I’m planning a three week trip for late May, with the first 10 days being a loop around Chugoku. This will be my fifth trip to Japan, and I’ve tried to focus on a new area each time. I’m looking for feedback on if any of my days seem too full or too empty, or if there are any particular sights I may have missed along my planned route.
day 1|arrive
-|-
|train to kobe
day 2|Kobe and Nishinomiya
day 3|bus to Naruto
|see whirlpools
|bus to Takamatsu, ferry to Shodoshima
day 4|rent car and drive around Shodoshima
day 5|ferry to Okayama
|Senkoji
|Okunoshima
|stay in Hiroshima
day 6|pick up rental car at Shin-Yamaguchi
|Akiyoshido Cave and park
|Motonosumi shrine
|stay in Nagato
day 7|Oda silver mine area
|Izumo area sights best reached by car (eg lighthouse)
|drop off car in Izumo
day 8|Izumo and Matsue city sights
|stay in Yonago
day 9|pick up rental car
|Tottori flower park, Kurayoshi warehouse district, figure museum, Yurihama Chinese garden, Hakuto shrine
|drop off car in Tottori
day 10|Tottori sights – sand dunes, castle ruins, kannon-in, watanabe museum
days 11-13|Osaka
days 14-20|Tokyo – shopping, maybe a couple of day trips
I’ve already been to Himeji and Hiroshima, so they aren’t priorities.
I’m switching cars in Izumo/Matsue because the one-way fees from Yamaguchi to Tottori is double compared to Shimane, and it seems like those two cities should be able to fill a day without a car.
My particular questions:
* is Naruto worth the time it would take for me to get to and from there, and is my path to get to Shodoshima from Kobe reasonable? At least on Google Maps its appears to be doable, but I’m not sure how long I’d actually spend around Naruto.
* is Okunoshima worth it? The idea of being buried in a mound of rabbits seems nice (I have two of my own), but if it’s too depressing a place (I’ve heard many of them aren’t healthy), then I’d rather do something else along the southern coast, maybe Kurashiki Bikan Quarter or Bizen Osafune Japanese Sword Museum?
* Should I make an effort to see anything in north Hyogo or Kyoto, like Kinosaki or Amanohashidate, or save the area for a later trip? I could maybe move a day from Osaka if there’s enough reason to, but it seems like the area might be worth having a car and 2-3 days to see.
Thanks for any feedback
3 comments
While there is a few places that are less practical by public transport, I am not sure why you would need it over that long distance.
I did Shimonoseki, Tsuwano, Iwami Ginzan, Izumo (including the lighthouse and Izumo Taisha), Matsue, Kurayoshi, Yurihama, Tottori, then took a couple more days to reach Kobe, and yes, all that by train and sometimes local bus to some attractions. However, I did like one of them by day (probably with the exception of Yurihama that was just where I stayed, did no visit much there). And even at that pace, I found interesting places along the way that I did not had time to visit and could have easily spend a couple extra days in the region, but hey, I’m going to take like 10 days to move from Kobe to Hiroshima in March so it can give you an idea of how much places I can find in this relatively small region.
Okayama, Onomichi, Okunoshima in a single day seems a bit rushed for my taste.
Izumo and Matsue in a single day seems too rushed, and I say this as a fast traveler.
Also, public transport for foreigners is pretty cheap and easy up there between the “Perfect Ticket” (I think this is what it translates as) for Matsue/Izumo/Yonago, the JR Okayama-Sanin pass, the Tottori discounted 3-hour tourist taxi, and the 500 yen Matsue-Hiroshima bus. Are you really sure you want to be doing one-way car rentals?
Kinosaki and Amanohashidate are very doable by public transport as well, they’re super compact and accessible from Osaka or Kyoto. Unless you are wanting to explore the whole region (e.g. Takeda castle ruins before sunrise, Kyotango peninsula, etc.) I would save it for a later trip.
You maybe be a fast traveler but this looks incredibly busy…
I went to Chugoku Nov last year, spent a week there and did Okayama – Kaike onsen – Yura (for Gosho Aoyama manga factory) – Adachi museum – Matsue – Izumo. All public transport, from Izumo I took the sleeper train back to Tokyo.
Just FYI, I do like to travel a bit slower though.