This was our Second trip to Japan as a couple. We decided to go on October 23 and found decent tickets, then our flight was on October 27 with a layover in Seoul. This itinerary focused on Kansai, Chugoku, and Gifu prefecture. Initially, we wanted to Koyasan dropped out at the last minute and I went to Kurashiki and Okayama instead, which turned out to be a great choice. Kurashiki’s canal district and the overall pace were very scenic, full crafts and overall great.
Around Hiroshima, the Peace Memorial Museum was extremely crowded with several school groups, which made our visit feel a visit overwhelming. Staying overnight on Miyajima was absolutely worth it to experience the island at night and start with a quiet morning at the temples. We stayed in a machiya and it added a lot of charm. Watch out if your are trying to climb Mt. Misen, the route we took was poorly maintained, difficult and steep. As someone mentioned earlier if you're not an athletic person, it's better to take the ropeway up. The Omoto path is a mostly dirt trail with lots of stone block that served as steps and many of them were quite tall. I regretted that a lot, it took us about 2 hours to get ti the top.
For this route, the Hiroshima Kansai Area Pass worked very well. And more than paid for itself.
In Kyoto we split mountain time between Mount Hiei with Enryakuji and Kurama. I preferred Mount Hiei, but be aware you will need time to wander the temple complex rather which is distributed across the mountain. Hiyoshi Taisha, the monkey shrine at the base was a pleasant surprise and the cable car ride was fun.
From Nagoya we took a day trip to the Nakasendo and walked Tsumago to Magome. I would recommend this route if you’re planning a day trip since there are more frequent trains from Nakatsugawa to Nagoya. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The trail was pleasant, the forests were changing colors, and the towns were beautiful. Matsumoto and the castle were also a beautiful sight. I recommend the volunteer retiree tours if you can catch one. They are free and you get a chance to learn from the locals.
Takayama was fantastic. We spend the first day in a day trip to Shirakawago and Ainokura. Very quaint, both of them charming. I prefered Ainokura since it was less turisty. They had a little craft museum and a store for washing paper. In Takayama I enjoyed sake tastings and browsing small craft shops. If you have time, add Hida Furukawa. We were lucky to see locals moving the festival floats and sake stores with tours and tastings.
We also spent one day in Gifu City as a buffer to see the southern part of the prefecture. Unfortunately there was heavy rain so we didn’t do much. The city itself does not offer much compared with nearby options.
On our final day we went to TeamLab Biovortex, it was a super fun experience! We had been in TeamLab Planet in Tokyo last year but this was more interactive. Would definitely recommend!
Happy to answer questions about logistics or pacing.
by Maleficent-Trash7575