Quote:
Originally Posted by ChisaChi
These are all day trips my group will be doing on our trip to Japan, which is in just over a week. Just a few more last minute questions! All of these trips will be from our base in Osaka and then Kyoto.
Koya-san
I'm trying to convince the rest of my group to make a day trip out to Koya-san, because it looks fantastically magical. I'm just a little bit concerned about going in winter, because I've heard it involves a bit of hiking. Has anyone made the trip up there in winter? Or is it relatively easy (for people who are reasonably fit but aren't hikers) to get up to the temples and cemeteries? Does it look as beautiful in the winter as it does in warmer seasons?
Nara
How long does it take to see the main sites in Nara? The daibutsu is obviously on the list of things to see, but I'm not sure what else there is and if it can be done in half a day.
Koka/Koga
Anyone been to the ninja village/museum? Again trying to figure out if it's a whole day or a half day trip.
Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima
At the moment we have all three of these planned for the same day from Osaka, and because we need to get back to our hotel in Osaka before the trains shut down and the trips are pretty far. Our group isn't reeeeally interested in seeing a lot of Hiroshima since we have such a short trip (although I have heard it's a very interesting city and plan to check it out properly eventually), so we'll be doing our main sightseeing at Himeji castle and Miyajima. Is it possible to do this in a day, or is it a bit too ambitious?
Thanks!
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Koya-san: While there are pilgrimage hikes from the foot of the mountain to the top, most people just take the train and the cable car to the top. If you do that, the top of the mountain is a flat plateau and you should have no more trouble walking around up there than anywhere else. There are also buses, taxis, and bike rentals on top of Koya-san if you need them (and you should take the bus to get from Koya-san station to the cemetery, it's a bit of a hike otherwise, as it's on the other side of the plateau.) There are well over a hundred temples on Koya-san, so you should do a bit of research to find the ones you want to visit besides the cemetery. This page has a map and walking times between places:
The World heritage KOYASAN/Map of Koyasan
From Namba station in Osaka, it'll take you a bit over 2 hours on the Nankai-Koya line to reach the top of the mountain. When I was there, the cable car ride was included in the price of the train ticket, not sure if that has changed or not in 10 years. That will leave you plenty of time to see Koya-san if you leave early, but check the Koya-san station time table to see when the last cable car down the mountain is... I know it's much earlier than most trains stop running, about 9 PM or so, I think.
Edit to add: Koya-san in winter is still beautiful, and in fact, sometimes gets some snow up there too, which only adds to the magical feeling:
Nara: The park and the temples in it can be seen in half a day, no problem. You could probably even choose 1-2 other places to see outside the park, if they are close, to round out the full day. Nara is pretty close to Osaka, so travel time will not be too much (45-60 minutes? Not sure, I always went there from Wakayama, not Osaka). This site has a list of some things to see there, and a map:
Nara Sightseeing Spots and Map
Koga: Never been there, sorry.
Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima: All of this in a day is too ambitious. Getting to Himeji Castle and exploring it will alone take half a day. Then, traveling on to Hiroshima will take the rest of the day if you aren't using the bullet train. From Osaka, Hiroshima is at least 6 hours by regular express trains, and only 40 minutes by bullet train. What you could do is see Himeji and travel to Hiroshima, maybe walk around Peace Park that evening. Stay the night in Hiroshima, take the ferry to Miyajima, see it for at least half the day, and then head back to Osaka that evening. That would be a good 2 day excursion. When I stayed in Hiroshima, I stayed at a Peace Hostel that was inexpensive and run by very nice people... not sure if it's still in business, but maybe look it up.
If you are unable to dedicate 2 days to the trip, you may want to skip Hiroshima and combine Himeji with something much closer, like Kobe or Arima Onsen:
Kobe Travel: Arima Onsen (Arima Hot Spring)