better make your moving to hotels minimum as you can. you can go to Miyajima from Hiroshima as one day trip. stay Hiroshima 2 nights instead of one night each at Hiroshima and Miyahjima. If you can extend to stay with your family in Osaka, you can visit to Kyoto from there. Takayama and Shirawaka can make combine like Miyajima i think.

Agree with Yully, Miyajima can be visited using Hiroshima as a base; actually if you want more time for other sights, Hiroshima and Miyajima can be done in a day.

Between Hiroshima and Kyoto, other places worth considering are: Kurashiki, Okayama, Himeji and Kobe.

1 night for Takayama should be enough. Shirakawa-go deserves a night stay at one of the gassho-zukuri farmhouses.

Shirakawa-go is more directly linked with Takayama by bus; it's on Takayama - Kanazawa bus route; BTW Kanazawa is another worthwhile destination.

It's wise to allow 1 night stay for Hakone. To do the classic round-loop course, you've to buy a separate 3900 yen Hakone Free Pass for all means of transportation in the area after you use your JR rail pass to get to Odawara.

Hi Thanks for the comments. William- Could we do Himeji as a day trip from Osaka?

Also does anyone have comments on whether or not guided tours are a good way to go in Kyoto and Tokyo?

Thanks

If Himeji castle is the only place you want to see, yes you can go on a day trip from Osaka, Himeji is only 1 hr by JR from Osaka.

I won't recommend it but I'd known people doing Himeji in the morning, then on their way back to Osaka, do Kobe in the afternoon, thus achieving 2 "be there" experiences in a day !

Hi Guys just wanted to bump this post with an updated itinerary, any advice would be great.

Osaka (staying with family) 3 nights:

Possible day trips to Kobe, Nara or Koyasan

Hiroshima/Miyajima 2 nights:

Will stay the nights at either Hiroshima or Miyajima, does anyone have any preferences based on their experience?

Osaka 3 nights:

This has been changed from Kyoto and will do day trips to Kyoto over the 3 days. We are staying in Osaka as we arent paying Accommodation costs there.

Can Kyoto be done like this or is there any benefits (other than travelling) for staying in Kyoto? Any advice on this?

Tokyo 3 nights

Hakone 1 night (We may possibly extend this to two nights and stay at a ryokan if we do not stay a night at kanazawa)

Takayama 2 nights

Shirakawa-go 1 night:

Staying in one of the farmhouses.

Kanazawa - 1 night (May change this to eliminate too many one night stays?)

Osaka- 2 nights

We are interested in staying at a nice ryokan with onsens for around 2 nights during this trip. Can anyone provide any suggestions on which area/which ryokan they recommend. We have looked at japanese guesthouses however experiences on this would be good.

Any help is appreciated

Between Hiroshima and Miyajima, Miyajima is the place for an overnight stay. Seeing the place lit at night is quite memorable. You have the bonus of possibly viewing autumn foliage during your visit, though Nov. would be even better. Perhaps you can arrange the trip to Miyajima during the latter part of your itinerary !? Miyajima's accommodation is expensive though; last ferry back to the mainland is around 22.00, so you can stay there late and still see the shrine lit after sunset before return to cheaper accommodation in Hiroshima if you want.

Koya-san can be done as a day-trip from Osaka, but it's worth considering an over-night stay at one of the temples. The temple lodging is an experience itself, and to take a walk in Okunoin at dawn or even better at dusk when the path is lit by laterns is quite a sight.

Yes, Kyoto can be done by several day-trips from Osaka, they are only 30 min JR apart. Kyoto, on the other hand, serves as a good base for other side-trips: Arashiyama, Uji, Hiei-zan, Miho Museum and Amanohashidate.

1 night for Takayama is enough if it's only for the town itself. But if you have time, a worthwhile day-trip from Takayama is the beautiful Kamikochi Valley which can be reached from Takayama by bus.