We need to make a choice on how to spend an additional three days after Tokyo, Kamakura, Mt. Fuji, Hakone, and Kyoto. Which of these two plans do you recommend: 1) Ginkakuji, Shijo, Arashiyama, Inari Umi and Momayama or 2) Kurashiki, Okayama, Hiroshima and Miyajima Island. We are going on an escorted tour so we don't have a lot of choices, however, these two options are available. They both sound so wonderful I am having a tough time deciding which to choose.

Bonour Evelyn,<BR><BR>Go for option 2 (Kurashiki et al.). Try to squeeze in a stop at Himeji castle if it is not already included. Make sur you can arrive in Miyajima during a high tide so you can see the temple gate "floating" on the sea. Option 1 is all inside Kyoto anyway and you can go there on your own if you have a free day.

It's so hard to get to do everything in a specified amount of time. It's been a problem on every trip I've planned, both with a tour and independently. It's a "forced" choice.<BR><BR>Himeji Castle is not included on the trip and since it is a 4 hr train ride from Tokyo I don't think we can fit in a visit. <BR><BR>We're not going to have a choice about what time to get to Miyajima to coincide with the tides. And we don't have the extra day in Kyoto to do Option 1 on our own. My friend is unwilling to move about without the security of a group so extending the trip a couple of days is not an option.<BR><BR>After having visited concentration camps and other memorials, Hiroshima doesn't have a lot of appeal and going there would be more of a tribute than a tourist site for me. Is visiting Kurashiki, seeing Torii Gate and the shrine worth all the travel time or am I better off just enjoying Kyoto? I don't think I could go wrong in either case, but I wondered what your personal preference would be since you have been to both.<BR><BR>Thank you for your comments. I have read your previous replies to other posters and found them to be extremely informative.

Florence, is Himeji Castle an hour from Kyoto by train? If so, we can use one of our Kyoto days to visit this surviving old castle. Thank you for your suggestion.<BR><BR>

Evelyn,<BR><BR>Yes, Himeji is about 1 hour from Kyoto, close to Okayama. This is why I suggested a stop there. <BR><BR>Kurashiki and the Inland sea are definitely worth the trip, the traditional garden in Okayama is a classic, and there is more to Hiroshima than the Abomb memorial, although it doesn't deserve many days as a tourist site. Miyajima island is definitely worth going to, the "floating" torii being but one of the attractions. The view from the temple atop the island is stunning, for example ...

I agree with Florence, Miyajama is very much worth a visit. We were there for only a day last month, so I am planning to go back to see the other places that I didn't get to in our short stay.

We are now convinced and will make the booking for Opt.2. It might mean that we don't get to Himeji Castle and Arashiyama, but we will see how the timing works when we are in Kyoto. Thank you Florence and Tsutomu. If we have to choose between Himeji and Nara, any preference?

Nara. Himeji castle is wonderful but doesn't compare with the temples and art in Nara.