Visit Japan next April -
Day 1 - arrive in Tokyo, travel to Kyoto for 4 nights' stay. Include a trip to the Miho museum.
Day 5 - Nara 1 night.
Travel to Miyajima for 2 nights' stay.
Day 8 - Osaka (to break the journey up).
Day 9 - Travel to Takayama for 2 nights' stay.
Day 11- Hakone 1 night
Day 12 - Tokyo 2 nights, 3 days depending on the flight.
Would the 7 days or 14 days JR pass be better?
Thank you.
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Comments
Since you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka during the day. After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5PM, you can zip over to Osaka for the evening. At night the city comes alive and has some great places to see, such as Dotonbori, plus the night views from the Umeda Sky Bldg and Abeno Harukas Bldg are wonderful.
On another evening, you could also go and see Kobe.
If you're going to Hiroshima/Miyajima, you might be able to fit in Iwakuni as well - it's just a bit beyond Miyajima, with its iconic historical bridge and mountaintop castle.
Aside from the Miyajima Itsukushima Shrine with the giant "floating" torii, the Daishoin Temple is also a must-see place. There are several other pagodas and temples, and climbing Mt. Misen offers a fantastic view over the island and whole area.
For Takayama, some say it's getting a bit too touristy. If you think so, you might try going to Furukawa about 15 minutes away by train. Fewer tourists, same vibe.
For Hakone, look into getting a Hakone Free Pass from Odawara Stn.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html
The Hakone Loop Course
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html
is a common way to see the area.
For Tokyo, there is a good 2 or 3 day subway pass.
http://www.tokyometro.jp/en/ticket/value/travel/index.html#anc03
You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos
Would it be better to do Hakone first, before Kyoto? I like your idea of Furukawa which seems to offer similar sceneries to Takayama but quieter. Would it be better to do that first after Kyoto and before moving to Miyajima. Which website should I use if I would like to stay in a temple in Kyoto which is convenient for rail travel? There seems to be a lot to see in Nara compared to Miyajima. Should I allow 2 days in Nara and just 1 day in Miyajima. What would be a good place to stop for a night between Miyajima and Tokyo or Furukawa (apart from Osaka)?
Many thanks for your time!
The order really doesn't matter so much, although seeing Hakone takes a full day, and may be better from Tokyo with an early morning start.
I really don't know of any website for a temple stay (shukubo) in Kyoto. I know of 2 places- Chorakuji and Shunkoin
http://www.kyo-yado.com/yugyo-an/top.html
http://www.shunkoin.com/
The latter is more English friendly.
Although for some places, you'd need at least some Japanese ability because they don't really know English.
You could also look through
http://www.kyo-yado.com/english/kyoto_stay.html
or ask the tourist info office in Kyoto Stn. I have not stayed at any shukubo, however.
You could see both Nara City and Miyajima in a full day. If you wanted, you could take 2 days and see Hiroshima City and Miyajima. For a place in between, one place you have not mentioned is seeing Himeji, with Japan's finest castle. The Kokoen Garden next door is very nice as well.