13-day itinerary in Japan - help needed

Not bad, but add a day trip from Tokyo to Nikko, north of Tokyo.

Kyoto and Nara will be the most amazing part of your trip, you need three full days to explore Kyoto.

Thank you, geovagriffith and ORDtraveler!

ORDtraveler: a huge thank-you for your detailed, insightful and comprehensive replies, here and in some other threads I have seen while doing my research. To clarify, I am allocating my travel to mornings, so the Tokyo-Kyoto trip will be on the morning of Day 5, etc. As for the itinerary itself, as a matter of fact, I have absolutely no specific reason to be in Osaka other than that it's listed as one of the spots along the Golden Route. I have read that it is a "food and nightlife" capital, neither one of which is much of a big selling point for me, as mentioned. In other words, I can easily reduce it to a day trip. On the other hand, I know very little about Hiroshima and its environs, and I am going by such guidance as I have seen online.

In light of all the information you have provided, it looks like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima could all use an extra day, while Osaka can be either reduced to a day trip or crossed off the list completely. Would the following make more sense?

Days 1-5: Tokyo, including 1-3 day trips (Nikko, Kamakura, and Hakone)
Days 6-10: Kyoto, including day trips to Nara, Osaka, and Himeji
Days 11-12: Hiroshima and Miyajima

Or would you recommend adding an extra day to the Hiroshima segment and removing one from Kyoto?

Thanks very much for all the tips, ORDtraveler! This gives me a lot to work it. I really appreciate your insight.

(Also, I am flying into and out of Haneda.)

Loro S

We did the same trip in October of 2024, except we did not go to Hiroshima. We wanted to spend more nights in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

Just be aware that October can be very cloudy with some rain, not the best weather to view Mt Fuji. We opted not to use up a valuable day going to either Hakone or the Five Lakes (best places to view the mountain) and take a big risk of being disappointed. We just looked for Mt. Fuji from the bullet train travelling from and back to Tokyo. I got a few good shots of Mt Fuji on the way out. On the way back, the weather was rainy and the mountain was completely obscured.

We found that October was still too early for any Autumn colours.

At Himeji castle, we arranged for a free volunteer English guide who took us on a detailed tour of the castle and gardens. Just google "volunteer English tour guide Japan [or city or attraction]" to find and book these organizations. They will not accept a tip. A small gift (e.g. small bottle of maple syrup) or an invitation to lunch is nice.

Good luck.

Thank you for sharing your experience, funpig! This is very useful, and I appreciate the response!