Since all of you FlyerTalk Japan experts are doing such a good job of answering my questions on Tokyo hotels I posted earlier, here is another one. I think I have my itinerary set for our 11 day trip to Japan but there are a few gaps/questions which I would appreciate some suggestions on:

Day 1: Arrive in Narita at 2:30 pm (coming from Hong Kong where we are starting our trip)
Days 2-4: Tokyo, with one of those days a side-trip to Kamakura or Nikko
Day 5: check out of Tokyo early and head to Takayama, evening and night in Takayama
Day 6: Takayama and maybe a nearby town in the Alps, some hiking
Day 7: check out of Takayama early and head to Hiroshima/Miyajima, get in some of the sites if time
Day 8: part of day in Hiroshima/Miyajima then head to Kyoto by late afternoon
Day 9-11: Kyoto, with trip to Nara - late afternnon on Day 11 travel to Narita hotel for flight out the next morning.

Questions: 1. We wanted to go to Hakone to get a better view of Mt. Fuji and take the cable car/gondola/boat ride - all the tour books talk about it. If we do, we would have to do it as a side-trip from Tokyo and eat up a good portion of one of our Tokyo days. Alternatively, we might be able to do it on the way to Takayama but that also would make for a very long day. We can't knock out one night in Takayama either as we need to be there on a specific night. Finally, given our itinerary, it probably is not worth it to bactrack there. I have heard varying things about Hakone. If we are not into the spa thing for a night, is it worth going to? Will we be able to get a reasonably good view of Mt. Fuji from Tokyo or the train from Tokyo to Takayama. I don't think we'll miss it if we don't.

2. Is it worth trying to stop in Kanazawa on the way to Hiroshima? Probably would make for another VERY long day.

3. Is it worth going from Takayama to Kyoto and then just doing a day trip to Hiroshima/Miyajima (as many tour groups do). We didn't want to be too rushed, however, and were thinking of staying in a ryokan in Miyajima as our one night to experience something other than a Western hotel.

Other suggestions/opinions? By the way, we will be using the Rail Pass and not driving (green vs. ordinary pass? - I've read the threads on this). I think we have our other accomodations covered although we are still finalizing some of them.