Preliminary day trips for 30 day trip starting March 21
Sep 1st, 2018, 06:31 PM
#1
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Preliminary day trips for 30 day trip starting March 21
Using the advice to-date from this forum (thank you), I decided about the itinerary. I have hotel reservations in 6 locations, as we do not like to move too often and like to have reservations before our trip. There are more places than we can go to for day trips, so I am trying to select them, taking into consideration the following:
- are not into shopping, but love to go to local markets
- are just walkers, are not hikers or bikers
- are not trying to see everything (all shrines, temples, castles, etc.) and cram too many things into each day, running from place to place.
- would like to avoid complicated and time consuming routes (transfers, having to go from one station to another one, combinations of train, bus, or multiple buses, etc.).
Obviously we will take into account the weather and have enough flexibility to make changes as needed when we get there, but want to be prepared. The information I have about transportation for day trips is preliminary.
1. Tokyo (6 nights, 5 days): day trip maybe to Nikko, if we are not too jet lagged and had enough of Tokyo
2. Kyoto (11 nights, 10 days): 4 days for day trips: Nara, Omihachiman, Himeji & Kobe, maybe Osaka. Based on preliminary reading about Kyoto, I want to spend probably 6 days in the city and its surroundings.
3. Okayama (5 nights, 4 days): 3 days for day trips: Kurashiki, Takamatsu, Kojima, maybe Naoshima or Hiroshima. Naoshima (maybe Myajima) looks interesting but transportation looks complicated.
4. Kanazawa (4 nights, 3 days): 2 days for day trips: maybe Takayama on April 14 for the festival (limitation: only 1 bus each way shown now for the shortest trip - 2h 15 min and the train doesn't appear to be any better), Shirakawa-go or Gokayama
5. Karuizawa (3 nights, 2 days) - 1 day for a day trip: maybe Usui Pass Observation Platform if a nice day. This being the last stop we want to be in a relatively peaceful place and take it easy.
6. Narita (1 night) before the return trip
Any comments or suggestions re. day trips in the context of our considerations would be appreciated.
- are not into shopping, but love to go to local markets
- are just walkers, are not hikers or bikers
- are not trying to see everything (all shrines, temples, castles, etc.) and cram too many things into each day, running from place to place.
- would like to avoid complicated and time consuming routes (transfers, having to go from one station to another one, combinations of train, bus, or multiple buses, etc.).
Obviously we will take into account the weather and have enough flexibility to make changes as needed when we get there, but want to be prepared. The information I have about transportation for day trips is preliminary.
1. Tokyo (6 nights, 5 days): day trip maybe to Nikko, if we are not too jet lagged and had enough of Tokyo
2. Kyoto (11 nights, 10 days): 4 days for day trips: Nara, Omihachiman, Himeji & Kobe, maybe Osaka. Based on preliminary reading about Kyoto, I want to spend probably 6 days in the city and its surroundings.
3. Okayama (5 nights, 4 days): 3 days for day trips: Kurashiki, Takamatsu, Kojima, maybe Naoshima or Hiroshima. Naoshima (maybe Myajima) looks interesting but transportation looks complicated.
4. Kanazawa (4 nights, 3 days): 2 days for day trips: maybe Takayama on April 14 for the festival (limitation: only 1 bus each way shown now for the shortest trip - 2h 15 min and the train doesn't appear to be any better), Shirakawa-go or Gokayama
5. Karuizawa (3 nights, 2 days) - 1 day for a day trip: maybe Usui Pass Observation Platform if a nice day. This being the last stop we want to be in a relatively peaceful place and take it easy.
6. Narita (1 night) before the return trip
Any comments or suggestions re. day trips in the context of our considerations would be appreciated.
Sep 1st, 2018, 08:43 PM
#2
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Should be nice!
IMO, Miyajima is delightful, and the travel logistics aren't as difficult as they sound, but trying to see Miyajima as a day trip may not be the best option (I recommend spending a night there, but understand that doing so would not be consistent with your preferences), and trying to combine it with Hiroshima on a single day trip would, I think, make for a very long, exhausting day.
You might end up wanting a second day trip to Nara, which holds a wealth of things to see and experience.
Nikko is well worth considering, as is Kamakura.
Enjoy!
IMO, Miyajima is delightful, and the travel logistics aren't as difficult as they sound, but trying to see Miyajima as a day trip may not be the best option (I recommend spending a night there, but understand that doing so would not be consistent with your preferences), and trying to combine it with Hiroshima on a single day trip would, I think, make for a very long, exhausting day.
You might end up wanting a second day trip to Nara, which holds a wealth of things to see and experience.
Nikko is well worth considering, as is Kamakura.
Enjoy!
Sep 2nd, 2018, 08:21 AM
#3
Agree that you might add Kamakura to the list for Tokyo (you might get lucky and see Mt Fuji), and Himeji can be done from Okayama. I would take some time from Tokyo and Kyoto so that you could spend more time in Shirakawa-go and Takayama.
I spent my last night in Narita town my last trip to Japan, better than staying at the airport.
I spent my last night in Narita town my last trip to Japan, better than staying at the airport.
