20 day trip in April 2018

Have you read the sticky post by Giora about the JR pass? 21 days is overkill. Remember, the pass is best for long-distance travel, not local travel in and around cities. So all that time you are in Kyoto or Tokyo will be wasted days for the pass. At best, a 7-day pass might work out if you can rearrange your schedule a bit.

If you arrive in Tokyo in the morning on the first day, why not just catch the shinkansen straight to Kyoto? (or better yet, since you are at the airport, get a cheap flight to Osaka and then work your way back to Tokyo). What are your plans for Osaka? It's not really a great city for sightseeing, but I suppose there may be things you want to do there with your son (USJ maybe?). Otherwise I would cut it and add more time elsewhere.

As for cherry blossoms, in my experience they are mostly gone by the second week of April, so, on the one hand, you may want to prioritize where you want to see them, but on the other hand, it's hard to predict until a few weeks before they open (and by then you'll need all your accommodation booked).

Thank you for your reply!
I want to spend the first few days in Tokyo in gardens and parks to see the cherry blossoms there, that's why I am not going somewhere else straight away. I am trying to hedge my bets, and hopefully the blossoms will be good in either Tokyo or Kyoto at that time (hopefully both!!).
I think you must have misunderstood, I don't have a child. I am travelling solo.
I have heard that Osaka Castle is good for blossom viewing. And I might be tempted by USJ. Do you think I should shorten my time in Osaka and go to Kōya-san for a night instead? Is Kobe worth stopping at? I wanted somewhere to base myself for the Okunoshima Island day trip.
I think I would want a 14 day JR pass at least, so that I can have the flexibility to take random trips from Kyoto or Tokyo without added expense. To Fox Village, or similar.

Hi Kate,

Sorry, you're right. I somehow misread you being here at 14 as travelling with 14-year old! I think I must have mixed you up with another poster. (oops! ;-))Here's the thing - what if there are no cherry blossoms by the time you get to Osaka? Do you still want to spend 2+ days there? There may be some late-blooming blossoms at the castle at that time (I don't know, I've never been there during hanami season), but even then it may be too late. Once the blossoms are out, it only takes one rain or wind storm to blow them all away (that happened this year in Kyoto - we had a very short season this year). You might be lucky at places that are at a higher elevation though.

As for the rail pass, you should figure out what the day-to-day cost of the pass is (for example, 3000 yen a day? 2000 yen a day?) Unless you do some long day trips or travel by the Shinkansen, I doubt you would spend that much. The best thing to do is go to Hyperdia.com and figure out the costs of your trip and see if the pass works out. Usually a return ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto is not worth the pass (or just barely). A lot of people think they will save money on the pass, but they often don't. You also need to consider if you will take the JR to every place you go. There are a lot of private lines and buses that are not covered by the pass, so that's something to consider too (especially for travel in and around cities, where the private lines offer more flexibility).

I'm not suggesting USJ unless that's something that appeals to you. I would definitely recommend overnighting at Koya-san, it's a wonderful experience. I really like Kobe, and it's a great place for food, but it has minor sites and activities (onsen, etc.). Really, a lot depends on your interests. If you are a foodie, then Osaka and Kobe are great places. If you are looking for photogenic places, you may be better served elsewhere. It's hard to know what to suggest without more information.

I agree, unless there is something very compelling about Osaka I wouldnt spend any time there. If you decide you want to do USJ(not on my list) you could do it from Kyoto.

Osaka castle is not particularly good for cherry blossoms. Not compared to Kyoto. If you want to see a castle, there are better ones.

I also think a JR pass is going to waste money. If you want to overpay for transportation by $200 and then think of it as flexibility, that is your mindset, but the JR pass IMHO is pretty limiting. You can only travel on specific days and on specific trains. Losing out on the Nozomi and private railways is really limiting.

I also really want to see Takayama and Kanazawa (especially the Kenrokuen garden)

Then why is it not in your itinerary? Perhaps swap out osaka

Is Kobe worth stopping at?

Kobe has some 100 year old western style buildings and some kwirky sights in a relatively compact area. But it isnt something I would go out of my way to see.

That's a long, expensive trip out to Okunoshima island. Drop that from your current itinerary, and you can do things for considerably less money, without any pass.

Some thoughts on cherry blossoms (keep in mind, as stated above, that the blossoms are very fickle):

Osaka Castle - The very best display of plum blossoms (by a long way) that I have ever seen was at Osaka Castle. I've never been there to see the cherry blossoms. If they're half as nice as the plums, they're worth checking out.

Yoshino - This is Japan's premier cherry blossom site, with thousands of trees, spread out over a wide variety of altitudes (so they bloom at somewhat different times). It's most easily visited as a day-trip from Nara or Osaka. It's also reasonably close to Koyasan. Yoshino is very, very popular for cherries - I doubt you'll find accommodation there in early April, unless you book well, well in advance. Nara-Yoshino-Koyasan-Osaka would be an obvious loop, if you can work out where to stay (I'd suggest Gojo personally).

Hikone and Okazaki are two small(ish) towns on the main Kyoto-Tokyo route with castles with notable cherry blossoms. There are lots (and lots, and lots) of other possibilities. Cherry blossom trees in Japan are everywhere. Nearly every city will have a cherry blossom festival (or 10) going on somewhere over the main hanami weekend.

Hi Giora, thank you for your tips on cherry blossom viewing! Yoshino looks great, I will see if I can make a trip there work. Maybe a day in Nara, one in Yoshino, then another in Koyasan? Plus a day to explore Osaka and eat some yum food. I'll try and avoid Yoshino on a weekend if I can manage it.

I really really want to go to Okunoshima Island! I love animals. Nara is a priority too. Can you suggest any other animal experiences? I am definitely going to seek out a cat cafe in Tokyo. Is Ueno Zoo good? Since I don't want to skip the rabbits, is there something down near Okunoshima to make a trip down there more worthwhile? Perhaps a night in Onomichi?

The priorities for my trip are in this order:
- Cherry blossoms/parks/gardens
- Food
- Animals
- Scenic places (mountains, forests, islands, the sea)
- Exploring Japanese neighbourhoods
- Onsen
- Museums/art galleries
- Markets/shopping
- Breweries/distilleries
- Pop culture

Since all of your feedback on the JR pass I will cost out each of my trips once my itinerary is more locked down before deciding whether to purchase. But is there not some advantage in being able to just hop on trains or double back to a previous city if you've missed something and catch shinkansen all over the country to save time?

Is it worthwhile going to Takayama or Kanazawa from Tokyo for only a day each?

Hi rpbourne, have you been to Takayama and Kanazawa? Is it possible to just spend a day in each? Or is that a waste of the travelling time to get out there? Could I do it from Tokyo? I would probably do it near the end of my trip, as I don't want to miss blossoms in Tokyo/Kyoto at the beginning of April.

The JR Pass is only worth it if you're going to take enough shinkansen trips anyway to justify the cost. There is no advantage to just hop on trains, you can do that anyway when you buy individual tickets. And why would you "miss" something and then head back to a city you've been to, even if it's by shinkansen? You have less then 3 weeks in the country, that would be a silly waste of time.

Your plan for Nara/Yoshino/Koyasan sounds good. I would try and spend the night in Koyasan if you do that. Something like:

1 - Day in Nara, spend the night there
2 - Travel early to Yoshino, visit the place, head out to somewhere you can sleep
3 - Travel up to Koyasan, visit it and spend the night there
4 - Head to Osaka

That would be reasonable for me, not slow, but not too rushed that you'll go crazy.

There are animals all over Japan - I personally prefer wild ones to the more tame, habituated variety, like the deers in Nara. Though they are kind of cool the first time you go there, I suppose. I've only been to a few zoos in Japan, and never to the one in Ueno. Many zoos have hands-on attractions, where you can pet rabbits, or goats or whatever it is that's on offer. I've been to the main zoo in Osaka before - it's a little depressing, and as though it hasn't been properly renovated in a century. But it's certainly one of the more interesting things to do in Osaka, though that's not saying much... If you're into more wild animals, just head to the forests and do some hiking. I know of one place near Osaka where you have a good chance of spotting wild boar. More common animals, like monkey and deer, can be seen all over the place. There's an island near Wakayama which has squirrels (which are rare in Japan). Spend enough time in the countryside at dusk, and you'll eventually run into a tanuki.

There is lots and lots of interest on the way to Rabbit Island - I have yet to visit Onomichi or Fukuyama, though will hopefully do so soon. Okayama/Kurashiki would be another obvious stop. Or you could loop around through northern Shikoku. Takayama is home to a fabulous garden, a rival of the one in Kanazawa.

With only 2 days, I would spend them both in Kanazawa, and give Takayama a miss. I don't like Takayama that much, personally - it's just too touristy for a small town. I find Kanazawa much more interesting. As with Rabbit Island, heading up there will be a big hit to your budget. But if you're happy to pay up for a JR Pass, you can whiz around without worrying all that much.