My wife and I are going next month and we have to make some tough cuts because there’s so much to see but we only have 2 weeks. We’re definitely going to Tokyo and Kyoto (and stopping at Ghibli Park in between), and I also want to spend at least one day/night experiencing the Onsen and another staying at a temple in Koyasan, so if my math/logistical planning is correct, we have three other general areas we’d like to hit but can probably only do one. They are as follows:
1) Going west of Kyoto to visit Himeji Castle, Okayama, and Art Island. My wife is also very interested in the Kazurabashi Bridge as well as a boat ride/tour in that area, but I fear that may be too tough to get to.
2) Staying in Kanazawa and also visiting Takayama, Hida Folk Valley, Shirakawa-go, and Gokoyama.
3) Staying in Nikko and making day trips to Hitachi Seaside Park/Kairakuen and Ashikaga Flower Park.
The only way for us to do two of those would probably be to cut one of both of the onsen/koyasan and also nix the day we were planning to go to Mt. Fuji and the surrounding area. We also have Kamakura, Hakone, Izu Peninsula, and Hitsujiyama Park as possible day trips from Tokyo that would be cut instead, although if I am wrong about those being feasible day trips from Tokyo (or if the ones I paired with Nikko are actually doable from Tokyo) please let me know.
Of note, we’re both vegan, and we know there are plenty of great restaurants in Tokyo and Kyoto so we don’t need to go anywhere for the food, but if somewhere I’ve mentioned is going to be a very difficult place for us to find food that would be helpful to know. We very much like walking around in pretty locations but maybe don’t want to go places that are too remote and may be difficult to reach. If anyone has any advice on what we should prioritize it would be tremendously helpful, thank you!
by maithrowawayyo