Japan trip itinerary (advice needed)

[yukiya]

Hi !

I'm planning to go Japan the last 10 days of March to catch the Sakura season. I was wondering whether anyone can give me input on my plan:

22 : Arrive at tokyo Narita
23 : Explore Tokyo - use Tokyo 1 day pass
24 : Take train to Kyoto - use Kyoto 2 day pass
25 : Kyoto full day exploration
26 : Himeji (early morning) and Nara (afternoon)
27 : Return to Tokyo
28 : Depart to Hakone - use Hakone 2 day pass
29 : Return from Hakone to Tokyo
30 : Tokyo full day (International Anime Fair)
31 : Depart home

Is there any place where you think I should add or substract more days ? (but the total has to be 10 days)
I'm open to meeting people during this trip as I'll be travelling alone, so do let me know if anyone happens to be in the area ^^; It's my first trip to Japan, I probably could use any help I could get

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by yukiya

Hi !

I'm planning to go Japan the last 10 days of March to catch the Sakura season. I was wondering whether anyone can give me input on my plan:

22 : Arrive at tokyo Narita
23 : Explore Tokyo - use Tokyo 1 day pass
24 : Take train to Kyoto - use Kyoto 2 day pass
25 : Kyoto full day exploration
26 : Himeji (early morning) and Nara (afternoon)
27 : Return to Tokyo
28 : Depart to Hakone - use Hakone 2 day pass
29 : Return from Hakone to Tokyo
30 : Tokyo full day (International Anime Fair)
31 : Depart home

Is there any place where you think I should add or substract more days ? (but the total has to be 10 days)
I'm open to meeting people during this trip as I'll be travelling alone, so do let me know if anyone happens to be in the area ^^; It's my first trip to Japan, I probably could use any help I could get

See my post in the other thread... if there's any way to fly into and out of Kansai International rather than Narita, you should do it. It will save you a lot of time and hassle. I used a ju-hachi kippu to get from Tokyo to Osaka, and it was about 13 hours 1 way! Flying into Kansai instead will save you the all day trips to Kyoto and back to Tokyo you have planned for the 24th and 27th, giving you 2 more days in Japan. Osaka is not all that different from Tokyo if you want to explore a large Japanese city. Hakone is much closer to Tokyo than Osaka though... if you really want to go there, it'll take a while by train from Osaka. However, if you just want to see some of Japan's natural beauty, there are places much closer to the Kansai area, such as the Hida Folk Village in Takayama, where you can also go hiking in the Japan Alps. I can scan and post pictures of these places, if you'd like.

[yukiya]

ah, unfortunately the flight is the one that I can not cancel, because it was under north west airline special promotion (450$sg).
My reason for going Hakone is to get a good shot of Mount Fuji ^^ And I do hope sakura is at full bloom during that period. I have a good feeling it will for Tokyo, but I'm scared I might be too early for Kyoto =_=
I've never heard of Hida Folk village before, but hiking is probably a no no for me unless I can find company

[MMM]

If the goal is to see Sakura, I think that is a good plan. Himeji (Castle) and Nara in one day might be ambitious, but the sakura at Himeji Castle really are beautiful.

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by yukiya

ah, unfortunately the flight is the one that I can not cancel, because it was under north west airline special promotion (450$sg).
My reason for going Hakone is to get a good shot of Mount Fuji ^^ And I do hope sakura is at full bloom during that period. I have a good feeling it will for Tokyo, but I'm scared I might be too early for Kyoto =_=
I've never heard of Hida Folk village before, but hiking is probably a no no for me unless I can find company

Info on Hida Folk Village:



Takayama Travel: Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato)
Grab Your Fork: Takayama--Hida Folk Village
Takayama: The Folk Village
Takayama: Hida Folk Village

I have lots of pictures I took of the village and the huge 7 Lucky Gods statues there if you're interested, as well as the Japan Alps. The trails east of Takayama are not difficult, mostly flat ground along the river, not into the mountains at all. I'm not in good shape myself (I know I could never make it up Mt Fuji!), but these were easy trails in nice mountain scenery.

[samokan]

Nara and Himeji are on opposite side of each other.. it might be difficult

u need to choose between the two if you can't do it in two days..

if you choose nara, the best place to view sakura would be Yoshino, which have 30,000 sakura

Yoshino Travel Guide

you are coming in late march? hmm am not sure if sakura will be in full bloom by then though.. will see how the weather goes this year , it might be early , it might be late..

are by any chance going to use shinkansen between tokyo and osaka???

you can visit nara on the 26th , then go to himeji on the 27th then leave for tokyo from himeji ...

[MMM]

Originally Posted by samokan

Nara and Himeji are on opposite side of each other.. it might be difficult

u need to choose between the two if you can't do it in two days..

if you choose nara, the best place to view sakura would be Yoshino, which have 30,000 sakura

Yoshino Travel Guide

you are coming in late march? hmm am not sure if sakura will be in full bloom by then though.. will see how the weather goes this year , it might be early , it might be late..

are by any chance going to use shinkansen between tokyo and osaka???

you can visit nara on the 26th , then go to himeji on the 27th then leave for tokyo from himeji ...

30,000? No offence, Himeji, but I'd skip it and just do Nara...or do Osaka Castle and Nara in one day, which is a little more realistic. (Though the best would be to have more time...of course. The Great Buddha in Nara is one of my favorite things in the whole world.)

[samurai007]

I agree, Himeji is a fair distance from Nara, and Himeji Castle requires at least a good half day to see, while Nara takes a day at least. You could see Himeji and then travel to Nara, then spend the next day seeing Nara, and leave either that evening or the next day.

[yukiya]

Thank you all for the feedback !
My ambitious 26 march is to wake up at 6 and start heading Himeji (the castle is open at 9 am). The guide says to allocate 3 hours there, so I intend to head back by 12 and go straight to Nara (according to hyperdia, I will arrive at 14.11). At least I should still see the great Budha.

I'm putting my luggage in kyoto, so I will head back there after Nara. The reason I put the first two day Kyoto is because I would be using the city pass (plus the first day is just half day coz travelling from tokyo takes 8 hrs).
I didn't want to spend a night in Nara to avoid dragging the luggage (I'm a small built girl!).
The sad thing is.....bye bye Osaka, no time for thee =_= (I was considering whether to go Osaka instead of Nara since it's nearer from Himeji - in the end I choose the deer park).
Hm.....which is a better choice actually ?

PS: Yoshino looks stunning !! But then again, I'm worried whether I'd be too early

[hydegozaru]

Hey there,
Good thing you posted b4 me. I've got the NW ticket too but my travels start from 28Mar to 7Apr. I'm getting the 7Day JR pass for use from 29Mar - 4Apr. I intend to max the pass by heading to Kyoto for 4days, where I will also get the Kyoto day pass to use on buses. Then off to Himeji as a formality before taking the train back to Tokyo. With 2 more days left on the pass, I'm heading to Hakone / Mt. Fuji for 1day and Nikko/Kegon the other. The last 2 days i'm using the Tokyo Metro Tourist 2day pass (available at airport only) to go everywhere in Tokyo and I need to make sure I have enough change leftover for my bus fare back to the airport. I'm just hoping I can pull this off cuz I'm travelling alone and need all the advise I can get. But now I'm also wondering if I could visit Miyajima from Kyoto, then Himeji before returning to Tokyo. Is it very very far?
btw, if anyone's free to meet me and point me to cheap places for food, I will be eternally grateful. xx