoto
16th Train to Nara, evening in Osaka
17th Train to Hiroshima/Miyajima
18th Train to Tokyo, stopping in Himeji on the way
19th Tokyo
20th Tokyo
21st Tokyo-Home

Any advice appreciated, thank you!

Do you already have your flights booked? If not, consider flying into Kansai and out of Narita rather than into and out of Narita. If you already have your flights, consider going straight on to Kyoto if that's a possibility -- you'll be tired, but you'll be tired anyway! It doesn't always work, but is something to consider.

You might consider spending the night in Nara rather than Osaka. The extra time in Nara, particularly after day trippers leave, would be easy to fill!

You will be in Kyoto during both the Aoi Matsuri and the Kamagawa Odori. You might want to include one or both in your plans. The Kamagawa Odori is, IMO, breathtaking. :-)

Enjoy!

They are already booked unfortunately! I feel like I may be too tired to go all the way from NRT to Kyoto straight after the flight...I'm kind of a wuss ;)

I was also considering the night in Nara, as it does appeal to me more than Osaka generally, but feel like it might be a good opportunity to soak up the nightlife there (not a partier by any means but enjoy it from time to time).

I had seen that the Aoi Matsuri was happening so that was already in my plans, was not aware of the Kamagawa Odori though so thank you very much for that.

I'm not into clubs or bars, so nightlige in Osaka didn't do much for me, so personally I'd just do a half day or less from Kyoto, to include an early evening visit, but back to Kyoto for the overnight. And I'd give yourself that day and overnight for Nara.

I'd also move at least one of your Tokyo nights over to Kyoto, but that's because I have found more to draw me to Kyoto than to Tokyo - you will likely have your own preferences based on the reading you've done so far. If not, I suggest japan-guide.com as an excellent resource.

You might spend that first night in Narita town rather than trekking into Tokyo. It is a pleasant town with a castle and pretty gardens and a street of souvenir shops and eating places. It would be a much more gentle start than Tokyo. It is one stop on the Keisei line.

There is a lot to see in Nara and around Nara, I spent three nights there, so would second kja's suggestion.

Another option I had was flying straight to Hiroshima upon landing in Narita and then just working my way back up from there. Would that be a good idea?

Having looked, that won't actually work for me with the timings I have.

I see that your itin fits with a 7-day JR Pass starting on the 12th.

thursdayd has an interesting idea. An option, depending on your arrival time, would be to stay at an airport hotel that is on the Narita town bus loop line (like the Hilton). You could do your JR Pass exchange at the airport on arrival day and have it activated for the next Or do the deal the next day.

You can get a cheap one-way flight to Osaka. Cheap enough at $39 to be throw-aways.

You can fly from Hiroshima to Tokyo Haneda for $100.

I would just go on to Hiroshima for the night of the 16th instead of squeezing your time down south.

From Nara you will have 4 hours of travel time. That doesn't include the street car to/from the Hiroshima PP & Museum. The next day you've a solid 6 hours on the train (something that I would never do) plus time in Himeji.

Another option would be to from Kyoto to Hiroshima and stop in Nara on the way back. Actually, this might be the best plan.

You have time for nightlife in Tokyo and Kyoto. It would be easy enough to spend the day in Kyoto then go to Osaka for some nightlife and return to Kyoto that night, assuming you aren't planning on getting hammered.

I just saw your recent posts. What time do you arrive NRT?

Simpler and nicer to stay in Narita town itself rather than an airport hotel. I stayed at the Richmond but there are others.

I arrive at NRT at 3.30pm. Thinking the 5.30 flight to Hiroshima would be a little risky

Is Himeji worth the stop off? If not, I would consider doing what mrwunfrl suggested and stopping in Nara on the way back from Hiroshima.

Alternative I'm considering:

11th May Tokyo
12th Tokyo-Kyoto
13th Kyoto
14th Kyoto
15th Kyoto
16th Kyoto-Hiroshima/Miyajima
17th Hiroshima-Himeji-Nara
18th Nara-Tokyo
19th Tokyo
20th Tokyo
21st Tokyo

Would I be missing out by skipping Osaka altogether?

IMO, yes, Himeji-jo is worth the stop.

I skipped Osaka altogether and have no regrets -- but of course, that also means that I can't really speak to the question. ;-)

I think this plan is an improvement.

Is two hours enough time to make a connection to Hiroshima? I would consider doing it that way, if so...

>>Alternative I'm considering:

I like it. Would you be staying the 16th in Hiroshima or Miyajima?

You could think about staying in Hiroshima the night of the 15th, leaving Kyoto after 6PM. I can recommend the Sheraton or Granvia hotels. Both are on the shinkansen side of Hiroshima station.

>>Would I be missing out by skipping Osaka altogether?

Definitely not. If you don't know what you are missing then you won't miss out. I did enjoy staying in Osaka and will be going back in April, but I have absolutely no regrets for not staying there on my first <u>seven</u> trips to Japan.

>>I arrive at NRT at 3.30pm. Thinking the 5.30 flight to Hiroshima would be a little risky

Ok. Are you flying ANA to Tokyo?

I'm not concerned that my itinerary for LAX- Osaka(ITM) has this:
Connect time in Tokyo, JP (NRT - Narita) is 1 hr 40 mn

I was writing when you made your last post.

What matters is that you would have separate tickets. If you were on ANA to NRT then it would be less risky.

That Hiroshima flight is part of a scheduled LAX-NRT-HIJ itinerary that can be booked on the ANA website. The LAX flight arrives 3:20 PM and they think you can make it.

Another flight option is NRT- FUKuoka. Spend the night there and activate your 7-day pass the next day. It's only 69 minutes from Hakata (Fukuoka) to Hiroshima on the shinkansen.

OTOH, there is no risk in missing a flight or having it delayed if you just take the train to Tokyo on the 11th.

>>activate your 7-day pass the next day.
Except that you might not need a JR Pass if you flew to FUK or HIJ.

Flying back from Hiroshima or Fukuoka would mean you could fly to Tokyo Haneda. You could just go straight to Kyoto from Narita Airport on the 11th, but it would be 4 hrs more travel that day.

I think with the combination of getting to the airports and worrying about timings, taking the train may simply be an easier option?

If I was to stay in Hiroshima on the night of the 15th, would you recommend still leaving there on the 17th?

I might head to Osaka just for an evening but come back on the same night.

Thank you for all your advice!

Would you recommend staying in Miyajima or Hiroshima?