Hi!
We are a family of five heading to Japan next April. I have included our planned itinerary. In previous travels we have had more success staying in places for a number of nights and daytripping, rather than lots of moving around. Does the itinerary look feasible (there are a few blanks - we want some flexibility) and is the 21 day pass our best fit? Thanks for any suggestions.
Day 1 Arrive Tokyo 8:00am - city sightseeing and checking into hotel
Day 2 Tokyo - day trip to Nikko
Day 3 Tokyo - Disney
Day 4 Tokyo - day trip to Kamakura
Day 5 Tokyo - Nagano (hot springs, Zenkoji temple)
Day 6 Nagano - day trip to snow monkeys
Day 7 Nagano to Kanazawa
Day 8 Kanazawa (Kenrokuen Garden, castle, Omicho Market)
Day 9 Kanazawa to Kyoto
Day 10 Kyoto
Day 11 Kyoto - day trip to Nara
Day 12 Kyoto
Day 13 Kyoto
Day 14 Kyoto to Mt Koya - temple stay
Day 15 Mt Koya to Osaka (Dotonbori, Hozenji)
Day 16 Osaka - day trip to Kobe
Day 17 Osaka - day trip to Himeji
Day 18 Osaka to Hiroshima
Day 19 Hiroshima - day trip to Miyajima Island
Day 20 Hiroshima to Hakone
Day 21 Hakone
Day 22 Hakone to Tokyo
Day 23 Depart Tokyo 2:45pm
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Comments
Looks good!
http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/nex/
As for arriving, a very cheap way from the airport is the 1000 yen bus.
http://accessnarita.jp/en/home/
For Hakone, the JR Pass only gets you up to Odawara Stn. From there, you can save money on a Hakone Free Pass.
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 Koyasan, get a Koyasan World Heritage Ticket.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_012.html
You can find accommodations on:
http://eng.shukubo.net/temple-lodging.html
After the temples of Kyoto close down around 5 PM, 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.
Most likely you'll catch some of Japan's beautiful cherry blossoms. If you have the chance, they are well worth seeing. Some famous places are at:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html
You can see previews of some of the best places to see in Japan on:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thejapanfaq/videos