Originally Posted by
FlitBen
Your itinerary seems ambitious in parts, at least for me. It would be doable if you are focusing on the high points. I like to experience things at an easy pace, so please take my views accordingly.
Firstly, you might be too worn out after Disney to stand any busy lines at SkyTree, in which case you might resort to a leisurely dinner in the mall.
If you have a geeky streak you might spend an entire day walking Akihabara. I would do Tokyo Dome (haven't been) and night time Shibuya/Shinjuku on another date,
You might squeeze in something after Asakusa before the cruise, perhaps the big department stores at Ginza, or Skytree if you missed it.
Kamakura and the rest are usually less busy on weekdays, whereas Ginza comes alive with pedestrian walks on weekends, so you might switch it with the Asakusa/Ginza run.
Kansai area with its spread-out sites is where your plans might get overwhelmed. Fushimi Inari can take hours to explore, same with the Kobe ropeway and gardens.
The parks and old streets of Kyoto and Nara could use 2 days. You would be balancing between these and aquariums, zoos, Shinsekai.
I would skip Osaka Castle for half a day at Himeji, followed by Kobe harbor then the Umeda area at night.
Dotonbori and Osaka's street arcades should be livelier on Saturday, you would be retiring to your hotel to ready things for departure anyway.
Yeah Skytree after Disney isn't concrete at all. It's one of those "if we have time and feel like it" deals.
The switchover stopovers are only due to maybe not being able to check into Osaka Marriott at check-in time (I heard Japanese are really strict about it).
The plan is to eat breakfast at Sakura early and catch the shinkansen around 7:30a.
about 3 hours for sumo and Nagoya Castle which should take us to around 12 to 1pm or so.
Kyoto would take us to around 4-5pm.
Kobe was added late and could be changed to be added to the full Kyoto day.
I really have wiggle room with a lot of stuff, especially if it doesn't involve buying a ticket for that day.
For instance, if I know it's going to rain a lot a specific day, I'll move Disneyland/Sea or USJ to another day. However, I want to avoid weekends for crowds.
I see Skytree's last entry is at 9pm so I can plan accordingly. Darkness, I heard, is around 7pm.
Lastly, I have no problem just flat nixing certain things I have no time for. I don't like rushing either. I don't plan on trying to hit a ton in Kyoto. The shrine and Arashiyama area are it.