mintcilantro

I know there are a few active threads on this topic (I'm following those), but did not want to ambush those, so posting a new one instead. I will look up individual threads for specifics but I'd like feedback on my general plan.

Background:
It's our first trip to Japan. It's definitely a dream for me and my wife as we have been talking about it for a while. We have done some travel: USA (most highlights), UK, Singapore, Bangkok, India and hope to travel more. So we seek experiences that are truly unique to the location and would rather not take the time to see EVERYTHING in the guidebook. We are interested in local cuisine(preferably vegetarian), architecture, live performance/music/culture experiences, natural beauty and vista points. We are value conscious travelers, we try to save on some things so that we can splurge on unique experiences.

Thanks to FT, I was able to collect a decent stash of US air miles, Hyatt points and Hilton free nights. I'm flying ANA J SJC-NRT

This is my plan for hotel stays
22nd: park hyatt Tokyo (booked @22k/night)
23rd: park hyatt Tokyo
24th: hyatt regency kyoto (cash and points)
25th: hyatt regency kyoto
26th: hyatt regency kyoto
27th: TBD ryokan in Takayama
28th: Conrad Tokyo (or should I spend more time in takayama)
29th: Conrad Tokyo
30th: Conrad Tokyo
31st: depart from tokyo



Some details that I hvae been able to put together so far

• 22nd: Arrive at NRT. Exchange JR voucher that I'll buy from www.jrpass.com. I'll also pick up SUICA and NEX round trip version for 5500 yen. Recover from long flight at Park Hyatt
  
• 23rd: Tokyo. Use SUICA card. Not sure which places to go yet. But likely national museum, imperial palace, akakusa, shibuya
  
• 24rd: Check out of PHT, first day of JR pass. Mid morning train to Kyoto from Shinagawa. Check in to Hyatt and visit nearby national museum. If time permits, later walk around Gion neighborhood
  
• 25th: Path of philosophy and higashiyama. TBD: kabuki show, kaiseki place, tea ceremony
  
• 26th: long day trip to Hiroshima/Miyajama . I looked into staying there but decided against it as changing hotels can be a pain.
  
• 27th-28th: Check out of HRK. I'm debating whether to go to Koya San or Takayama. I have to book a night stay depending on what I decide. Temple stay would be cool. I read Rengejo-in is great for shojin ryori. For takayama, I was considering Sumiyoshi: http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/r...okan=Sumiyoshi or Hida Takayama Temple Inn Zenko-ji
  Reach Conrad Tokyo late on Friday 28th. We plan on utilizing takkyubin service so that our stuff ends up at Conrad Tokyo.
  
• 29th: Sights around conrad.
• 30th: Last day of JR Pass. Trying to decide between day trip to Hakone/Kamakura/Nikko
  
• 31st: We have till lunch time in tokyo. NRT-SJC flight @ 5:35 PM. Will be using the return portion of SUICA NEX pass.

Some questions

• I have a good stash of avios, would it make sense to try to fly to Kyushu/Shikoku? Or the places I have are enough for a first trip to japan?
• I looked for guided tours but most seem to include hotels in the package. As a points traveler, are there day tours that pencil out? Most tours I checked were > 10k JPY/day
• Any places that would be different enough to warrant going there?
• Recommendations for great vegetarian kaiseki/restaurants? We would like to splurge for one or two dinners.
• Would it be better to stay in kyoto for day trip to HIroshima or stay in Hiroshima and then fly back using avios to tokyo?
• Can we fit a ryokan/temple/onsen in our itinerary, that's a little bit out of way but the price justifies the pain? I'd like to keep it <$200/night

I really appreciate your feedback.

ksandness

You've asked a lot of questions, but first I'll say that the Suica/N'EX ticket will take care of all your transit needs in Tokyo, so don't validate your JR pass till the day you leave Tokyo.

For the rest I have some random thoughts:

1. All the temples at Koya-san serve vegan cuisine. The trip there is scenic, kind of like the Appalachians. However, it may be a bit chilly in March.

2. Takayama is both scenic and a center for arts and crafts. with a folk village on the edge of town.

3. Nikko: north of Tokyo, mountains and temples, lovely countryside
Kamakura: within commuting distance of Tokyo, lots of temples, seaside and creaky little train to the island of Enochima.
Hakone: Visiting it on the same day as Kamakura might be kind of rushed. It's perfect for visiting as you travel between Kyoto and Tokyo, however.

a9504477

Hiroshima is possible as a day trip from Kyoto. Be aware though that it will be 2hrs+ travel time each way (just to Hiroshima) so booking a hotel near Hiroshima might indeed be an alternative.

abmj-jr

There is a fair amount to see in Takayama, including a nice little early-morning market, a restored historical district and a nice collection of small museums that are quite different from the usual "national" museums you see in the larger cities. Since several of these are actually part of shrine properties, the attendants are miko shrine maidens in their distinctive red and white garb. Many foreign tourists I saw just walked past without a word or glance but I found making the effort to simply smile or greet them often earned the reward of a beautiful smile and nice greeting in return. Those girls are eager to help, even though English is a bit limited. I had one actually close her station, ask another to cover for her and personally escort me a good quarter-mile to find an obscure pathway I wanted to try that was off the tourist track but on a local (Japanese) tourist map. All from my second- or third-grade level Japanese and smiling "lost tourist" look.

If your plan is to arrive in the afternoon and depart the next day before noon, I'd say a second night would give you a chance to walk and experience the city. Since you are a bit heavy on Tokyo nights, robbing one to stay up in the mountains another night might be nice. If you do, get to the morning market along the river before 8:00 am if you can. By 10 they are done. I got my best photos shortly after 7, while the morning light was still good and the crowds still light. I "paid" some of the merchants for shots of them working by buying some little souvenir-type thing from each for the family and was pleasantly surprised at how good the home-made sesame candy was.

The Takayama Matsuri is in mid-April so you won't see that but one of the little museums on the hill is a storage facility where you can view the famous giant floats they parade around the city during the festival. A few of the floats are also stored around the historic district in special "parking spots" where they can be viewed and photographed.

For the ride to/from Takayama, be sure to book the "JR Hida Wideview" rather than one of the other, local line trains. The Hida WV has tourist-oriented cars with huge windows that really allow you to enjoy the nice scenery.

In Kyoto, the national museum is right across the street from the Hyatt. It is a bit stuffy but there are 3 historic sites within a short walk that add some opportunities to stroll. Sanjusangendo is almost right next door to the hotel. Across the corner intersection is Chishaku-in temple and the famous Kiyomizu-dera is a short walk. March will be a little early for cherry blossoms and those trees will be a bit scraggly but plums and other flowering plants, trees and shrubs should still make the gardens nice.

I very much enjoyed that NH 787 flight to SJC in J the last time I was in Japan. Recommended.

Takayama Matsuri float museum, shooting through glass wall.




Candy shop owner, Takayama morning market.

evergrn

If it were me, I'd just do the day-trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima. But that's just me, and it's because I hate to pack/unpack out of different hotels and worry about towing stuff around. Get to Hiroshima by 9~9.30am and 3hrs there should be enough for you to see the Peace Park/Museum and then lunch at Okonomimura (for instance). Then you'll head over to Miyajima and spend a good 5hrs till early evening, checking out shops, ropeway up the mountain, down to the pier shrine (you'll want to be there for sure at high tide... if not both at low and high tides). I've done the Hiroshima/Miyajima daytrip from Osaka. Miyajima is gorgeous, so allow 5hrs+.

Hakone vs Nikko vs Kamakura: I'm partial to Hakone, but it depends on what you're looking for. I agree with ksandness that you can't really do Hakone & Kamakura on the same day.

Onsen: Takayama has some hotels with onsen, although it's not really an onsen town. The only place I've stayed at in Takayama was this place (http://www.takayama-gh.com) and they had decent onsen. I've also done Takayama as a day trip from Gero Onsen. Gero Onsen is a legitimate onsen town and there's a lot more options there. <$200 might be tight for two people at a nice onsen ryokan, but a sudomari option (no meals included) at a larger hotel with onsen might be available near that price range in Gero. You can also stop in at onsens without staying at hotels. I don't know if they still do this in Gero, but they had this thing where you pay like 1000 or 2000yen at the station and they give you this wooden amulet thing that serves as a day-use pass that gets you into any three hotel/ryokan onsens in town. Also, if you end up doing a day trip to Hakone, there's a lot of day-use onsens especially in Hakone Yumoto.

Btw, isn't Takayama still going to be really cold in March? I was there a few winters ago. It was brutally cold, and the town was dead. There were still some tourists, but nothing like how it is during the summer. I walked into this big wood carving type store, and I was the only customer and got suckered into buying a bear holding a salmon in its mouth.

abmj-jr

I don't know about that. I was there April 13/14 two years ago and did not find it particularly cold and the town was decidedly not dead. There was still a bit of old snow left in shaded corners but I was in shirtsleeves most of the time during daylight hours. Nights were brisk. On the train ride up and over the mountains to Kanazawa we passed through some areas that were still pretty much in winter but the train was comfortable. I can't imagine March 27 will be all that much colder.

evergrn

Ok, you're probably right. Maybe I was there like Jan or Feb.

manneca

I loved Nikko. The NYTimes has an article on the website. I'm on my iPad so it's hard to link. It may be cool in March tho.

RTW1

You probably have already booked your flight.... but a great option for such a relatively short trip is booking an open-jaw NRT/KIX. It saves you a train trip and might also save you some time. You might even have better options than a full JR pass, especially with all the Kansai passes that are quite cheap.

Your schedule looks a bit Tokyo heavy to me. I would prefer an extra night in Kyoto, especially of you are doing day trips from there. And things like a trip to Hakone and Mt Koya will get you out of the cities. But you can do and see plenty from where you are staying now as well....

mintcilantro

Thank you everybody for the feedback. I have decided to reduce my nights in tokyo to total of .

After reading about takayama, miyajima and koya san; I don't want to skip either of those. So I'll sacrifice tokyo time for them.

I got carried away with getting more value out of my points. I'll keep my park hyatt reservation but use the hilton free nights on another trip.