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07-31-2008, 06:03 AM
Looks like a great trip! A few points: Koyasan: You mention the bus both coming and going from Koyasan. It's pretty easy to walk everywhere on Koyasan, though you can take the bus to save time. If you do, it'll only be for a few stops, maybe a 5 minute bus ride. It's hardly worth mentioning.
 The cable car fare is included in the train fare, and that takes you to the top of the mountain, which is the hard part. Walking around on the plateau isn't very hard. Be sure to visit Okunoin cemetery while you're there (early morning with the rising sun streaming through the trees is best, IMO)!Also, when you go to Takayama, see if you can find the time to visit the Hida Folk Village. Have you booked places to stay in each night? Most places you can just walk around and find a place without reservations, but it can be very hard to find a place to stay on Miyajima Island itself... most people stay in Hiroshima and take the ferry across just to visit Miyajima. And I don't recall a hotel in Kamikochi, though it has been many years and my memory of the surrounding area is fuzzy (and they may have built some places to stay in the past decade too). But I left Takayama early in the morning by bus, hiked in Kamikochi all day, and then caught the bus again and continued on to Matsumoto, where I spent the night. The next day I explored Matsumoto Castle and the city a bit, and then headed for Tokyo. Depending upon how much hiking you want to do there, you may be budgeting a bit more time than you'll need there. What I did instead of spending multiple days in Kamikochi was to visit Kanazawa and the famous park there, before heading to Takayama/Hida. It was a very interesting contrast IMO between the beautifully manicured and designed gardens/park in Kanazawa and the wild, untouched beauty of the Alps 2 days later. Finally, if possible, I'd recommend taking one of the days in Tokyo to head north a little ways and visit Nikko. It has a highly ornate and impressive temple complex that is the home of the "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys", and other sites as well. Well worth a visit, somewhat different style than many other temples in Japan. 
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much thanks -
07-31-2008, 11:18 PM
thanks samurai007
your advice is most welcome I think your advice on Nikko is sound i will certainly check out kanazawa appreciate the tip on the hida folk vilage some times it a little recommendation that results in a great day
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08-01-2008, 01:54 AM
Quote:
Quote:
As for the rail pass, I took a look at the fares from Osaka to Hiroshima and back to Kyoto, and the additional 12,600 yen per person for the 3 week instead of 2 week pass is probably worth it. You might save a little money by just buying tickets for those days and buying a 2 week pass, activating it later in the trip, but it probably wouldn't be very much (and the smaller tickets, such as to Himeji, to the Miyajima ferry station, etc would almost certainly consume most of that). If you were there just 1 week earlier, you could use a ju-hachi kippu for those days instead of the regular tickets, and then you'd save more money (if you were traveling with at least 1 other person, since you can split the ju hachi kippu among multiple people), but they are only valid during vacation times, which means the summer one ends Sep 10th.
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08-05-2008, 03:14 AM
Thanks for the tip about the Yokohama Jazz festival. I may just go to that.
Good idea for Hiroshima and Miyajima. Staying on Miyajima will be better than in Hiroshima. Make sure you go to the top of the mountain to see the monkeys and the great view of Hiroshima city and other islands. You can see some photos on my blog. If you have time try to view Hiroshima castle and the view from there will give you some perspective on the city.
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