18 days 17 nights in Japan itinerary for a lonely traveller.

Hi there,

It's a very good itinerary especially with the time a lotted. Love the idea of visiting some of the modern metropolitan cities and combining them with traditional places. My personal favorite is the area around Kanazawa and Takayama and Koya is a once in a lifetime too!

I see that you may not have plans yet of what to visit in Kyoto. Here I would recommand going to Fushimi Inari and Kyomizudera, also if you have some extra time be sure to visit Kurama, this area is a little more remote from Kyoto but is great for small hikes any you will encounter many beautiful mountains view and forest temples.

Hiroshima is great too! Be sure to talk to peace memorial park after visiting the museum.

Oh and Norway is great too! Be sure to visit Setesdalsheiane, I hear its pretty good for hiking but I don't think they accept the JR Pass there ;)

Have a great time in Japan!
Daniel

Thank you for the answer. When will it be the best for me to activate my 14 day rail pass?

Daria

Hi Again!

You will need it for sure on day 31 so activate it the day that you travel to Nikko. This way you will be sure to make the most out of your pass!

Happy Travels!
Daniel

Hello again!

Thank you so far for the best travel help ive ever got! Im almost there, only one question left (I hope):

My plan in the end before i return to Tokyo:

Tuesday 29 - TRAVEL from Mount Koya to Osaka early in the morning. Explore Osaka
Wednesday 30 - TRAVEL from Osaka to Hiroshima early in the morning - go to the museum.

I have booked almost all the hotels now and checked how long time it takes with the train. I was wondering if I should drop the trip to Osaka and just go straight to Hiroshima and stay there for one night instead? Osaka is so large and I dont think I will manage to see so much in only half a day (the trip from Mount Koya to Osaka takes almost 5 hours!) . It seems like it will be a very stressfull day!

Daria :)

Hi Daria!

Where did you read that travel from Koya to Osaka takes 5 hours? (did you mean to Hiroshima?) The train ride itself is about 100minutes than there's a 20 min walk and a rope-way. So all together I would think about 3 H max. So you may have time to see something in Osaka, however it would have to be something specific and on a schedule otherwise there won't be any time left when you reach Hiroshima. Also the Shinkansen trip from Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima is very relaxed because you get to travel on the new Sakura Express, which is one of the most modern trains in Japan.

Personally I might just head to Hiroshima and spend the night there, in a addition to visiting the peace museam you could make a side trip to Miyajima, which is not to be missed on any trip!

Let me know if I can help with anything else :)
-Daniel

Hei Daniel!

Thanks again!

Next question: I decided to spend one night in Hiroshima and skip Osaka. Then the next day go to Miyajima. Is it enough with one day there (planning to stay over OR just go straight back to Tokyo after couple of hours) And then I will have one last full day in Tokyo before i need to go back to Norway.

Or is Miyajima so wonderful that I shuld stay there for one full day?

Daria :)

Hi Again!

Miyajima is very nice and you can spend most of the day there but I think that you can see most of the island within a day. What I would do is enjoy the day there and than take a late noon train back to Tokyo. This way you have a little more rest before you fly back home and can do your last day shopping in Tokyo!
-Daniel