Thought I'd share my itinerary in case anyone here has some helpful last minute tips or advice. Travelling to Japan solo next week. This trip is very much a bucket list item I've always wanted to do.

Arrive at NRT on JL F.

• Tues - Sat: Tokyo. Will plan to check out the main tourist sites plus a baseball game in Yokohoma on Fri night. Also booked a Great Cycling Tour.
• Sun: Arrive in Kyoto, booked at Kikokuso Ryokan
• Mon: More Kyoto all day, then head to Hiroshima in evening
• Tues: Hiroshima (Mazda tour booked in the morning then museums and whatever in evening)
• Wed: Head to Osaka in morning. Osaka sights.
• Thu: More Osaka, maybe a quick trip over to Nagoya for either Toyota or Asahi tours
• Fri: Leave for HKG in the morning

Some of the hotels i've chosen are the Hotel Park Side in Hiroshima and Hotel Montereyy Grasmere Osaka. Thanks to the advice in this forum, i'll be picking up a JR pass, exchanging travelers cheques at Narita for Yen and i'm attempting to book a pocket wifi through Global comm.

The only thing I haven't yet figured out is fitting in an authentic onsen (maybe Hakone or Arima) and there's a small part of me that wants to rent a car for a day and take a drive out to the countryside somewhere, but unlikely I will be able to fit that into my schedule.

Once I leave KIX I'll head to HKG. After a few days in HKG i'll finish things off with a trip back home in CX F (also a bucket list).

Sayonara!

One less day in Osaka, one more day in Hiroshima (time to see Miyajima, bomb museum-Peace Park). By the way, this is happening in what season?

On a short trip, I'd omit Osaka entirely and spend more time in Kyoto and Hiroshima.

Don't get me wrong. I like Osaka just fine. However, to the casual tourist, it looks like "more Tokyo." Its attractions take more time to discover.

Funny story. I've been given so much advice on either more/less time in Osaka/Hiroshima. Nobody can seem to agree. As of two days ago, I had more time in Hiroshima and less time in Osaka, but then suddenly everyone told me to spend another night in Osaka, so I added the 2nd night yesterday. That's funny.

I leave on Monday, so it's early September.

People who like cities, dining and nightlife invariably recommend more time in Osaka. Those who are more interested in culture, history and scenery go the other way and suggest more time in Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima. It depends on your interests which way to go.

For what its worth, I come down on the "one more day in Hiroshima" to allow a full day for Miyajima. If it were me, I'd also drop at least one of your Tokyo days and add it to Kyoto. Of course, I'd drop the Osaka stay entirely and just day trip there. With a Rail Pass, it is less than a half hour from Kyoto. I don't like changing hotels for little or no reason.

But again, YMMV.

When in Osaka, I highly recommend a trip to Nara. You will be glad you did!^

Given the limited time you have, I would skip this. If you're planning to be in Hiroshima, you could visit the Mazda factory instead.

If you could only pick one, any thoughts on taking a trip to Nara vs Arima?

Yes, Mazda I have booked. Agreed, Nagoya is a long shot but will keep in on my radar.

I know which one I'd go to but I'm confused that you'd even think of this as a dilemma, so I think it's probably better that you just look at some pictures and make up your own mind:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3558.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html