Seeking Feedback on Japan Itinerary: Okayama, Himeji, Hikone, Kanazawa
 

Hi Everyone!

We just got back a month ago from our first trip to Japan, and feedback from Fodorites during the planning stages was invaluable. So I’m again turning to you, and your wealth of knowledge, to help me with the finer points of itinerary planning for trip number two. This time around, our priorities are as follows: cherry blossoms, gardens, and castles. Our itinerary is also influenced by some of our best experiences we had at locations outside of Tokyo and Kyoto. For example, Takayama, which was the perfect size to experience in one full day; as well our stays in traditional lodgings in Hakone and Koyasan, where the outdoor activities could be enjoyed for a few hours, and then we could relax in a uniquely Japanese atmosphere. So here is what we have landed on so far:

• April 1 – 4: Tokyo for 3 nights – we saw everything we set out to see last time, so this time will be more about riding bikes through parks to see cherry blossoms, and just random exploring
• April 4: Train from Tokyo to Kyoto, stopping in Kamakura for 4 or 5 hours on the way there.
• April 4 – 7: Kyoto for 3 nights – again, to see the cherry trees, pick up a couple missed temples and gardens and explore the city.
• April 7: Train and ferry to Miyajima - (depending on cherry tree blossoming reports, we may stop for a couple hours in Himeji, just to see the castle outside, if the blossoms are at peak bloom, and return later to tour the inside).
• April 7 – 8: Miyajima ryokan overnight - Our plan would be to arrive by 1pm and depart the next day about 1pm, so as to take some hikes and do some relaxing.
• April 8: Okayama - Arrive about 2pm, explore Korakuen Garden, Okayama Castle (optional), overnight in generic hotel near station
• April 9: Train to Himeji, 4 to 5 hours for castle, grounds and lunch, train to Arima Onsen, arriving about 3pm, overnight in ryokan and relax in onsen.
• April 10: Train to Kanzawa, stopping at Hikone Castle for 2 hours to see cherry blossoms, arrive in Kanazawa about 3pm.
• April 10 – 12: Kanazawa for 2 nights (I’m thinking this will be our Takayama-equivelent this time around, even though it is about 5 times the size).
• April 12 – Train to Yudanaka, arrive about 1pm, 3 or 4 hours to see snow monkeys at Jigudani Park, overnight and relax in Ryokan in Shibu Onsen, where guests can use any or all nine traditional onsen in town.
• April 13 – Train to Matsumoto, arriving about 12:30. Spend day seeing castle and exploring the town
• April 14 – Depart Matsumoto about 11:00 and arrive at Narita about 3pm.

The schedule we have above is based in part on hotel availability. Last time we had no problems booking rooms in mid-May, but now that we’re going in prime cherry blossom season, rooms seem to be a lot more limited. My main questions are primarily about how to allocate my time from April 8 – 10.

1) Regarding my current April 8 – 10, is the timing allocated fine as is, or could we try see all of these places with only one overnight stay between Miyajima and Kanazawa, and then add more time to Kanazawa (if it warrants it). I think I would prefer the pace to be a bit more relaxed than frantic.
2) If we keep the same schedule as above, any better suggestions for overnights than Okayama and Arima Onsen?
3) In your opinion, is two nights enough time to see the main sights and get a feel for Kanazawa, given that we have an afternoon the first day and a full day the second?
4) If I’m able to squeeze a night out of the schedule, as described in number one above, and I don't add it in somewhere else, I also am thinking about maybe adding in a visit to the Kiso Valley, but I’m not sure where it would logically go. I suppose I could end with two nights in Matsumoto and do it as a day trip. This is not a must do, just toying with the idea.
5) Another thought I had for the April 8 -10 dates was to try to spend a night or two in Matsue, but there were no rooms available. As an alternative, I thought about staying two nights in Okayama, and doing Matsue as a day trip. The problem with this is that it is 2.5 hours each way, and I would be going primarily to see the garden at the Adachi museum, which keeps winning awards, but the train trips will eat up a lot of time. I would still want to go see the garden in Okayama and the castle at Himeji, so I would have to cut out Hikone. That would be OK, but I read that the cherry blossoms at Hikone bloom about a week after Kyoto, so the timing might be perfect for Hikone. So again, unless someone convinces me that this is possible, this is not a must-do either.

Any feedback or suggestions that you have is appreciated. Thanks!

Sounds wonderful, Russ!

And LOL, you asked questions about almost everything I flagged for your consideration!

So, here are some thoughts:

"stopping in Kamakura for 4 or 5 hours" -- you might consider giving Kamakura a bit more time, particularly because I would think it would be lovely during Sakura. I was there later in the year (May), and found more than enough to keep my happily busy for a very long day-trip from Tokyo.

"we may stop for a couple hours in Himeji" -- If all goes as planned, Himeji-jo should be open again by April of 2015, but do keep an eye on the progress! And FWIW, I thought the gardens just outside the castle -- Koko-en -- truly lovely.

"any better suggestions for overnights than Okayama" -- I don't know if it's any better, but FWIW, I stayed in Kurashiki, which I thought absolutely charming and quite unlike anything else that I saw in Japan. I spent 2 nights there -- I got there just in time to eat dinner and crash on my first night in Japan, took advantage of my early a.m. awakening to explore Kurashiki the next morning and then visited Himeji-jo and Koko-en during the afternoon; returned to Kurashiki in time for a lovely early evening stroll, spent some more time there next morning, and then visited Okayama's Koraku-en on my way to Hiroshima.

"In your opinion, is two nights enough time to see the main sights and get a feel for Kanazawa, given that we have an afternoon the first day and a full day the second?" -- I had 1.5 days in Kanazawa, and my greatest regret from my trip to Japan may be that I gave it so little time. I seriously wish I had given it at least one more (full) day. And FWIW, I enjoyed Kanazawa's Kenroku-en MUCH more than Okayima's Koroku-en, though that might simply reflect the time I was there. Also, while in Kanazawa, do consider making time for Nomura-ke garden - it was one of my favorites in Japan! :-)
http://www.kanazawa-tourism.com/eng/...de1_2.php?no=3

"The schedule we have above is based in part on hotel availability. Last time we had no problems booking rooms in mid-May, but now that we’re going in prime cherry blossom season, rooms seem to be a lot more limited." -- When I planned my 2006 trip, a LOT of hotels didn't post reservation options until 3 months in advance. I trust that others will jump in, but I honestly can't imagine that your options are THAT limited this far in advance. I could be wrong!

I'm green with envy. :-)

I really liked your trip report - don't know if I said that before....
I recently returned from my ninth trip to Japan so I certainly understand you wanting to go again.
Not really commenting on your itinerary, just want to say that if you don't know that the Adachi Museum garden is only to be viewed - one cannot walk through it. Maybe you know that already I was pretty surprised when I first read it but I went anyway -the museum is nice and the garden is fine to look at. But a really nice garden imo in that area is Yushien which is a 35 minute or so bus ride from central Matsue:
http://www.yuushien.com/yuushien/language/english.html
I don't know what type of hotel you are looking at but I often stay at the Toyoko Inn and you can only book there 3 months ahead (unless you are a member) and I can't imagine that Matsue hotels are full now for next April....

I would not be concerned with hotel availability now. Just plan out the itinerary that you want.

Going to Matsue is a great idea. The day-trip idea is a bad one. Matsue is a nice place to visit. There are a few sites to see besides the castle (your reading assignment for Matsue would include Kokoro by Lafcadio Hearn), sunset over Shinjiko, the shinjimi fishermen on the lake in the morning. If you go to Matsue then you really have to visit the amazing Izumo Taisha which is nearby. Matsue is def worth a couple of nights. This is off the Western-tourist beaten path. You should consider visiting Matsue seriously. Don't just go there to check-off Matsue-jo from a list of castles.

Rather than spending a night in Okayama, per your plan, I would just go on to Himeji for the night.

You could visit Hikone-jo on the way to Kyoto. I visited the castle there on a day trip from Osaka. Like Okayamajo and Himejijo the castle is not far from JR Hikone station.

You could skip Arima Onsen (I haven't been there yet) in favor of staying in an onsen ryokan closer to Kanazawa.

You've got a lot of stops. There are two three-night stays at the beginning and then a bunch of one- and two-nighters. This might make it rough at the end as you wind down. If you want to keep all those stops then consider Tokyo at the end. Or something. Take a domestic flight to help connect the dots. For example, after visiting Matsue I flew from Yonago to Nagoya to home.

A couple of other places to consider: Shirakawago and Yoshino-yama.

You would have some competition for lodging in Matsue from wedding parties staying there for ceremonies to be held at Izumo Taisha.

Thanks everyone for the feedback! As usual, you have given me a lot to think about. FYI, I forgot to mention that the other factor for my itinerary is the average peak bloom date for each area, as found on the Japan-guide.com (which I realize will vary). According to them, Tokyo peak bloom averages April 5, Kyoto April 7, Kanazawa April 11 and Matsumoto April 17, so I intentionally have Tokyo and Kyoto front loaded and Kanazawa and Matsumoto for the end. (I also found Tokyo to be a good place to adjust to the time zone, and am happy to have Kyoto earlier in the trip than last time, since we were pretty tired by the time we got there on day 10). I appreciate the info about the hotels not being available to book this far out. I was surprised to see so few available, but thought that the sakura must just be a really popular time. I'll keep checking hotel sites as we get closer, and probably post a revised itinerary like last time. Thanks again!

Thank you kja, mara, and mrwnrful for your excellent suggestions. I think I have settled on an itinerary for now, so I can stop obsessing for a few months, or at least until more hotel rooms open up. I have a revised itinerary below, which uses some suggestions from each of you. Sadly, I think I need to delete Matsue from my wish list, but that frees up more time for other things, so I’m fine with that (and it saves something for trip #3 :-) )

• April 1 – 4: Tokyo for 3 nights – Hotel Ryumeiken near Tokyo Station
o Ueno and Shinjuku parks for cherry blossoms
o Day trip to Kamakura to be able to spend full day. Thanks kja!
• April 4: Train from Tokyo to Kyoto, stopping at Hikone castle for a couple hours. Bonus points for having a hedge against an early sakura, since it usually reaches Hikone a week after Kyoto, but was early this year. Thanks mrwnrfl!
• April 4 – 7: Kyoto for 3 nights
• April 7: Train and ferry to Miyajima – if the cherries are at peak bloom, we may stop for a couple hours in Himeji, just to see the castle outside, and return later to tour the inside). Arrive by 1pm, so as to take some hikes and do some relaxing. Staying at Kurayado Iroha Ryokan.
• April 8: Leave Miyajima late morning. Train to Okayama to see Korakuen Garden. Overnight in Kurashiki . I managed to book the Ryokan Kurashiki, which is right on a canal. Kja, I have put my fate in your hands again…but I feel pretty confident it will be better than an overnight near the train station in Okayama.
• April 9: Train to Himeji, 4 to 5 hours for castle, train to Kanzawa, where I added an extra night.
• April 9 – 12: Kanazawa for 3 nights, giving us two full days. I booked ANA Crown Plaza, but will look more as we get closer.
• April 12 – Train to Yudanaka, arrive about 1pm, 3 or 4 hours to see snow monkeys at Jigudani Park, overnight and relax in Ryokan Sehshinkan Maysuya in Shibu Onsen
• April 13 – Train to Matsumoto, arriving about 12:30. Spend day seeing castle and exploring the town.
• April 14 – Depart Matsumoto about 11:00 and arrive at Narita about 3pm.

I’m sure I’ll have more questions a month or two before departure. Thanks again for your help!

"Kja, I have put my fate in your hands again"

OMG, reading that sent a jolt of fear into my heart! I appreciate your confidence in me, but all I can offer you are personal opinions based on a single trip! Thankfully, I am confident that people with far more expertise than I will jump in if they think I have steered you wrong. (I believe that translates as: I will take credit if you like my suggestion. I will blame others if you don't. ;-) )

I like your new plan (even the parts that include parts of Japan that I haven't seen yet). To put that differently: I am exceedingly jealous of your new plan!

Oops -- I just now processed the rest of what you said, namely, "but I feel pretty confident it will be better than an overnight near the train station in Okayama." Well, I should hope so!

(I believe that translates as: I will take credit if you like my suggestion. I will take no responsibility if you don't. ;-) )

Already looking forward to your trip report....

"but I feel pretty confident it will be better than an overnight near the train station in Okayama."

Never fear! I set the bar pretty low. :-)

You def want to visit Okayama-jo. Best way, I think is taxi from station to Korakuen, see that and then take the walking bridge over to the castle. After castle, walk a short distance and then take the really cool street car back to the station. Staying in Kurashiki is a nice idea tho it adds some travel time to the two day and of course you will want to spend some time there seeing the sights. You are passing right by Hiroshima. Did you visit there the first trip?

I see that there are a few Hikari shinkansen from Tokyo that go to Maibara. 0630, 0730, 0830 and then every 2 hours. From there it is 5 min on a JR local to Hikone. There is a tourist center at the bottom of the steps when you leave Hikone station. The tourist bus is just beyond that. The tourist bus make a few stops besides the castle but not interesting enough for me to get off. I walked back from the castle to the station (saw a pair of rainboes). Be careful about your train selection heading from Hikone to Kyoto. You can go back to Maibara and then shinkansen to Kyoto (34 min total) or JR Rapid (49 min) or JR local (63 min).

I don't get the idea of stopping at Himeji twice. I guess that is a tentative plan for now, and might work but am not sure about doing that and making it to Miyajima by 1PM.

Check the weather history for Kanazawa at that time of year. Am thinking rain and possibly cold.

Am pretty sure you will be traveling through Nagano station to get to Yudanaka. Stopping in Nagano to visit Zenkoji is well worth it. Maybe that on the day you travel to Matsumoto.

Thanks mrwunfrl! I'm sure our intinerary will change a few more times once other hotels open up and we have more options.(Who knows, we may end up adding Matsue back in!)

We will definitely see Okayama-jo along with Korakuen. Kurashiki is 16 minutes from Okayama station, and we were planning to stop there anyone, so I'm not worried about lost time.

We are on the fence about Hiroshima. I know that is sacrilege to some people, but we found from our last trip that anything that felt "obligatory" turned out to be our least favorite things to do. I'm sure we can squeeze in a couple hours for the Peace Park if we decide to see it while we are there.

Our tentative Himeji stop is solely in the event that cherry trees are past peak bloom and we feel that waiting two more days will result in missing them. If it's pre-peak then we won't need to do that.

Averate high temps for Kanazawa for those dates is 60 degrees, and it rained 10 days out of 30 last April, so it looks like we will have a 33% chance of rain, but at least being there 2 days instead of 1 doubles our chances of experiencing at least one clear day. We arrive there one day before the average peak bloom, so I guess I should not hope for warmer weather, or we may miss it entirely; although I suppose I could selfishly wish for a sudden 10 degree jump in temp the day we arrive :-).

Thanks for the tip on Zenkoji. If we don't see it on the way to Yudanaka, we can catch it on the way to Matsumoto.