In Two Weeks

This is something of a whirlwind trip, but it allows you to take in some of the best that Honshu island has to offer. If you have 1 or 2 extra days, you might wish to devote more time to Kyoto or head over to Kyushu.

Days 1 & 2: Arrive in Tokyo

Hit Tokyo's highlights as outlined under "Japan in 1 Week."

Day 3: More of Tokyo

Visit the Edo-Tokyo Museum for a colorful portrayal of the city's tumultuous history, followed by a stroll through Akihabara, the country's largest concentration of shops devoted to electronics, with store after store offering the latest computers, digital cameras, cellphones, calculators, and more. Next, go to Harajuku to see Meiji Shrine, Tokyo's most popular shrine, followed by shopping at Oriental Bazaar, great for Japanese souvenirs. End the day with eye-popping views from the 45th-floor observatory in Shinjuku's Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office, followed by a stroll through Japan's most notorious and craziest nightlife district, Kabuki-cho.

Day 4: Nikko

Take a day trip outside of Tokyo. An excellent choice is Nikko, famous for its sumptuous mausoleum of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan's most famous shogun, set in a forest of majestic cedars.

Day 5: Takayama & the Japan Alps

Early in the morning, take the Shinkansen to Nagoya (about 2 hr.) and then a 3-hour train ride to Takayama in the Japan Alps (if you don't have a rail pass, there are also direct buses from Tokyo's Shinjuku Station). Explore the picturesque, narrow streets of this old castle town and its many interesting museums and merchants' homes. Since Takayama has more traditional Japanese inns than hotels, this is the perfect place to experience tatami living, with accommodations available at various price ranges.

Day 6: Exploring Takayama

To get a feel for the small-town atmosphere, start your day with a stroll through the Miyagawa Morning Market on the bank of a river. Of the many small museums in Takayama, most unique is the Inro Museum, dedicated to the small, portable medicine cases and their counterweights, worn over kimono sashes. Also not to be missed is the Historical Government House, the only regional administrative building from the shogun era still in existence.

Days 7, 8 & 9: Kyoto

Spend the next few days in Kyoto as outlined in "Japan in 1 Week."

Day 10: Nara & Mount Koya

Early in the morning, head for Nara, an ancient capital even older than Kyoto. Most of Nara's historic buildings and temples, including Todaiji Temple with its Great Buddha, are enclosed within an expansive park that is also home to free-roaming deer. From Nara, take the Kintetsu train to Kintetsu Namba Station in Osaka, transferring there for a train and cable car to Mount Koya. Mount Koya is Japan's most sacred religious site, achingly beautiful with more than 115 Buddhist temples spread through the forests. Spend the night in one of these temples, dining on vegetarian food. Be sure to take a nighttime stroll past towering cypress trees and countless tombs and memorial tablets to Okunoin, the burial ground of Kobo Daishi, one of Japan's most revered Buddhist priests.

Days 11 & 12: Kurashiki

After a vegetarian breakfast and perhaps an early-morning Buddhist service, followed by a daytime stroll to Okunoin (when the atmosphere is completely different), return to Osaka and transfer to a train bound for Kurashiki. En route, make a stopover in Himeji to see Himeji Castle, easily the most impressive castle in Japan, and Koko-en, a garden composed of nine different styles of gardens typical of the Feudal Era. Spend the night in Kurashiki and take an evening stroll along the canal. The next day, take in the sights of Kurashiki, including its many museums like the Ohara Museum of Art with its impressive collection of Western masters.

Day 13: Hiroshima

Leave for Hiroshima first thing in the morning (it's about 1 hr. away by Shinkansen). Spend the morning at Peace Memorial Park with its sobering memorials and museum that does an impressive job of detailing events before, during, and after the explosion of the atomic bomb. Afterward, board a boat for the 45-minute trip to the tiny island of Miyajima, considered sacred since ancient times and famous for its Itsukushima Shrine.

Day 14: Departing Japan

I suggest departing Japan from Osaka's Kansai International Airport (it takes a little less than 2 hr. to reach Shin-Osaka Station, followed by a 45-min. train ride to the airport). Otherwise, you might consider a direct flight to Narita airport. (ANA has an early morning, 1-hr. and 40-min. flight.).