tokyo and kyoto 14 days, things in between

Day 1 - tokyo
Arrival at Tokyo mid afternoon (landing at 15:00)
Go to a weekly mansion around ueno (our base while in tokyo) and stroll around

Day 2,3,4 - tokyo
there are many things to visit and do in tokyo, we may not do them all but it looks like we have the following on the list:
tsukiji, akiba, shibuya, shinjuku, harajuku, ameyoko, roppongi, asakusa, sensoji, chureito, sony building, tokyo metro building, Mori tower, Ginza, Ueno)

Day 5 - Yokohama, Kamakura
quick visit of Yokohama and china town, go to Kamakura and check daibutu and the beach. back to tokyo

Day 6 - Hakone
visit hakone and more specifically tenzan hot springs, owakudani, enjoy Fuji-san and shrines around. back to tokyo

Day 7, 11 - Kyoto
Activate JR Pass and go to Kyoto. Go to our accomadation (most likely to be Fujiya ryokan, our base during our stay in kyoto) and visit things like the canal walk, kiyomisudera, nishiki, higashiyama, gion, fushimi inari, sanjusangendo, arashiyama, gingakujim kibngakuji, ponyocho

Day 8 - Nara
day trip to Nara. check out the nara park, todaijim, isuien garden and of course nara machi. back to Kyoto

Day 9 - Kanazawa
day trip to Kanazawa. visit the city and enjoy kenrokuen. back to Kyoto

Day 10 - Osaka
day trip to Oasaka. check the castle, minami district, the aquarium maybe, or even koyasan. back to kyoto

Day 11, 7 - Kyoto
see day 6. go back to Tokyo in the afternoon

Day 12- Nikko
From our weekly mansion. go to nikko for a day trip

Day 13 - Tokyo
Stroll in Tokyo

Day 14 - Tokyo, Narita
Hang out in the morning, go to Narita for a mid afternoon flight back home.

What do you think, do durations make sense? I am thinking I may be spending to much time in Tokyo, but at the same time it seems only to make sense for a 7 day JRrail pass.

Also if you can comment on the fact that we will be traveling in end of february...maybe bad weather or cold blast...perhaps temperature differences between tokyo and kyoto? we are thinking of takayama but it might require a full night stop to really enjoy - or not depending on the snow.

Thanks!

Day 5 - Yokohama, Kamakura
quick visit of Yokohama and china town, go to Kamakura and check daibutu and the beach. back to tokyo

I would do Yokohama after Kamakura and possibly have dinner there at night.

Day 6 - Hakone
visit hakone and more specifically tenzan hot springs, owakudani, enjoy Fuji-san and shrines around. back to tokyo

I would keep your Tokyo schedule flexible, keep an eye on the weather and if the day dawns clear change your schedule and do Hakone on that day. This will increase your chance of seeing Mt Fuji, although in general Winter is a good time.

Also if you can comment on the fact that we will be traveling in end of february...maybe bad weather or cold blast...perhaps temperature differences between tokyo and kyoto?
It will be cold of course, this page has some good info:-
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2273.html

we are thinking of takayama but it might require a full night stop to really enjoy - or not depending on the snow.

I would consider trying to incorporate the loop into your trip. So, Kyoto to Kanazawa, overnight Kanazawa. Then 8:30am bus to Shirakawago, 2pm bus from Shirakawago to Takayama, overnight Takayama. Then morning markets Takayama and then trains to Tokyo. This is what we did when we went. You may have to move Nikko back a day, and arrange your Kansai trip a little differently.
Day 7 Kyoto
Day 8 Kyoto
Day 9 Nara/Osaka (night) back to Kyoto
Day 10 Kanazawa
Day 11 Kanazawa Shirakawago Takayama
Day 12 Takayama to Tokyo (to Nikko)?
Day 13 Nikko
Day 14 Narita.

To be honest I'd seriously consider just getting a 14-day JR Pass and then maybe having one less day in Tokyo at the end, which would make the above easier and give you back a day in Osaka.

There is 16,800 yen difference between 7 and 14.

By the time you add in Narita Express return 5500 yen, the trains around Tokyo (600 yen a day say), the train to Odawara for Hakone (saves you 1100 yen), trains to Yokohama, Kamakura, you are getting much closer. And then you have the flexibility to extend your time away from Tokyo. Depends how tight the budget is I guess.

Enjoy your trip!

thank you for the suggestion.

I like the idea of a loop in the mountains. what I am worried is the weather indeed. we will travel in feb and the kansai part is the second week which makes it end of feb, begining of march. I hear this winter is pretty mild. but what are the chances of being stuck or being too cold to enjoy while in the mountains?

somehow I missed the link you had provide about the weather. Everything considered it looks it could get pretty wild.

"Northern Japan and the Sea of Japan coast (kanazawa) receive lots of snowfall."

What would be the change of being stuck in Takayama and nice a few days of our trip?

At the same time it shounds like the mountains would be nice and white...we are not planning for any ski trip (she doesn't)...

"At the peak of winter, February tends to be the best time for winter sports and viewing winter sceneries, such as the drift ice off Hokkaido and the snow covered farm houses of Shirakawago. "

I believe now that I have a better idea of the locations we are going to, I should estimate all train timing and cost... I will spend most of the day looking up hyperdia and perhaps if the extra 14 day JR Pass pays for itself for the hakone and nikko trips.

again thanks!

I don't know what your decision was about Takayama, but we were there in Feb 2011 and, well http://flic.kr/p/9sS7H6

nice Sal1980. This makes me want to go!

ok today hyperdia is my friend! I will make that trip to Takayama happen.

Sal1980, did you encounter any trouble with the snow and using trains?

(sorry I am from Canada and somehow trains suck when there is heavy snow)

GC3,
without counting using the JR pass on the yamanote. I went ahead and calculated the day trips to kamakura, hakone (odawara really, the hakone free pass offer plenty of flexibility to go the round trip) and nikko.

it may be useful for many folks here so here are the details using Ueno as my base for all trips:
Narita-Ueno
1:JR [2740Y]- Narita T1 Narita Express Tokyo Stn (basement level)[62min] !Change Yamanote Ueno[7min]

Kamakura
1:JR[890Y] - Ueno Shimbashi[11min] !change JR Yokosuka-sen Kamakura[52min]

Kamakura Yokohama
1: JR Yokosuka-sen[330Y] - Kamakura Yokohama[24min]

Hakone(To Odawara by JR, using free pass in the hakone zone)
1:JR [2860Y] - Ueno[JR yamanote) Tokyo[8min] !change track10 LTD Exp Odoriko 101 Odawara[64min]

Nikko
2: JR [5230] - Ueno Utsonomiya[45min, Shinkansen tsubasa 123] !change from track 1 to 5 Nikko [45min, JR Nikko-sen]

With the above we have a total of about:
NaritaEx*2 + Kamakura*2 + odawara*2 + nikko*2 = 2740*2 + 890*2 + 2860*2 + 5230*2 = 23440

This cover the 16800 price difference of the 14 day pass and save some 6640

I think it makes sense and will go for the 14 JR pass that I will activate at Narita.

Thanks!

Well it didn't snow while we were there, so no problem at all. Not sure how likely it is that you'd have issues there. We went to Tohoku as well, and all the public transport ran fine when it was snowing. We just made sure we were going to Narita from Tokyo, not somewhere really snowy just in case.