Looks like I can't cram as much as I want to see in Japan in all of 13 days. With 5 kids, one senior citizen and another who swells up like a big red balloon in the cold, it might be safer to stick to a less ambitious itinerary. sigh.
Toss the dice.
Do I ditch the Kiso Valley? Do I forgo Shibu Onsen? Or Koyasan? Or Miyajima?
Logically when you look at a map and see the places I have earmarked, Miyajima and Hiroshima seem out of the general loop. We would have to make a trip all the way out there and then all the way back to Kyoto before heading back into the Central Honshu area. But to cut Miyajima and Hiroshima is painful.
KH, who has been to Hiroshima, say there is nothing much to see in the Peace Park. But I know my mother would be interested to see a different side of the war, get a different perspective. So would I. And Miyajima is widely touted to be Japan's most beautiful spot for autumn foliage. Wouldn't it be a shame to miss that? Problem also is that Miyajima's accomodation is said to be pricey. With budgetary concerns, I would rather save up for a good one in Shibu Onsen.
Then there's the Kiso Valley. Old post towns that have stood still in time. A picture that I hold in my heart is one of a street of wooden houses with soaring green hills behind. Taking a trip to the Kiso is taking a trip back in time - no cars, no streetlamps, no ugly wires and telephone poles. But then I worry - would the kids be antsy. The highlight of visiting the Kiso Valley is a three-hour walk between Tsumago and Magome. Can the kids do it? Would they be whiny?
And Shibu Onsen. Newly discovered for me - a tiny onsen village in the mountains, nine public baths and images of us clattering down narrow, winding empty streets in our yukatas and getas, aglow from our time in the onsen and heading towards the next. En route back to Nagano, we could stop at Zenko-ji.
To further distress me in the choices I have to make, to chop or not, see this pretty ryokan in Shibu Onsen I found online.
Kokuya Ryokan at Shibu Onsen: http://www.ichizaemon.com/en/2/rooms_rates.html (Check out the rooms with the outdoor baths!!) Pricey but so mouthwateringly tempting...
So to make things easier, let's just stick to the facts:
Comparing Japan Guide user ratings, the highest rating went to Shibu Onsen. Lowest is Takayama. So the way I figure it, since we are heading to the highlands in Shibu already, kill Takayama?
One thing for sure, from the posted itinerary in my last post, I think I can safely kill Kobe and Arima Onsen and return to Kyoto as a base instead after Koyasan. From there, visit Himeiji and Hiroshima/Miyajima.
Okay, still a work in progress.
Where to in Japan?
So we're heading to Japan. Plane tickets bought so no turning back.
We're heading for 14 days in the peak of autumn. Question is, where to go? I feel like a kid in a candy shop - and my head is swirling with questions and possibilities. I've decided to use this blog to document an itinerary that is slowly taking shape.
For now, the itinerary looks like this:
Day 1 Arrive in Narita at 0740am. Spend the rest of the day in Tokyo city after checking in. If we're staying at the Family Fifties again, then we'll just stow luggage in the lockers at the train stations (either Ueno or Tokyo) and then start the sightseeing buzz. But if we're staying in town, then its not a problem to offload the luggage and head out.
Day 2 Tokyo Disney Resort - Disneyland
Day 3 Tokyo Disney Resort - DisneySea
Day 4 Run for the earliest shinkansen to Kyoto again. Arrive Kyoto in the mid-morning. Stow bags in hotel and head out to northern Kyoto to Kinkakuji, Ryoanji and then cross over to Higashiyama to check out Eikando by night. It gets dark by 4pm in autumn, and since its peak time, Eikando and several other temples in Kyoto have night light-ups. Which should be very pretty!
Day 5 Nara. Which means, the world's largest wooden structure/temple, the big Buddha, the gap to eternity and lots of voracious deer. And deer biscuits!
Day 6 Koyasan. Overnight in a temple. Wandering through the vastness of Okunoin in the dark and mist with several thousand lanterns lit to guide the way to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum is an unforgettable experience.
Day 7 Off to Kobe. If time permits, visit Arima Onsen for a soak in the hotsprings there.
Day 8 Himeji in the morning, Hiroshima and the Peace Park in the afternoon. Miyajima for the night. In the morning, visit the Itsukushima shrine and Momijidani-koen, widely known as one of the most beautiful autumn foliage spots in Japan. Leave Miyajima by noon and travel across Honshu by train, stopping over in Kyoto to change trains. A total journey time of 4 hours, to reach the Japan Sea and the city of Kanazawa.
Day 9 Kenroku-en - Japan's most beautiful garden. 21st century museum of modern art. Wander through the old preserved streets of the samurai district, laced with old houses, running streams and tea houses. Myoryu-ji - the ninja temple.
Day 10 Leave Kanazawa and arrive in Takayama by the afternoon. Overnight in Takayama
Day 11 Early morning market in Takayama, Hida folk village. Visit Furukawa, a pretty canal town nearby.
Day 12 Leave Takayama to Nagoya (2hrs) and then up to the Kiso Valley (1hr). Forward baggage from Magome to Tsumago. Walk the old road from Magome to Tsumago. Overnight in atmospheric Tsumago, old wooden houses, lanterns and nary a streetlamp, cars or electric wires in sight.
Day 13 Depart Kiso Valley to Tokyo via Nagano. Stop in Nagano to visit Zenko-ji. Shinkansen to Tokyo. Arrive Tokyo's Ueno station at night.
Day 14 Keisei skyliner at 1000am, reach Narita at 1100am and depart Tokyo at 1330pm.
Likely to buy the 7D JR Pass (28,300yen) as well as the 3D Kansai Area Thru Pass (5000yen) as well as the JapanICan shinkansen package that we took the last time.
Well, for now, that seems to be it. Will revisit and finetune this as I go along.
We're heading for 14 days in the peak of autumn. Question is, where to go? I feel like a kid in a candy shop - and my head is swirling with questions and possibilities. I've decided to use this blog to document an itinerary that is slowly taking shape.
For now, the itinerary looks like this:
Day 1 Arrive in Narita at 0740am. Spend the rest of the day in Tokyo city after checking in. If we're staying at the Family Fifties again, then we'll just stow luggage in the lockers at the train stations (either Ueno or Tokyo) and then start the sightseeing buzz. But if we're staying in town, then its not a problem to offload the luggage and head out.
Day 2 Tokyo Disney Resort - Disneyland
Day 3 Tokyo Disney Resort - DisneySea
Day 4 Run for the earliest shinkansen to Kyoto again. Arrive Kyoto in the mid-morning. Stow bags in hotel and head out to northern Kyoto to Kinkakuji, Ryoanji and then cross over to Higashiyama to check out Eikando by night. It gets dark by 4pm in autumn, and since its peak time, Eikando and several other temples in Kyoto have night light-ups. Which should be very pretty!
Day 5 Nara. Which means, the world's largest wooden structure/temple, the big Buddha, the gap to eternity and lots of voracious deer. And deer biscuits!
Day 6 Koyasan. Overnight in a temple. Wandering through the vastness of Okunoin in the dark and mist with several thousand lanterns lit to guide the way to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum is an unforgettable experience.
Day 7 Off to Kobe. If time permits, visit Arima Onsen for a soak in the hotsprings there.
Day 8 Himeji in the morning, Hiroshima and the Peace Park in the afternoon. Miyajima for the night. In the morning, visit the Itsukushima shrine and Momijidani-koen, widely known as one of the most beautiful autumn foliage spots in Japan. Leave Miyajima by noon and travel across Honshu by train, stopping over in Kyoto to change trains. A total journey time of 4 hours, to reach the Japan Sea and the city of Kanazawa.
Day 9 Kenroku-en - Japan's most beautiful garden. 21st century museum of modern art. Wander through the old preserved streets of the samurai district, laced with old houses, running streams and tea houses. Myoryu-ji - the ninja temple.
Day 10 Leave Kanazawa and arrive in Takayama by the afternoon. Overnight in Takayama
Day 11 Early morning market in Takayama, Hida folk village. Visit Furukawa, a pretty canal town nearby.
Day 12 Leave Takayama to Nagoya (2hrs) and then up to the Kiso Valley (1hr). Forward baggage from Magome to Tsumago. Walk the old road from Magome to Tsumago. Overnight in atmospheric Tsumago, old wooden houses, lanterns and nary a streetlamp, cars or electric wires in sight.
Day 13 Depart Kiso Valley to Tokyo via Nagano. Stop in Nagano to visit Zenko-ji. Shinkansen to Tokyo. Arrive Tokyo's Ueno station at night.
Day 14 Keisei skyliner at 1000am, reach Narita at 1100am and depart Tokyo at 1330pm.
Likely to buy the 7D JR Pass (28,300yen) as well as the 3D Kansai Area Thru Pass (5000yen) as well as the JapanICan shinkansen package that we took the last time.
Well, for now, that seems to be it. Will revisit and finetune this as I go along.
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