Quote:
Originally Posted by Gahzirra
To muddy the waters possibly further, this was my itinerary
Fri day 1 05th Narita arrive 4:25pm à Tokyo
Sat day 2 06th Tokyo
Sun day 3 07th Tokyo
Mon day 4 08th Tokyo - Kyoto (activate JR 21)
Tue day 5 09th Kyoto
Wed day 6 10th Kyoto -- day trip Nara
Thu day 7 11th Kyoto - Osaka
Fri day 8 12th Osaka -- day trip Kobe
Sat day 9 13th Osaka
Sun day 10 14th Osaka - Okayama - Hiroshima
Mon day 11 15th Hiroshima --day trip Miyajima - Fukuoka
Tue day 12 16th Fukuoka
Wed day 13 17th Fukuoka
Thu day 14 18th Fukuoka àAso
Fri day 15 19th Aso - Beppu - Yufuin
Sat day 16 20th Beppu - Osaka via ferry
Sun day 17 21st Osaka - Hakone - Tokyo
Mon day 18 22nd Tokyo
Tue day 19 23rd Tokyo
Wed day 20 24th Tokyo -- day Nikko night Utsonomiya
Thu day 21 25th Tokyo -- night Yokohama
Fri day 22 26th Tokyo -- day trip Kamakura
Sat day 23 27th Tokyo
Sun day 24 28th Leave Japan 7pm flight
Pretty close difference was I went south to Kyushu to hit Fukuoka for the Grand Sumo Tournament and I really wanted to see all the hot springs down there...Yufuin was the highlight and I wished I had planned at least another day.
One thing I did feel and I do see it in your plans as well...before I headed back to Tokyo for my last week I was super tired of bouncing around from location to location. It was nice to use Tokyo as my base and just head out from there.
I felt Nara was nothing special after seeing so many temple's in Kyoto only difference... it has deer. Lots of people get "temple-itis" after Kyoto. Now you may say but my wife loves deer...Miyajima has the deer too.
Myself I would allot more time to Tokyo, there is a lot to see and do...each ward has a different feel to it. Yokohama is really cool as well with MM21 and the China town.
Osaka is not a huge difference from Tokyo if you are only popping in for a day trip, you will probably just get to see dontonburi, maybe the aquarium, and won't get a feel for the differences between the two cities.
**Also why not fly into Osaka its a whole lot closer to Kyoto?
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Make sure you spend sometime along naka river at night.. the yatai food is just..... mmmmmmmmm.....
China town isn't all that exciting, but then, I am chinese and I practically live in a Chinese dominant area here in Canada, so China Town or not won't make a difference to me....
I find people in Kansai to be even friendlier and more helpful... I got lost when i was in Osaka a LOOONG time ago, my best friend was with me, and i only had a map... we wandered into some housing area, and there is no sign of a major street or transportation, this really old guy passed by with his bike, he got off, and helped us.. instead of giving us the direction, he walked 45 minutes with us to the bus station.. and its completely out of the way of where he was going...
And I agree, one can get temple out in kyoto, so Nara may not be necessary... a lot of people will probably disagree, but i guess something must go on a tight trip like this. Just make sure you visit kiyomizudera, and if you are into souvenir, don't take a cab up the walkway to kiyomizu, walk up, you will hit a BUNCH of store selling small special items
if you can afford it, then definitely fly to Osaka, it will cost about the same as riding the shinkanzen. I had a debate with someone a while back, about missing all the scene... to be honest, there isn't much to see when you are in the shinkansen, especially when its moving at such a high speed... you may get a glimpse of Fujisan if you are lucky....but thats about it....