3 week Japan trip – have many questions, seeking advice

Hello!

I will be traveling to Japan with my wife for three weeks (mid October through early November) and would love your help. I want to firm up our itinerary of where we are going so that we can book our accommodations. We would love your feedback on any potential issues with the plan we have – if you would eliminate anything, if destinations are redundant (if they offer similar experiences and more time should be spent elsewhere), if we are missing something, if there is a quirk of travel between sites we should be considering, etc. Below I will list some context for how we normally travel, our first shot at a destination itinerary, and then some more specific questions I am curious about. Thank you in advance for your assistance!

Context:

We are flying into and out of Narita International Airport in Tokyo. Neither of us have traveled to Japan before and we do not speak Japanese (though my wife has been learning the basics for 6 weeks and will continue until our trip). We are experienced travelers (SE Asia, Central and South America, Europe) and favor a very active, diverse way of traveling – we like to see a lot, and a lot of variety of what we see. We are fortunate enough to have a very flexible budget. We don't spend money for the sake of it, but we will splurge for singular experiences.

First Try Destination Itinerary:

Fri, Day 1 – Travel day

-Flying all day

Sat, Day 2 – Land early evening @ Tokyo Narita, Shinkansen to Kyoto

-likely be getting in to Kyoto late

-nothing planned this day beyond grabbing dinner.

Sun, Day 3 – Kyoto

-Focus on historic sites

-Uji for matcha 

-Yamazaki distillery tour

Mon, Day 4 – Kyoto

-bamboo forest

-monkey park

-boat ride on Katsura River, etc.

Tues, Day 5 – Osaka, leave Kyoto early to spend entire day in Osaka

-Osaka castle

-Kuromon Ichiba Market

-Dotonbori

Wed, Day 6 – Osaka

-Open ended day

-possibly Namba for bars/going out at night

Thurs, Day 7 – Osaka, day trip to Nara

-Deer

-Great Buddha

Fri, Day 8 – Koyasan, travel from Osaka to Koyasan, temple stay

-Temple stay

-hikes in surrounding area

Sat, Day 9 – Travel to Hiroshima from Koyasan

-Travel day

-Okonomiyaki for dinner

Sun, Day 10 – Hiroshima

-Peace Memorial Park 

-Museum

Mon, Day 11 – Miyajima, take ferry from Hiroshima to Miyajima

-Itsukushima shrine 

-floating torii gate

Tues, Day 12 – Himeji/Kanazawa, stop at Himeji Castle before traveling to Kanazawa

-Himeji castle

Wed, Day 13 – Kanazawa

-Higashi Chaya 

-Nagamachi Samurai District

-Kenrokuen garden

Thurs, Day 14 – Shirakawa-go/Takayama, leave Kanazawa early, stop in Shirakawa-go on way to Takayama

-Gassho-zukuri farmhouses in Shirakawa-go

-Sanmachi Suji historic district in Takayama

Fri, Day 15 – Takayama/Nikko, Leave Takayama for Nikko

-Shrines and temples

-hike

Sat, Day 16 – Nikko/Tokyo, leave Nikko for Tokyo

-Get settled, easy day

Sun, Day 17 – Tokyo

Obviously there is a ton we can do, but outside the normal sites we are interested in:

-sumo

-specialty coffee

-fashion/denim

-tokyo style neapolitan pizza

-noise/improvisational music shows

Mon, Day 18 – Tokyo

-We want to pre-book reservations for one high end dining experience. I have a list of the Michelin starred restaurants, and the rankings from World’s 50 best restaurants, but I was hoping for any first hand recommendations you all may have.

Tues, Day 19 – Hakone or Fuji 5 Lakes, travel from Tokyo to Hakone or Fuji 5 Lakes

-Ryokan stay

Wed, Day 20, Hakone or Fuji 5 Lakes, travel back to Tokyo

-Leave ryokan stay for Tokyo

Thurs, Day 21, Tokyo

-Stuff missed from earlier

Fri, Day 22 – Tokyo, Fly home in the evening

More Specific Questions:

-We will likely buy a bunch of stuff in Tokyo to bring back (clothing, coffee, etc.). I don't love the idea of lugging this with us the entire trip so I shifted our time in Tokyo to the end of our stay in Japan. Do you foresee any issues with this?

-I noticed Uji and Yamazaki's distillery are just outside of Kyoto. My wife loves Matcha and I am a fan of Yamazaki's whisky – are these places worth visiting? If not, are they touristy? Other places you would recommend instead?

-Is Nara worth it for a day trip? My wife is worried that it is too touristy, pointed out that there are deer in Miyajima, and that Nikko and Takayama will offer better outdoor experiences anyway. Would we be better served adding another day in Osaka, or adding a day later in Tokyo instead? I'm interested in going here, but I want to make sure it isn't redundant, or at the expense of somewhere we should be spending more time.

-Would you recommend staying in Miyajima, or doing this as a day trip from Hiroshima? I'm torn on this – it seems easier and cheaper to add another night on to staying in Hiroshima, but I'm open to staying in Miyajima if there is a great option that shouldn't be passed up (for example, if there is a ryokan that someone highly recommends, etc.).

-The Takayama and Nikko part of the itinerary feels rushed. Should we drop Nikko and spend more time in Kanazawa, Takayama, Tokyo, or later at a ryokan outside of Tokyo? Nikko looks beautiful, and I would love to see it, but I worry that this is too much. Should we keep Nikko and ditch something else? If so, what about Nikko differentiates it?

-We want to stay at a ryokan in either the Hakone or Fuji 5 Lakes area (both were highly recommended to us by friends). Seeing Mt. Fuji would be great and I understand that Fuji 5 Lakes would be a better choice given this, but I also know weather can make the view "unpredictable". Additionally, if the surrounding area of Hakone and the ryokan itself offer a far superior experience we would ultimately prefer this. Thoughts? Which would you choose?

-I know we are missing the large Sumo tournaments, but I am interested in checking out the Sumo stables to see them "spar" and practice. From what I have read Tokyo seems the best place to do this. Any suggestions or tips on this? Have any of you done a tour to see something like this (from what I understand you have to go with a tour group)? Any alternate recommendations on how to see sumo?

-Part of the Climax series and the entire Nippon series will be happening while we are in Japan. Do any of you follow the NPB enough to know if we will be in a city that has a team that looks like it could be playing at this point? Is it possible to get tickets later, or do they pre sell to season ticket holders like in the US? How are prices normally? I really hope we can swing this – seems like this would be an incredible experience.

-Would you recommend staying at more than one ryokan? If so, where would you add this in our itinerary?

-Hotels, airbnbs, ryokan, etc. Do you have any that you have stayed in at these destinations that you highly recommend? My next step is to book lodging after we know our itinerary.

Any other advice is appreciated. Thank you for your time!