Just came back from 3 weeks Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka-Nara-Kobe. The best time of my life.
Already planning to go again next year but not sure to re-visit Osaka-Kyoto, visit Hiroshima(Rabbit island), or go to Sendai(Tashirojima for the cats/Zao Fox Village).

Atm not planning to go to Hokkaido as I don't really like snow that much.
Will probably go during autumn or spring... really leaning towards spring tho.

Well.. I stayed at an Airbnb in all those places. In Kyoto and Osaka, a room suitable for 2 but I hog it all to meself. Around rm100-150 per night.
You could get much cheaper like rm80 but I prefer some kind of comfort when i stay there.
Could also get about the same price in booking.com.

I'll clean up my itinerary and share with you soon. Its very messy right now I'll throw in pictures as well to bait you

After my stay in a ryokan in Kobe, I have to agree to my Airbnb host in Kyoto... If you go to Japan, you NEED to stay in a ryokan at least a day.
Experience the onsen, the culture, the relaxation etc. Wear your yukata and geta to walk around the town, get good pictures.
It's pricey tho.. around rm1.2k per night when i purchased and current rate around rm1.5k.
Use the onsen after you checked in, after dinner and before check out the next day

This post has been edited by Grimtooth: May 4 2017, 05:35 PM

My logic for spring is a little bit different tho.
Spring = gets somewhat warmer towards summer(i discarded heattech on 3rd day).
Autumn = gets cooler towards winter.

Soooo.... I don't have to worry about buying extra clothing article if I have to since I want to pack light.
I feel like quitting job here and go teach english there

A normal sweater is more than sufficient by now. Might not even wear em even though temperature is pretty low due to body heat from walking
Between those cities.. they have the same weather. It boils down to what do you want to do.

I second this. I'm already planning to re-visit osaka/kyoto and probably extend to hiroshima this time.
While tokyo is a very good place to re-visit, the living cost is higher than kansai area.

As I discovered I preferred food/scenery over busy city life in my last visit, I made that kansai re-visit decision.
It is very likely that there is a "next time" for japan

p/s: It's probably only me.. but I don't find Nara really interesting.

Nobody knows what you like to see or experience. Some people like going to temples/castles. Some prefer riverside or mountains, and some gila anime spend 2 days at Akihabara. And some just like to sight see here and there a bit while exploring food the region could offer like me

I'd advise changing a decent amount of money in yen. Some restaurants do not accept cc. Not to mention the restaurants that uses vending machine to order.

stayed in Airbnb during my 3 weeks trip last month. No issue for me at least.

1st week of April is a bit too early actually. Try 2nd week unless you plan on visiting the more southern side of Japan.
I was in Tokyo for 10 days from 2nd April. Less than half bloomed on the first week.
Can't say for sure since we can't predict 100% for next year tho..

Below comparison at Nihonbashi Sakuradori. (daytime 3rd April, nighttime 10th April)

This is still very broad. What are the places you plan to go?
Try checking out the attraction for the places and plan your itinerary. Once done, people here may give you suggestions if its feasible or not.
Then you may get suggestions to adjust on finer details.

Different people got different things they find attractive. Food and view, Temples and castles, hiking and chill, etc.
If we were to include all, nobody could explore in a short time(and enjoy it).

Itinerary seems decent. I see you're a big temple/castle fan eh?
If you're in a mood to eat, consider Nishiki market in Kyoto.
I also noticed you didnt include Ginkakuji, philosoper's path and Uji(famous for green tea, Byōdō-in Temple) in Kyoto. Then again you might not have enough time

Kyoto got a lot to offer. Nishijin if you're into textile(their yukata/kimono is pretty pricey although its pretty dull. However they're very famous)
My advise is not to limit yourselves to castles and temples and dont make them mandatory. for example day 1.. visit a particular area. visit what you can visit. otherwise you might burn yourself out instead of the vacation you looked forward to.

I believe in relaxing while jalan-jalan instead of rushing. Its so much more enjoyable and memorable.

most adapters will set the volt so no need to pay attention on the volt requirement.
The pin massively used is the 2 bladed straight pin. Some said they also have 3 pin(1 straight blade + 1 round) but during my stay there, I highly advice against assuming everywhere has the 3 pins. Most uses 2 pin plug/socket.

This post has been edited by Grimtooth: May 18 2017, 01:12 PM

We're prolly somewhat of a same kind then. I am not a temple guy myself since I go around for food and views. But i do go to some parks since they have breathtaking views.
A bit of advice, bring a sweater along if you're staying out later than 7PM. It may not be so cold during the day, but when it gets dark the chill gets so much more intense. A down jacket would be nice since it's space friendly.

As a foodie, I winced at your duration for Osaka and Kyoto since they have awesome food, view and attractions.
Then again.. I do not know the focus of your trip so.. yeah..



About Nara.. as I did not visit temples as much(still visited a number of them in Kansai) I don't find a lot of interesting stuff there. If you don't care about temples and deer, might as well skip it.

I got my pocket wifi from Wiyo when they promoted RM14 perday for Japan. It's now RM20 tho.. They'll call, meet and give you the device before your departure(you state the date and time) and they'll call you to pick up when you arrive.
If you departure/touchdown at KLIA2, it's self service at their counter for both pick up and return.
Some other providers are offering RM15 per day but I can't tell about the service. Just read through their rental steps and you'll be fine.

Uh.. i think i remembered wrongly? maybe it's 3 days

EDIT: yeah 3 days. its the 72 hours Metro Pass. My bad!

This post has been edited by Grimtooth: Jun 5 2017, 09:35 AM

For reference, Kyoto 14th April.

early march... temp will probably wont even be higher than 15c, and might go down to 5 maybe?
beach activities will not make much sense