Hello Japan Travellers.
I’m currently planning my itinerary for another trip to Japan, towards the later half of May this year. I’ve not decided exactly how long I’m going to be in the country for this time, but I’m planning to spend 7 days around Chubu prefecture using JR Rail Pass to move around. My port of entry and departure will be Tokyo.
In general the goals are as follows:
* Nature sightseeing in the Japanese Alps
* Kiso Valley for historic post towns
* Viewing Mt. Fuji
* Shopping (and possibly some sightseeing) around Tokyo
I’m currently struggling to close the loop between viewing Mount Fuji and traveling back to Tokyo, so would appreciate any insights.
Looking at the following as my bases:
Tokyo -> Matsumoto -> Kiso Fukushima -> Nagoya/Shizuoka/Hakone? -> Tokyo
Initial itinerary:
* Day 1 – arrive in Tokyo at night, stay at a capsule/cheap hotel
* Day 2 – (Rail Pass day 1) travel to Matsumoto in the morning, explore Matsumoto Castle in the afternoon
* Day 3 – (Rail Pass day 2) from Matsumoto, travel to Kamikochi then back to Matsumoto
* Day 4 – (Rail Pass day 3) explore Nakamichi in the morning, travel to Kiso-Fukushima late in the afternoon (alternatively, skip Nakamichi, travel to Kiso-Fukushima in the morning and explore nearby attractions in the afternoon)
* Day 5 – (Rail Pass day 4) explore Tsumago (and possibly Magome) from Kiso-Fukushima then back to Kiso-Fukushima
* Day 6 – (Rail Pass day 5) ?
* Day 7 – (Rail Pass day 6) Viewing Mt. Fuji
* Day 8 – (Rail Pass day 7) more exploration, then travel back to Tokyo later in the day
* Day 9 (onwards) – Tokyo
So there’s a question mark around Day 6-8 in the itinerary. I initially considered staying in Hakone for a chance to view Mt. Fuji, although there seems to be a few more options in this are like Shizuoka, etc. Also, I’m wondering if it would be convenient to make Nagoya as the base for these remaining part of the Chubu trip. Happy to consider skipping Mt. Fuji (again) if there are more strategically placed attractions in between.
Any thoughts?
by extra_rice