yeshekathy

Hi all, We are planning a trip to Japan in April. My husband and I (mature travellers who’ve visited Japan quite a few times) will head there first on 2nd April and then our daughter and 14 year old grand-daughter will arrive on 11th – and we all go home on 24th.

The time we are all together (11th – 24th) is pretty well decided and booked: day 1 stay Narita, days 2-4 train to Nagano pick up a car, stay Nagano, days 4-6 drive to and stay in Matsumoto, days 6-8 drop car back to Nagano early and train to Odawara for two days in Hakone. Then train to Tokyo and stay in a house we have booked in Oshiage for 6 nights before heading home.

I hope that sounds doable??

The part I have questions about is the time my husband and I are on our own. We arrive in Narita and stay the first night there to rest a bit (and enjoy Narita which we love). Then we have 7 nights before we need to get back to Narita to meet the girls there.

We really need some help with the plans for this time!

There are a few things to consider here:

We have been to Japan many times and visited many of the beautiful places; we are now in our seventies so hiking and difficult travel is not enjoyable; we do like to hire a car but the dropoff fees are rather high so we try to find a way to return it to the pickup spot; we love beautiful gardens, great temples, castles and village life especially with good food.

We were thinking of visiting both the Ise and Izu peninsulas, having not been there before, but we’re finding it hard to get a lot of information about them and wonder if they are good places to go in April?

Here is one idea we’ve been working on. Please tell me if it sounds like a good one or not? Or please suggest beautiful places we SHOULD investigate.

Arrive and stay Narita;

train to Nagoya and pick up a car,

drive to Ise and stay 2 nights,

take the car ferry from Toba to Cape Irago then drive up to Lake Hamana area to stay two or three nights.

Return the car to Nagoya and train to Mishima at the top of the Izu Peninsula, hire a car if we can and spend two nights there before getting a train to Narita to meet the girls.

Is this possible? Is it a good plan or can you suggest a better one? Will we find the things we really enjoy about Japan in these places? Or are there better places to go in that area?

Looking forward to your advice and suggestions soon?

mrwunrfl

All of the plan is doable.
Ise and Izu would be good in April
You mentioned castles. There is a nice one in Inuyama, short easy walk from the station and a garden with ochaya on the way. It is 30-40 minutes north of Nagoya.
I visited Ise as a day trip from Nagoya and saw that the area would be a nice place to visit for a few days.

japan-guide is a good place to start
Ise Travel Guide - What to do in Ise (japan-guide.com)
Lake Hamanako Travel Guide - What to see and do around Lake Hamanako (japan-guide.com)

Mara

I visited Inuyama-jo in 2016. When I got to the castle a person at the entrance asked me if I wanted an English-speaking guide - after a few minutes a lovely woman came and guided me through the castle as well as the near by garden. One of the many volunteer guides one either arranges in advance or finds along the way....And Inuyama-jo is one of the twelve original castles!

yeshekathy

Hi again,
We'll have a day or two after we return to Nagoya area. In February, would it be best to stay close and visit Inuyama-jo or go and stay near lake Biwa and visit Hikone and the other sites around the lake?
thanks

Mara

Originally you said you were going in April!
I don't drive so can't say how roads are in February. My one winter trip was mainly in Hokkaido and Tohoku where there is a lot of snow.
Hikone-jo is nice also and is another of the 12 originals. When I went to Hikone I arranged for one of the local guides, in advance, which as usual is great.

mrwunrfl

If it is February then I would look for a an ume matsuri (plum blossom festival).

From Inuyama, you could head north, up the river valley maytbe to Nakatsugawa and the Nakasendo. Or in a different direction to Gero Onsen or Takayama.

yeshekathy

oops I did mean April - got confused... we arrive 3rd April and leave 24th April.

mrwunrfl

April cherry blossoms at Yoshino, Nara-ken: Mount Yoshinoyama (Yoshinoyama Cherry Blossoms) - Yoshino Travel (japan-guide.com)

yeshekathy

Thank you - we did visit Yoshino for the cherry blossom in 2019 but were just a little early. My brother and his wife did the Kumano trail, we drove... stayed right in the middle of it all in a little house linked to a tiny monastery and then went down to the coast at Shingu to explore the beautiful coastline. What a truly wonderful area...