Where's a good city to visit between our travel from Takayama to Kurashiki?

by Stephanie
(San Pablo, CA, USA)

I am going from Takayama to Kurashiki but would like to make a one day stop somewhere in between so that we don't spend that much time traveling.

Due to the dates of the Gion Matsuri, we are already going to Kyoto at a later time during the trip.

Here is our tentative itinerary starting from
Day 1-3: Tokyo
Day 4-5:Takayama
Day 6: ???
Day 7-8: Kurashiki
Day 9: Hiroshima
Day 10: Osaka
Day 11: Nara and Mount Koya
Day 12-14: Kyoto
Day 15-16: Tokyo

Thank you for your help!

Hi Stephanie,

You look like you've got an awesome schedule worked out so far. Fantastic that you're including the Gion Matsuri. I've never managed to get there yet so I'm jealous!

I'm looking at your schedule and I wonder if you'd be interested in stopping off in Shiga prefecture. Lake Biwa is here. It's the largest body of freshwater in Japan and in 1997 the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) put it on the Global 200 list for being one of the top ecoregions in the world. If you want a break from temples this is a great location.

There's a place called Hikone on the eastern shore of the lake which has an old castle and gives you good access to all the local areas.

I'm not sure if you have any special wishes or kinds of place you'd like to see. If you have any questions about this or want a different kind of suggestion just add a comment to this post and I'll get back to you : )

Happy travel,

Honor