I haven’t been to Japan since September 2019, but finally found some time to return this April. In the past I visited Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka a few times, then Hakone once, and on the last trip did Hiroshima and Fukuoka. This time I wanted to go somewhere different and maybe see cherry blossoms too. I will have 2 days in Tokyo (April 20-21), then 5 or 6 days to dedicate to this itinerary, and then return to Tokyo to fly home.
Initially, my plan was to do Sapporo-Otaru-Noboribetsu-Hakodate, but after some research it seems like it won’t be great in terms of weather (too late for winter adventures, too early for greenery and lavender frields in Furano, just cold and rainy and too similar to my hometown of Seattle at that time). So I am trying to figure out a suitable itinerary that will let me see new places and will have decent weather along the way.
Things I’d like to do:
* See some new cities
* Stay at a ryokan for one night
* Experience a beautiful onsen again
* Have a memorable meal (not necessarily Michelin starred)
* Do some light hiking in a beautiful nature spot
* Visit a whisky distillery or a sake brewery
* Catch the end of sakura season (not a must)
Any ideas on how to structure this? I’ve never done northern Honshu (like Tohoku) region, so maybe that would work? [This post](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/nahtfk/chasing_cherry_blossoms_in_aomori_and_samurai/) outlines a pretty interesting itinerary, but I wonder if I can replace part of it with Sendai/Matsushima… I am fine with either trains or a rental car. Open to suggestions and thank you in advance.
by andreiz
