Solo traveling in Japan for 2 months

Looks great. We loved Japan.
However, your itinerary seems to have one day in Kyoto. Kyoto deserves 3-4 days.

Both Kyoto and Tokyo deserve many days, at least 4. Your itinerary is a lot of traveling.

Definitely spend more time in Kyoto...we were there three nights and barely scratched the surface. We had a whole list of temples to visit and made it to three within the city. Stay near the station, an amazing place to explore with a huge department store, hotel, restaurants, concert area, food store etc. Oh, yes and trains! Go just out of town to the bamboo grove at Arishiyama, also enjoyed the nearby Tenryu-Ji temple and gardens. You can get there by bus or train. It was very hot when we were there and I had a broken toe, so we took a rickshaw to the Grove.

Also Fushimi-inari-Takisha a shrine famed for its thousands of red Torii is a short train trip outside Kyoto and a worthwhile trip.

We spent a couple of nights in Kurashiki and loved the old city with its canals and converted warehouses. Behind this area there is a pleasant walk up a hill to some temples and shrines, one of which is quite ancient, good views over the city.

General comments:

1. I don't think your plans are realistic.
2. You will be spending way, WAY too much time getting somewhere (and getting back), and not enough time being there.

While Japan's legendary train system is indeed wonderful and efficient, it still takes time to wake up in one place, move to someplace else, then either check in to a new hotel, or return back to your point of origin. It appears that you are not taking that into account. It looks to me like you are burning so much time on trains. Many of these destinations deserve at least a whole day, better yet several days - and yet you list so many of them as part of a "day trip". I think this is a huge mistake.

I haven't been to all the places you list, but I see many places on your list that I have been to, and they deserve more than a few hours you would get there on a "day trip" (Nikko, Mt Fuji). LIkewise, I don't think you're going to experience anything at all in Sapporo - not on the same day you take a train there from Tokyo. How exactly do you do a "day trip" from Sapporo to "Sea of Okhotsk" - that's like saying you're going to do a Day Trip to "The Mediterranean" from Madrid (note: Hokkaido is big, it's a long way from Sapporo to the Sea of Okhotsk, and it takes time to ride across Hokkaido from one end to the other; I think it may be physically impossible to cross Hokkaido west-to-east, turn around, and go back, all in one day, even if you spend absolutely no time getting out of the train station to take a quick look at the Sea of Okhotsk before heading back to Sapporo).

I think you need to reconsider the distances involved and how long it takes to get to/from places, and most of all how much actual USABLE time you will have in all of your destinations. If you don't significantly reduce the number of places on your itinerary you risk crashing and collapsing and then abandoning your plans.

Sorry, I'm sure this is not what you wanted to hear.

I suggest you check out the forums at japan-guide.com. You will get much better, detailed and helpful info there (the Rick Steves forum is great for Europe, not so great for info on Japan).

Good luck.

Yes I did realise that I'm traveling too much. So I'm reducing the number of places that I'll be visiting and also fix some places where I'll base myself and see more of them than run around all the time.

Also from the opinions of a lot of people, I'm trying to get away from using a JR pass.

And like you said I need to reconsider my staying options in Hokkaido. Instead of staying in Sapporo all through I'll have to find another place.

But thank you so much for all the feedback. Its helping me a lot in refining my itinerary.

This may not affect you but Japan has very strict rules about bringing more than a one month supply of prescription medication into the country.

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html

It's a long time since I was in Japan, so I'll just mention two things: Make sure your visa is in order for the period of time you need. I don't remember the time span of my visa, and I've replaced my passport since that trip. Also, Kyoto is a very easy daytrip from Osaka. As others have noted, you do not need to wrench yourself out of a hotel and find and check into a new one every day. Have you traveled internationally before? Can you afford (and have the desk time) to book all these hotels in advance? (I think Japan is an expensive destination, like Switzerland.)

I did a trip in 2016 that was very similar to your first week in Japan, with a few differences. I landed in Tokyo and spent 4 nights there (did a day trip to Mt. Fuji) then train to Nikko and spent one night there before continuing on to Sendai to spend 3 nights with 2 half day trips to Matsushima Bay and Shiroishi & Akiu Falls. Others have already articulated that you're moving around an awful lot and possibly short changing some places in favor of day trips, but I wanted to point out a couple other things.

First, it seems like unnecessary backtracking (waste of time/money?) to go to Nikko for a day trip, then back to Tokyo, then head up north again to Sendai. That's one place I might consider stopping for a night on your way to Sendai, as I did. You can take the shinkansen (bullet train) partway to Nikko, but you then have to transfer to a slower, regional train. It's not exactly a quick trip, so I'm glad we didn't get there only to have to turn around and do the same thing in reverse the same day.

Second, you have the advantage of having a decent amount of time to spend in Japan, yet you're spreading yourself so thin that you won't really get to really settle in and "get to know" any of the places you're seeing. I only had 8 nights in Japan total, but I would have given anything to have more time in both Tokyo and Sendai. I loved both cities and I know I only scratched the surface of what I could have done if I had more time. I could have spent all 8 eight days in Tokyo and not gotten bored. I envy your ability to take it slower and see more in each place. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the good of the overall trip.

Third, I was visiting a friend who was living in Japan at the time, so I had the advantage of having my own personal "guide" of sorts who knew how things worked (like the trains) and who made it so I could hit the ground running and try to keep up with her. I had been to Europe before, but Japan felt very exotic to me and had, by far, the biggest language barrier of anywhere I had been, so without my friend to guide me I would have been more stressed and confused, especially during those first few days. Assuming you haven't been to Japan before and that you don't speak Japanese, you might want to slow down and give yourself time to adjust to their unique culture a bit. You are expecting a lot of yourself to start jumping into day trips and train hopping from day 2. Consider spending a couple days just in Tokyo at the beginning to get over jet lag and just explore and acclimate a little before beginning your other excursions.

Overall, Japan is a wonderful country and you are very fortunate to have so much time to spend there. The food is amazing and the country is much more beautiful than I was expecting. I'm actually hoping to visit again next year and stay a bit longer myself. I hope you will have a wonderful time.

I would recommend more time in Kyoto and definitely a day in Nara. Go to a baseball game while you are there. The fans are great and so are the food options at the ballpark.

If you do go to Takayama you may want more time there. There are many examples of traditional Japanese architecture. Also, it tends to be quieter than most cities. Know that you will be there during the hotter months and humidity will be high. Another place to consider is the hot springs town Kinosaki Onsen which has many wonderful onsen.