Hello!
Planning a trip with for 4 during cherry blossom season 2023. Any suggestions, tips, advice would be greatly appreciated. My group is mostly interested in history and culture so the proposed itinerary is skewed more towards that and less towards nightlife and amusement parks.
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**Questions:**
1) Is this order of cities the most ideal for the 7 day Japan Rail Pass or is there anything I can tweak to make it more streamlined (particularly the Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Koyasan section? I calculated and it doesn’t seem like the 14 day will pay off.
2) Are there any weather considerations for my cities? If a region is going to be a lot colder than other areas and would warrant a big coat, I’d rather skip it to save on the luggage space. For example, I wanted to visit Nikko at the end of my itinerary but I think it’ll be really cold so I decided not to go. But hiking/nature is def our vibe!
3) Not super interested in Hakone since I’m visiting Kawaguchiko but not sure where else I could go nearby since I won’t have the JR pass anymore. Originally put Hakone because the Fuji Hakone pass makes it easy to visit 3 areas and end up in Tokyo. Any other points of interest that would make sense here? (3/24)
**Itinerary:**
**3/15**
\-Arrive HND evening @ 6 PM
\-Exchange 7 Day Rail Pass at airport to start on 3/16
\-Stay overnight near Tokyo Station
**3/16**
\-Train to Hiroshima in morning (hopefully arriving by 1PM)
\-Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum & Garden
\-Shukkei-en Garden, time permitting
\-Stay near Hiroshima Station
**3/17**
\-Day trip to Miyajima
**3/18**
\-Shukkei-en Garden in the morning if no time on 3/16
\-Depart Hiroshima and take train to Himeji in the morning
\-Himeji Castle
\-Koko-En Garden
\-Train to Osaka
\-Dinner in Osaka & Dotonbori
**3/19**
\-Cherry blossom viewing if the season aligns (Okawa River Sakura Cruise or at Osaka Castle)
\-Eat street food
\-Not sure what else to do since we aren’t big shoppers, amusement park/aquarium people
\-Head out in early afternoon for Koyasan
\-Temple stay (looking at Saizenin or Sojiin)
**3/20**
\-Finish any points of interest in Koyasan
\-Depart to Kyoto (assume would probably be there by dinner time)
\-Fushimi Inari
\-Stay in Kyoto
**3/21**
\-Day trip to Nara
\-Whatever can be done in Kyoto at night (Arashiyama or Path of Philosophy?)
**3/22 (last day of 7 day Japan Rail Pass)**
\-Kyoto temples during the day
\-Depart for Mt. Fuji – Kawaguchiko for ryokan stay. This is where I’m stuck a bit because I want to make it over to the Mt. Fuji region so it’s close to Tokyo to maximize the value of the 7 day rail pass. At the same time I want to make sure I have enough time at Kyoto but also to enjoy the kaiseki dinner and relax at the ryokan.
**3/23**
\-Get the Fuji Hakone Pass
Tour Kawaguchiko during the day
\-Leave for Hakone
**3/24**
\-Hot springs?
\-Return to Tokyo at night
**3/25**
\-Day trip from Tokyo (thinking Kamakura, Kawagoe, or Yokohama)
**3/26 – 3/28**
\-Explore Tokyo
\-Get Tokyo Subway Pass 72 hours to cover transportation to HND
**3/29**
\-Rest then flight in afternoon from HND
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Thank you so much for reading this far 🙂