My visit to Fushimi Inari was short and limited to the lower regions, but I loved what I saw! I do remember a fair number of stairs, though, if that matters. Fushimi Inari is also between Kyoto and Nara, and again, there are lockers at the train station -- or there were when I visited.

I'm not sure why you object to stopping en route, but I found it particularly easy to do in Japan because of its excellent luggage-forwarding option, takuhaibin -- it made it easy for me to use just an overnight bag when doing so suited my purposes. So, I stopped at both Uji and Fushimi Inari after I left Nara and before I reached Kyoto. (How I hate backtracking!)

Most of my walk to Kasuga Taisha was far enough after sunrise that the light from the sun was stronger than the light from the lanterns, so haloes weren't a problem, or at least they weren't for me. But there was still some morning mist, which gave the walk an ethereal evocativeness.

Update: I'm now booked into the Mitsui Garden Hotel Shijo in Kyoto (lower rate turned up on booking.com) for four nights, and the Toyoko Inn in Nara for three nights.

I'm now working on the Shikoku and Kyushu section (have decided I don't have time for Okinawa) and have run into problems with the flight to Narita in November. Both Peach and Jetstar show NO availability after October 29th. Should I believe that they are really sold out for November and December, or do they not book this far out? The prices I'm seeing on the "main" airlines for Fukuoka or Matsuyama to Haneda or Narita are way high.

>>perhaps provides better views?

Perhaps that would be the case simply because the boat is slower and you would have more time to take in the view!

Here is a different link to the site I linked to above.
http://setonaikaikisen.co.jp/language/en/index.php

You can see the pictures of three boats on that page.

I took the faster/expensiver super jet boat. The scenery at sunset was gorgeous - until it got dark and then I watched Kyushu Bassho on the TV. There is little, if any, way to go out on deck.

The middle boat is a car ferry and might be the boat JNTO mentioned and/or the boat the someotherguy took. If you can go out on deck it might make for a more pleasant cruise.

"I'm now booked into the Mitsui Garden Hotel Shijo in Kyoto" -- that seems a bit further west than I would have liked, but I'm sure it depends on your goals. I stayed just a couple of blocks from the river and a bit further north. That said, I'm sure others know MUCH more than I about locations within Kyoto....

>>more time to take in the view!

OTOH, the view is of islands in the sea. At some point you might get to where you have had enough but more to come.

"Perhaps that would be the case simply because the boat is slower and you would have more time to take in the view!"

That, along with the option to go outside, was what I was thinking. But I do need to remember that I get bored on boats...

"but I'm sure it depends on your goals"

At this point it depends a lot on what's available and at what price. Doesn't seem to be much choice in Kyoto for my dates.

We took the slow boat from Hiroshima to Matsuyama. The sights were beautiful but I kept seeing a hydrofoil (fast boat) zip by our slow ferry boat every 1/2 hour or so. Definitely would take the fast hydrofoil if I were to do again. You see the same sights in either.

Peach and Jetstar sell 6 months out IIRC.

A friend of mine who used to be a waiter at the Hyatt Kyoto now teaches English in Uji. Strange as he is from Oahu and grew up near the Byodo-In here which is a replica of the one in Uji. That said you can do both Uji and Fushimi Inari in a day trip from Kyoto or on the way to Nara.

I like Toyoko Inns. I love Dormy Inns :)
Also try looking at Comfort Inns in Japan. Same as in the States and worldwide but Japanese at heart. Similar to Toyoko Inns in price and offerings but rooms seem larger.

https://www.choicehotels.com/comfort...1-f8ef013bd2ff

Aloha!

If it's six months out I have a problem. Both airlines are show no availability for any route I might want after Oct 29. The "main" airlines are over $300 and nearer $400 for some routes.

I think it's a bit early for Peach - if you sign up for their newsletter you will be notified when the next sale period is. My last email was 5/19 and it advertised a sale for 6/1 - 10/29....so the next email might have your dates....

I used them twice in 2015 - once to Seoul and once to Sendai and bought my tickets a little over three months in advance.

I stayed in the Nara Comfort Inn a few years ago and others from time to time. The only annoying thing for me was you can't accumulate Comfort Inn points by staying in the Japanese ones but if you have enough points you can use them for a free room there....

Thanks Mara, will do! I'm flying Peach from Seoul to KIX, looks like I will fly them Fukuoka to Narita. I was thinking of reversing the order of Shikoku and Kyushu, since Yamaguchi is closer to Fukuoka, but that would mean flying Jetstar and I was totally unable to get their website to sell me a ticket out of Seoul.

I think I will take the train from Yamaguchi to Kochi, even though it means backtracking, and take the ferry from Shikoku to Kyushu.

>> train from Yamaguchi to Kochi

I would be sure to choose a train that would get to Shikoku before dark in order to take in the view from the Seto Ohashi bridges.

No question about that! I don't like arriving after dark. I didn't get a very good view from the train traveling over the bridges going north last time, though.

Arashiyama is a wonderful day. The Sagano bamboo garden walkways are very cool, hearing the sound of the very tall bamboo knocking together as the trees sway in the wind. We also went across the river bridge to the monkey place. I would not actually do that again, the monkeys can be aggressive and I found it scary.

Do not miss Fushimi Inari. It is a very special place. And the street from the train station to the shrine is lined with places to eat and outdoor grills where they grill a certain kind of bird that looks like a quail, but I have forgotten what they are called.

Are you going to be in Kyoto on any of the market days? We loved both of the ones we went to.

Ohara is very special also. My day there still makes me get misty, just thinking about it. A magical, lovely place.

Thanks. If you had to choose between Fushimi Inari and Ohara, which would you choose?

Between Fushimi Inari and Ohara, I personally would go with Fushimi Inari because (a) it would add greater diversity to the scope of your experiences and (b) Ohara would, I think, require a commitment of a least 1/2 day (or more!), while you can see some awesome parts of Fushimi Inari in just an hour or so. JMO.

(Oh dear! I must have inadvertently typed over the first sentence of the above post, which said: "I look forward to hearing what emd3 says! FWIW:" Sorry about that!)

For visitors to Japan, there's a 500Y bus from Hiroshima to Matsue http://www.visit-matsue.com/pdf/One_coin_Matsue.pdf
Quite a deal.

BTW. I learned this from Flyertalk--owned by the company that has just bought Fodors

Interesting! Hadn't heard about the sale, so looked it up.

"Although Internet Brands will take ownership of Fodor’s content, it will continue to use Penguin Random House to print and distribute physical guidebooks.

“For Fodor’s to now reach its fullest e-commerce potential we believe the best path forward is for it to become part of Internet Brands,” Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House, said in the same statement."

Random House is NOT selling Rough Guide and DK Eyewitness. Wonder why they chose to sell Fodors? Hope this will not lead to changes for the worse with the forums... (Can things of some changes for the better.)

Also, was not aware Flyertalk talked about anything besides flying. Will have to take a look.

Interesting news about the sale of Fodor's! Thanks for the info.