Japan Trip

Hi there,

A 7 day JR Pass can give you very good savings by using it from Day 1 - Day 7. The 7 day JR Pass is about the same price as a normal return ticket Tokyo - Osaka. From there any additional travel if what you can save and that's a lot in your itinerary.

Coming back to your itinerary, I must say that some things feel a bit too busy. For instance, visiting Nara and Hiroshima on the same day is not a good idea. As you'll travel so much that you can't see anything. Instead on Nara, why not pop over to Miyajima near Hiroshima. This is a great visit as well and much easier to plan in. You could for instance combine it with a visit in Hiroshima to the peace memorial park and museum.

In Yokohama I would recommend a visit to the local China Town (it is the biggest in the world) and the harbour area, it is lovely to stroll around in and there are good shopping areas closeby.

Hope this helps,
Daniel

There are some good places to see in all the cities you mention. In Yokohama, the Sankeien Garden is regarded as one of the finest in the country. There is also a ramen museum, Yamashita Park by the waterfront is nice, and Yamate/Motomachi area with former homes of successful merchants, and some some say a better experience than Ginza in Tokyo. Since you are going to Yokohama, going a bit further to see Kamakura would also be well worth it.
For Hiroshima some of the more popular places include the Peace Park/Museum, castle, Shukkeien Garden, and Hondori Pedestrian Arcade+Okonomiyaki Village. One very nice place almost nobody goes to see is the Mitaki Temple along the western mountains.
The above info is correct though that there is no way you could possibly squeeze in both Hiroshima and Nara in the same day. Although if you are already seeing Tokyo, you can largely skip Osaka in the daytime - if you can squeeze in half a day to see Nara, it'd be well worth it. The Todaiji Great Buddha is a must-see sight there - one of the best in Japan. Places in Osaka like Dotonbori are best seen at night anyways. There are also the wonderful city views from the Umeda Sky Bldg, and Abeno Harukas Bldg - day or night is great; if you can see the sunset and catch both, that is even better.