I think I'm approaching the final draft of my itinerary, I'd like a second opinion on what I have so far. I'm planning to bring my fiancee to Japan at the end of October/early November.
Day 1-4 will be spent in Tokyo. I'm looking at hotels in Shinjuku because I think it will be fairly easy to access the major areas (Harajuku, Ueno, Shibuya, Asakusa, Akihabara, Odaiba, etc) from there.
Day 5 I'll activate our 7-day JR Pass and travel early from Tokyo to Kamakura for the day, then travel from Kamakura to Kyoto for the night.
Day 6 will be spent in Kyoto. I'm not sure where to look for a place to stay here yet. I'd really love to find a ryokan to stay at while in Kyoto, one with a private onsen option as we both have tattoos that I know are not welcome in public onsen.
Day 7 we'll travel from Kyoto to Nara for the day and stay the night in Osaka. I'd love to find a love hotel in the Namba area, but I don't know where to look.
Day 8 I'd like to stop by Himeji Castle on our way out of Osaka and stay the night in Hiroshima, if its not too far out of the way.
Day 9 spend the day exploring Miyajima and stay another night in Hiroshima. I think I've read the ferry from Hiroshima>Miyajima is covered w/ the JR Pass?
Day 10 travel from Hiroshima as early as possible to Kumamoto, stay the night there. I'm not so much interested in sightseeing here, I mostly want to stop because I have some friends I'd like to visit.
Day 11 try to spend as much time in Kumamoto before making our way back to Tokyo for the last day of the JR Pass. If we weren't able to find a love hotel in Namba, maybe this night we'll look for one in Tokyo. OR make our way back to Narita airport and stay in the capsule hotel.
Day 12 back to the States.
There are some places I'm interested in seeing, but unsure they'd be easily accessible w/ the JR Pass alone:
Kamakura: Kotoku-in, Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu & surrounding area.
Kyoto: Fushimi Inari, bamboo forest, Nijo Castle
Nara: Deer park, Todai-ji
Osaka: Namba, Dotonbori, aquarium
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions to make my itinerary easier, as well!
Thank you in advance, and I look forward to your reply.
