j'etais aller au japon il y a bientot 10 ans (I don't really remember) et avec ma femme avons achete des billets pour Narita via une promo sympa.

Day 1 - tokyo
Arrival at Tokyo mid afternoon (landing at 15:00)
Go to a weekly mansion around ueno (our base while in tokyo) and stroll around

Day 2,3,4 - tokyo
there are many things to visit and do in tokyo, we may not do them all but it looks like we have the following on the list:
tsukiji, akiba, shibuya, shinjuku, harajuku, ameyoko, roppongi, asakusa, sensoji, chureito, sony building, tokyo metro building, Mori tower, Ginza, Ueno)

Day 5 - Yokohama, Kamakura
quick visit of Yokohama and china town, go to Kamakura and check daibutu and the beach. back to tokyo

Day 6 - Hakone
visit hakone and more specifically tenzan hot springs, owakudani, enjoy Fuji-san and shrines around. back to tokyo

Day 7, 11 - Kyoto
Activate JR Pass and go to Kyoto. Go to our accomadation (most likely to be Fujiya ryokan, our base during our stay in kyoto) and visit things like the canal walk, kiyomisudera, nishiki, higashiyama, gion, fushimi inari, sanjusangendo, arashiyama, gingakujim kibngakuji, ponyocho

Day 8 - Nara
day trip to Nara. check out the nara park, todaijim, isuien garden and of course nara machi. back to Kyoto

Day 9 - Kanazawa
day trip to Kanazawa. visit the city and enjoy kenrokuen. back to Kyoto

Day 10 - Osaka
day trip to Oasaka. check the castle, minami district, the aquarium maybe, or even koyasan. back to kyoto

Day 11, 7 - Kyoto
see day 6. go back to Tokyo in the afternoon

Day 12- Nikko
From our weekly mansion. go to nikko for a day trip

Day 13 - Tokyo
Stroll in Tokyo

Day 14 - Tokyo, Narita
Hang out in the morning, go to Narita for a mid afternoon flight back home.

What do you think, do durations make sense? I am thinking I may be spending to much time in Tokyo, but at the same time it seems only to make sense for a 7 day JRrail pass.

Also if you can comment on the fact that we will be traveling in end of february...maybe bad weather or cold blast...perhaps temperature differences between tokyo and kyoto? we are thinking of takayama but it might require a full night stop to really enjoy - or not depending on the snow.

Clearly a nice program! Of course it stays mostly on the beaten tracks, but in February, this might be a good idea

However, I would suggest you to limit the "day-trip" visits where you spend most of your time in the trains. Specifically, Kanazawa (day 9) and Nikko (day 12). Kanazawa is especially interesting for the garden, which will not be so attractive in February; too much of a hassle for little time to enjoy there in my opinion. Nikko can be nice in winter, but again, after Nara, Kyoto and Kamakura, Nikko is not that great and going around under the snow can be difficult.

For day 10, you will have to choose between Osaka and Koya-san; no way to do both...

Temperature will probably be more of less similar in those cities, but it would be colder in Takayama. Again, the distance is long if you can just stay there one night, and I would not recommend it. It might be more interesting to overnight in Hakone, to enjoy at least one night out of the largest cities.

voici une petite mise a jour de mon itineraire pour ceux que ca interesse. j'inclus les options de transport avec prix et duree. il y a une petite fourche au jour 11, ou on peut soit retourne a Tokyo ou aller a Hiroshima.

Day 1 - Tuesday Feb 21 - tokyo
Arrival at Tokyo mid afternoon (landing at 15:00)
Activate JR Pass, take the train to Ueno.
Go to a weekly mansion around ueno (our base while in tokyo) and stroll around

1:JR [2740Y]- Narita T1>Narita Express>Tokyo Stn (basement level)[62min]> !Change Yamanote>Ueno[7min]
2:Keisei Skyliner [2400y]- keisei skyliner 32 > KeiseiUeno[46min] > !walk to Ueno[7min]

Day 2,3,4 - Wed-Fri Feb 22,23,24 - tokyo
There are many things to visit and do in tokyo, we may not do them all but it looks like we have the following on the list:
tsukiji, akiba, shibuya, shinjuku, harajuku, ameyoko, roppongi, asakusa, sensoji, chureito, sony building, tokyo metro building, Mori tower, Ginza, Ueno)

Day 5 - Sat Feb 25 - Kamakura, Yokohama
go to Kamakura and check daibutu, temples and the beach. visit of Yokohama in the evening and china town, back to tokyo.

To Kamakura
1:JR[890Y] - Ueno>Shimbashi[11min] >!change JR Yokosuka-sen>Kamakura[52min]

To Yokohama
1: JR Yokosuka-sen[330Y] - Kamakura>Yokohama[24min]

Day 6 - Sunday Feb 26 - Hakone
visit hakone and more specifically tenzan hot springs, owakudani, enjoy Fuji-san and shrines around. back to tokyo. pack lighter for Kyoto.

use Odakyu Hakone Free Pass from Odawara [3900Y] all included.

To Odawara
1:JR [2860Y] - Ueno[JR yamanote)>Tokyo[8min]>!change track10 LTD Exp Odoriko 101>Odawara[64min]
2:JR [2860Y] - Ueno[JR yamanote)>Shinagawa[18min]>!change LTD Exp Odoriko 101>Odawara[57min]


Day 7 - Monday Feb 27 - Kyoto
Go to our accomadation (most likely to be Fujiya ryokan, our base during our stay in kyoto) and visit things like the canal walk, kiyomisudera, nishiki, higashiyama, gion, fushimi inari, sanjusangendo, arashiyama, gingakujim kibngakuji, ponyocho

From ueno
1:JR [13020Y] - 7:14 ueno>tokyo[8min, JR Yamanote]> !walk track 15 >Kyoto [162min, Shinkansen hikari 503]
From Odawara
1:JR[11550] - 8:09 odawara>Kyoto [126min, Shinkansan hikari 503]

Day 8 - Tuesday Feb 28 - Nara
day trip to Nara. check out the nara park, todaijim, isuien garden, deers and of course nara machi. back to Kyoto

1: JR [690Y] - Kyoto>Nara [64min, JR Nara Line Local

Day 9 - Wednesday Feb 29 - Kanazawa
day trip to Kanazawa. visit the city and enjoy kenrokuen. back to Kyoto

1:JR[6710Y] - Kyoto>Kanazawa [127min, Ltd. Exp Thunderbird 1]

Day 10 - Thursday March 1- Osaka
day trip to Oasaka. check the castle, minami district, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, the aquarium maybe, or even koyasan. back to kyoto

1:JR[1680Y] = Kyoto>Osaka [28min, Ltd. Exp Biwako OR Ltd Exp Super Hakuto]

Day 11 - Friday March 2 - Kyoto
see day 6. go back to Tokyo in the afternoon

1: JR [13220Y] Kyoto>Tokyo, track 15 [161min, Shinkansen hikari 528]> !change >Ueno [7min, JR Keihin-tohoku/negishi]

Day 11 - Friday March 2 - Hiroshima
Go to hiroshima, visit city. Go to miyajima. go back to tokyo in the afternoon

1: JR [10790] Kyoto>Hiroshima [105min, Shinkansen Hikari 491]

1: JR[18050Y] Hiroshima>ShinOsaka [89min, shinkansen sakura 572]> !change >Tokyo[167min, shinkansen hikari 532] > !change >Ueno [7min, JR Keihin-tohoku/negishi]

Day 12- Saturday March 3 - Nikko
From our weekly mansion. go to nikko for a day trip

1: JR [3900Y] - Ueno>Omiya,Saitama[26min, JR Takasaki-sen]> !change LTD Exp Nikko>Tobunikko[87min]> !walk> Nikko[6min]
2: JR [5230Y] - Ueno>Utsonomiya[45min, Shinkansen tsubasa 123]> !change from track 1 to 5 > Nikko [45min, JR Nikko-sen

Day 13 - Sunday March 4 - Tokyo
Stroll in Tokyo - shopping day.

Day 14 - Tokyo, Narita
Hang out in the morning, go to Narita for a mid afternoon flight back home.