Hi guys,

I'm going to Japan in May, from the 4th to the 21th.
This is my first trip to Japan and I really need your advices concerning my program :

04 May 2009 Tokyo
05 May 2009 Tokyo
06 May 2009 Tokyo
07 May 2009 Kamakura 1 day visit from Tokyo
08 May 2009 Hakone + Fujisan 1 day visit from Tokyo
09 May 2009 Kyoto
10 May 2009 Kyoto
11 May 2009 Kanazawa 1 day visit from Kyoto
12 May 2009 Nara 1 day visit from Kyoto
13 May 2009 Osaka 1 day visit from Kyoto
14 May 2009 Kyoto 1 day visit from Kyoto
15 May 2009 Kyoto 1 day visit from Kyoto
16 May 2009 Hiroshima
17 May 2009 Koya-San
18 May 2009 Nikko 1 day visit from Tokyo
19 May 2009 Yudanaka 1 day visit from Tokyo
20 May 2009 Tokyo
21 May 2009 Tokyo


I'm going to buy a JR Pass in order to travel. I'm not really sure about my trip to Koya-san. Takayama seems to be a good destination... what do you think about this guys ?

Hi Cyril,

I would recommend you to play a little with this tool : http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

You can get a better idea of the distances between the cities you are interested to visit.

While the beginning of your schedule is fine (you can only see the Fujisan from Hakone, you can't really approach it if you visit Hakone), the second part is impossible to handle...

You could visit Kanazawa from Kyoto on a day-trip, but it is pretty difficult, as the journey takes 120-150 minutes one way. Plus, most sights in Kanazawa are quite far from the station.

But let's jump to the end of the program. Hiroshima can be visited in 1 day 1 night, and you probably could go to Koya-san the following day. But you would arrive quite late there. I really would like to know how you intend to go from Koya-san to... Nikko in 1 day. The journey takes about 8 jours... Then, the following day, you want to go to Yudanaka, far inside Nagano prefecture. Not only it is difficult to go there in 1 day of driving, but without the car, I doubt it is possible.

Consider that, in your program, from the 15 to the 20, you basically do not get out of trains... and clearly won't see anything.

Thanks for your help. In fact, I think that I will have to make a choice between Kanazawa, Takayama and Koya-san.
What would be your favourite destination between those 3 ?

Thks

Here is my new schedule for my trip :

From Transport Visiting…
Monday, May 04, 2009 Tokyo
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 Tokyo
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 Tokyo 02:00 Kamakura
Thursday, May 07, 2009 Tokyo 02:00 Hakone
Friday, May 08, 2009 kyoto 02:20
Saturday, May 09, 2009 kyoto 01:50 himeji
Sunday, May 10, 2009 kyoto 02:00 nara
Monday, May 11, 2009 Koya-San 02:34
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Kyoto 02:34
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 kyoto
Thursday, May 14, 2009 Hiroshima 02:00
Friday, May 15, 2009 kyoto 02:00
Saturday, May 16, 2009 Takayama 03:00
Sunday, May 17, 2009 Tokyo 04:17
Monday, May 18, 2009 Tokyo 03:00 Nikko
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Tokyo
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Tokyo
Thursday, May 21, 2009 Tokyo

what do you think about this guys ? I know that I will have to travel a lot but I believe that this second program is more "feasible"...
Thanks a lot for your advices !!!

Cheers

This is clearly a much more feasible program

Personally, I would skip Nikko, which is pretty far from Tokyo and not that great if you do not have a car to drive around, especially if you already visited Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura (after a while, it makes quite a lot of temples). I would rather visit on of the places between Kyoto and Hiroshima... Or Kami-Kochi, not that far from Takayama... Or go to Takayama via Kanazawa...

But I understand that Nikko seems attractive for many tourists.

Thanks for your answer. In fact, you have a festival on the 17th & 18 th of May in Nikko, the 1000 samourais... That's why I have chosen this destination. I think this event might be interesting and spectacular for European guys like us.

Again, I deeply thank you for your help Sanji-san !! your awesome !

Cheers from France !

Then it makes sense. Hope to read from you here after you come back from Japan

Enjoy your trip!!