Have decided to get a JR Pass for our Kansai trip so suddenly a lot of different options have opened up like Kinosaki Onsen & Okayama/Kurashiki.

Nishiki & kuroman ichiba close at 6pm.
for Fri, Kaiyukan is not bad choice.

Kinosaki Onsen, if din plan on staying at their ryokkan n wan to take dip more than 2 times, get Yumepa Pass.
if u lazy to bring ur big towel, u can "rent" for a price, after u use, u can take it with you to next onsen. n the town get really quiet after 6pm (near train station).

Amanohashidate is not a bad place. its quiet town tho.

yes
i do know those 2 market only opens till 6PM
some shops closes earlier than 6PM
i might go nishiki before proceeding to kawaramachi and etc

kaiyukan as in osaka aquarium?...my mom won't like that

Planning to stay a night at Kinosaki between our Kyoto & Osaka trip, as a break
Already booked our ryokan

Where is this Amanohashidate let me check hmm...

- Second day is too hectic - you plan to visit several long shopping streets, plus temples and still want to fit in the palace.
- Nara itself is huge, if you want to add in Uji. Got to be more specific on the places do you intend to visit there.

Meow meow holiday again 😱 how long this time?

mind to share which ryokan did u booked?

Yes, cannot get enough of autumn in Japan so I am back!
19 days this time haha, much longer than my last trip but also coz my brother is getting married in Okinawa ☺

Mitsuwa Ryokan, 18,700 Yen for 2 people with brekkie.
That was the absolute cheapest I could find in Kinosaki for that period.

The other one I found was Sennen no Yu Gonzaemon but this one was 42,000 Yen with the crab dinner included 😲

I agree with Human Nature, day 2 looks too hectic so I would drop Nishiki & Imperial Palace since by the time you reach Nishiki it would he quite late already and I heard the market is mostly bustling during the morning.

My own plan for Nara is 1 whole day so by including Fushimi & even Uji on day 4 for your schedule looks quite tiring.

You're staying in Kyoto or Osaka?

2nd day i made it like that is because i saw this
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_higashiyama_half.html
not sure viable or not but it said can be done within 4.5 hours(half day) when reach gion-shijo/sanjo
thn will have another half day to explore the nishiki/kawaramachi surrounding area until night
that palace i put last is because it's optional, if can fit in thn ok, if can't thn can forgo and just explore the street like nishiki, kawaramachi, shinkyogoku, kiyamachi

for uji, i'm following regentCID's recommendation only
which is [平等院観音堂] [平等院 Byodoin] [十三重石塔] which is like going on a counter circle
but i still out uji as maybe, not sure if it's worth it(also depending on time after fushimi inari)

have u tried any all u can eat wagyu beef in osaka/kyoto?
i found chifaja at kawaramachi, review seem good


i set day 2 like that is because i saw this
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950_higashiyama_half.html
not sure viable or not but said to be able to be done in 4.5-5 hours
mean will reach sanjo or gion-shijo by noon
i might drop the palace and just explore around the streets of nishiki and kawaramachi only until late night though if time doesn't permit

decided to stay in both kyoto and osaka due to not worth to do daytrip because consist of 4 person
1st few day will stay in kyoto, only on Oct 7th (Monday) will take the train go osaka castle >> osaka/umeda >> abeno harukas >> namba(airbnb)

my Uji/Nara trips are,
Morning 6am at Fushimi Inari.
9am at Uji area.
12pm Nara. Todaiji Daibutsu, Nigatsudo, Tamukeyama Hachimangu, n Katsuga Taisha.
then return to Kyoto at night.

The Japan Guide half-day Higashiyama trip is probably viable if you don't spend too long at each destination and move fairly quickly.
From memory, you are travelling with some elderly?
If so, better to adjust the timing upwards to play it safe.

This is a hardcore jam packed day haha, 6am at Fushimi wow!
Nara feels like half a day, enough time to enjoy slowly if start at noon?

I have tried running the Fushimi inari, Uji and Nara circuit during my trip as well. You'll have to force yourself to follow the schedule though. It will also be hard to climb to the top of Fushimi inari unless you go there really early like 6am.. if you reached as normal like 8 or 9, you'll can only go through the main areas. For Uji, if you reached there late (after 12), you'll only have enough time to have a brief walk though the shopping street and visit Byodoin. And even then, you'll have limited time in Nara.

my 2nd uji/nara trip was
9am Uji
12pm Nara, Todaiji Daibutsu only.
Night Fushimi Inari.

n i mentioned before, very hard to enjoy Nara but easier to relax while enjoying at Uji.
since Nara is everyone choice, but not Uji, hence lesser crowd.
ppl from Osaka wont go Uji, only from Kyoto might.

the deer is nice for beginning but get annoying tho.

1 elderly, but can walk...don't have mobility problem time
and prefer to shop and eat rather than temple
so those temple and shrine are probably just walk around, won't stay too long


looks like i might really need to cut uji away based on the timing that u said

This post has been edited by MR_alien: May 3 2019, 09:34 AM

I'm doing Fushimi another day so I might drop by Uji before or after Nara depending on my timing.
Might also drop it completely if I can't finish Nara in a day.

Does the JR train stop by Uji? Or is it only via Kintetsu?

Indeed, I've rarely heard of anyone saying "once is enough" where it concerns Japan.

Oh gawd, that's epic - 19 days! My longest was close to 2 weeks hahahaha. Congrats to your brother and Happy planning!

Then how about going to Nishiki first in the morning before hitting the temples/shrines?

Yes cannot get enough of Japan and probably never will but just thankful I've managed to sort out my work and holidays to make this 3.5 week trip happen.
Will hopefully be able to post up some sort or trip report once it's done.
A lot of flying though but at least business class so not too bad

Melbourne > Sydney > Shanghai > Okinawa
Okinawa > Osaka
Tokyo > KL
KL > Singapore > Melbourne

only Keihan n JR iinm. taking Keihan from Fushimi Inari seem need to change train tho.

Kintetsu? if ur goin from Osaka to Nara, skip Uji lo unless u wan make a trip there.
only from Kyoto to Nara, u pass Uji. Uji is closer to Kyoto than Nara.

Both JR and non JR trains stops at Uji, but at different locations. One is further away from the other. You'll have to look at GMaps to see which one suits you better.

Also, depending on which pass you decided to use to visit the area. JR is more direct and faster between Fushimi Inari, Uji and Nara, however it's can be more expensive without using passes. If you're using Kansai Thru Pass, you might consider a hybrid where route using both JR (additional fare) and non JR trains.