I did similar trips in early 2000...

While in Kyoto... I took day trip to
Nara (huge buddhist temple),
Osaka (skycraper with a sky garden),
Himeji (Himeji castle, one of the oldest in the country)...

While in Tokyo... Took day trip to
Yokohama (chinatown, another skyscraper, and a rollercoaster ride that plunge thru a pool of water),
Hakone (get to go on all kind of public transport, bullet train, local train, tram, cable car, boat ride and then bus ride),
Nikko (old temples, old town settings etc)

I used lonely planet's guidebook for all my trips to Japan... love it... If u do all your planning, u might be able to do two cities in a day... But for Kyoto and Tokyo, expect to spend at least one full day or two there...

Have fun...

Oh, and do your state a big favor... and skip Disneyland in Tokyo...

Tsuwano north of Yamaguchi is supposed to be a destination. I've only passed by and didn't stop.

Frankly, I can't imagine only spending 3 days in Tokyo and Kyoto but different strokes for different folks.

As mentioned elsewhere, there are several options for day trips from both Tokyo and Kyoto. For such a short visit, I wouldn't suggest changing hotels more than necessary as that just eats up visit time and burdens you with luggage more often. From Tokyo, you can spend a full day visiting Nikko, Kamakura or even Hakone. I suggest Nikko, which is in the mountains, for natural beauty plus some historic temples and shrines or Kamakura, near the coast, for very old temples and the ancient seat of government. Kamakura has the outdoor "giant Buddha." From Kyoto, short day trips are easy to Nara, the first capital of Japan with its sights all concentrated in a park, Osaka for high energy, big city life or Himeji with the walkable castle and grounds. All would be reachable on JR trains, using a JR Rail Pass. From all of those choices, you can simply return to your hotel in the city when you are tired of sightseeing.

JR

So you have yet to see the beautiful Tokuyama scenery.....it is a sight to behold!

Only gone thru there once, can't say that I remember. May be you meant this:

"Tokuyama city, Yamaguchi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It faces Tokuyama Bay of the Inland Sea. A castle town during the early Tokugawa period (1603–1867), it became a station on the Sanyo Line (railway) in 1897. The establishment in Tokuyama of a naval coaling station in 1904 was followed by the city's rapid industrial growth. Tokuyama produces petroleum, chemical products, and..." --Encyclopædia Britannica

Exactly.......a sight to behold!


OP, have you decided on your trip yet? How about 3 nights Tokyo, 3 nights Kyoto, 1 night Hiroshima.........Some thing like this:

Tokyo 2 nights-(get over jet lag and get bearings)
Hiroshima 1 night-(see Miyajima and A-Bomb Museum)
Kyoto 3 nights-(see Kyoto and Nara,you might have time for eating in Osaka)
Tokyo 1 night-(at leisure before flight home)

You may also find Disneyland disappointing -- it's a carbon copy of Disneylands anywhere else. If you must, though, the separate but adjacent DisneySea is at least unique to Japan.

Have not decided on an itinerary yet but I do need to decide quickly. It looks like hotels in Kyoto are hard to come by for this coming April. Any good websites to check. We are big disney fans so we at least want to stop by. Probably will just do a night visit rather then waste a whole day. We will probably just do DisneySea also.

I like your plan Q Shoe Guy. Hiroshima would be cool to visit, any other cities to consider also for a night. Only negative to it is the extra long time traveling. It just seems to me as a negative for such a short trip

Shinkansen Bullet trains are fast, about 3.5 hours from Tokyo to Hiroshima. Hiroshima to Kyoto about 1.5 hours etc. Go to the furthest point and work back ....The "attractions" of the Hiroshima are close to the station, and Miyajima is a short local train/ferry ride too. Kyoto is very close to Osaka/Kobe and not too far from Nara. Buy a JR pass and keep moving....
Hint, if you can't get a hotel in Kyoto you will no doubt find one in Osaka.....

At least the view won't be unencumbered by all the motorized wheelchairs from people too fat to walk. And the service is better.

Disneysea has only one attraction that is the same as Disneyworld's Studios - the Tower of Terror. The rest of the attractions are unique to Tokyo. Like Studio (formerly MGM), it also has an "Under the Sea" show but it is totally different from the one in Orlando - it is more like the new Nemo show in Orlando - use of puppets and "wire-fu"

LMAO

April??? If early April, it is likely that u will running into huge crowd there for the cherry blossom in Japan...

Ueno, just north of Tokyo has a park which is great for hanami... There is one in Kyoto which has willow-tree like sakura... Can't remember the name of the park, and i have given away my guidebook to a friend...

And i agree with Q Shoe Guy, 2 nights in Tokyo, 3 nights in Kyoto and then 1 night back in Tokyo would be a great way to split your stay in two cities... And stay in just two hotels, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto... That way, u dont have to move around too much with your luggages... though the bullet train is a great way to travel... Travelling with big luggages can be a pain...

Travelling with big luggage is a non-issue in Japan thanks to the fabulous Takkyubin service

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html