lavender567

Hi guys, I stumbled upon this forum today and got some great pointers. I really appreciate how everyone is so informative, so I decided to reach out for some specific help regarding my trip. My 30th bday is just around the corner (July 5th) and i wanted to do something amazing. So I decided to go to Japan! I am doing this trip independently with my boyfriend and was going to follow an itinerary created by a travel agent that we decided not to go with last minute.
The program consists of:
3 nights in Tokyo
1 night in Matsumoto
2 nights in Takayama
2 nights in Kanazawa
4 nights in Kyoto
My question is should we extend our stay in Tokyo, spend a night somewhere on our route to Kyoto and then just take day trips from Kyoto? I was thinking of visiting Nara, Himeji, Osaka, and possibly the bamboo forest in Arashiyama. I am dying to see a sumo tournament which in July takes place in Nagoya starting July 13th. I would also love to see some Gion Matsuri (Yoiyama) festivities which should take place July 14th-July 16th.
We are going to be in Japan from July 4th leaving July 16th. Do you guys have any suggestions for me? I need to start booking hotels!! I also want to see Mt Fuji. Should that be done as a full day trip or is it not worth spending so much time on since the snow on top of it will be melted and it will just look like a mountain haha : ). Thanks!!

ducky2

Very easy to do day trips from Kyoto, especially with Japan Railpass. Since you have only 3 nights in Tokyo, I would not do Mt. Fuji and most of time it is cloudy at top. You need to book hotels ASAP if going to festival. I found japan-guide.com an excellent resource for all things related to travel in Japan plus it has an excellent forum for questions.

kja

Hi, lavender567 -

> My question is should we extend our stay in Tokyo?

That depends on what you want to see and do, and whether 3 nights means 2, 3, or 4 days.

> spend a night somewhere on our route to Kyoto?

If there's a specific place you want to visit, that would be an option, but it depends on whether you would then have time to see anything there after arriving or before departing again.

> just take day trips from Kyoto? I was thinking of visiting Nara, Himeji, Osaka?

These are all reasonable day trips from Kyoto. When planning your day trips, keep in mind that there is a tremendous amount to see and experience in Kyoto and be sure to leave plenty of time there!

> and possibly the bamboo forest in Arashiyama?

Arashiyama is part of Kyoto; you can easily visit the bamboo forest while there.

> 2 nights in Takayama
2 nights in Kanazawa

You might consider changing one of these nights (probably 1 now slated for Takayama, but that will depend on transportation times) to Ogi-machi.

Ducky2 has given you some excellent advice. I second the recommendation for you to check out japan-guide.com

Hope that helps - and enjoy your birthday!

lavender567

Thanks for the reply : ). I was wondering if we decide to skip staying the night in Matsumoto but decide to make a stop there could we can leave our luggage in the train station and then pick it up when we are ready to go to Takayama?

lavender567

That was a lot of help kja! Do you know anything about Nagoya? How long of a train ride is it from Kyoto? I am dying to see a sumo tournament match which starts july 13th in Nagoya. I planned to be in Kyoto on the 13th of july (leaving the 16th).

kja

Hi again, lavender 567 -

There are luggage lockers at most train stations in Japan, but large ones are far less common than small ones, so whether it is an option for you will depend on how much luggage you have. You can also arrange to forward luggage from one place to another. See:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2274.html

Also, I believe that most people got to Matsumoto to see the castle there. If you are planning to visit Himeji, you might consider skipping Matsumoto.

I didn't go to Nagoya, but I see that hawaiiantraveler responded to your other post.