21 days in Japan, during New Year

Hello there,

Travel on the 25th is still before a couple of really busy days before New Year. You should have no problems at all here, especially if you reserve your seats a couple of days in advance.

In terms of a JR Pass, I think a 14 day JR Pass would be the best from Dec 20th.

Kind regards,
Daniel

Hi,
Your itinerary does not make a 21 day pass pay off. Getting a 14 day pass makes more sense, although you'd need to cut 2 days off of your plans. You really don't need 2 full days for Ainokura and Miyajima anyways.

I hope you also know that there is no rail access to Ainokura. You need to take a bus from Kanazawa via Shirakawago (which is worth a stop too). To go to Kyoto, reverse the route, or take another bus to Shin-Takaoka (1 hour), catch the bullet train to Kanazawa (15 min), then take the Thunderbird limited express to Kyoto (2 hours). Tokyo to Takayama is 4½ hours via Nagoya. You might consider rearranging your schedule and seeing Kanazawa first, then take a bus or train to Takayama.

You're giving quite a good amount of time for Kyoto. You could spend months there are not see it all. Even so, you might consider a day trip to Himeji or Hikone. And if you are spending 2 days at Miyajima, you could fit in Iwakuni too, which is a bit past it.

Good luck.