Itinerary Check – 12 Day Trip Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Onomichi, Ube

Hi r/JapanTravel, I’m looking to plan a solo trip in May coming from Vancouver. I tried to do research on travel times and tried to group destinations close together on the same day. I have several questions regarding my itinerary:

* I notice travel costs can add up to a hefty sum, any deals or ways I can save the most money on train travel? Budget is around 5 k CAD.
* Does it seem feasible? Any section of the trip feel too rushed? I can expand 1 day into 2 if needed.
* Out of these cities which one is most worth visiting? (Nikko, Hiroshima, Osaka, Fukuoka (ramen)). They are near my core destinations and given extra time I may add one more city.

Day 0: Flight from YVR to HAN

Vancouver → Tokyo \~ 10-14 hours by plane

Day 1 (Shinjuku) : Shibuya Crossing, Yoyogi Park, Suga Shrine Area (Your Name), Golden Gai, Omoide Yokocho (Some activities in Day 0 depending on arrival time).

Tokyo → Hakone \~ 1 hour 30 minutes by bus or train

Day 2 (Hakone) : Hakone Ropeway, Owakuni, onsen, random Evangelion themed locations?.

Hakone → Kyoto \~ 4 hour by train

Day 3 (Kyoto) : Mostly rest and train travel. Fushimi Inari.

Day 4 (Kyoto) : Kiyomizu-dera, Sanen-zaka, Ninen-zaka, Nishiki Market, Pontocho, Gion.

Day 5 (Kyoto) : Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Tenryuji Temple, Togetsukyo Bridge, Monkey Park.

Kyoto → Nara \~ < 40 minutes by train

Day 6 (Nara) : Kofukuji Temple, Hejio Palace, Nara Park, Todaji Temple, Kasuga Taisha, Horyuji Temple.

Kyoto → Fukuyama → Onomichi \~ 1 hour 30 minutes by train then bus

Day 7 (Onomichi) : Shimanami Kaido Day 1, Explore Innoshima Island, Rest at Ikuchi Island.

Day 8 (Imabari): Shimanami Kaido Day 2. Bus back to Fukuyama station.

Fukuyama → Ube \~ 1 hour 30 minutes by train

Day 9 (Ube) : Ube-Shinkawa station (Rebuild) , Rest, Fly back to Tokyo.

Ube → Tokyo \~ 1 hour flight

Day 10 (Tokyo) : Akihabara, Chiyoda Book Stores, Ueno Park

Day 11 (Tokyo) : Fly back to Vancouver.

Thank you for reviewing. I tried to keep destinations to what I am interested in. For history I included Nara, Kyoto (skipped some temples because I feel like I would get bored if I went to too many). For nature I have Hakone, Shimanami Kaido & a bit of hiking in Arashiyama and Fushimi Inari. And for anime spots I’ve included destinations from Evangelion and Your Name (unfortunately Kumamoto is too out of the way, Sorry Oda).