Hi there,
My boyfriend and I are travelling to Japan in Sept/Oct and would like to check whether our itinerary is feasible for a 3 week trip, and whether we're best getting the 14 day Japan Rail pass for the first two weeks. I've done some research and noticed that a few legs of our trip might not be possible on JR trains. We're planning on renting a car while we're up on Hokkaido. We're both big fans of the outdoors - hence why we're so interested in spending time in the Japanese Alps and Hokkaido - but we'd also like to get a good mix of food and culture in there as well.. and maybe even a little time to relax!
Any thoughts on our itinerary (and alternatives/must sees if you have any), its feasibility, and the utility of the Japan Rail pass for our trip would be greatly appreciated :)
Our proposed itinerary is below:
Sept 20 Arrive Tokyo (am)
21 Tokyo
22 Nikko
23 Kawaguchi-ko
24 Matsumoto
25 Matsumoto
26 Kamikochi
27 Kamikochi
28 Takayama
29 Kyoto
30 Kyoto
Oct 1 Kyoto
2 Kyoto
3 Nara
4 Koya-san
5 Koya-San - Osaka - Hokkaido (Fly to Sapporo)
6 Hokkaido
7 Hokkaido (Daisetsuzan)
8 Hokkaido (Daisetsuzan)
9 Hokkaido (Akan)
10 Hokkaido (Akan)
11 Hokkaido - Tokyo
12 Fly home
I'd be very grateful for any advice you have - thank you!
Helen