Hello,
this will be our first time in Japan.
Due to mostly work reasons, the only realistic option was mid-July to mid-August. Sure, the heat & humidity sucks, but at least the air fare is more expensive.
We are mainly interested in the nature, hiking, Japanese history and culture, summer matsuri and hanabi festivals and Japanese food.
I guess the itinerary is quite packed, but we’ll adapt to the actual conditions and will skip when necessary.
As the heat will not be very forgiving, we’ll try to do most of the outdoor stuff in the mornings and evenings, using the hottest parts of the day for transit, museums, shopping etc.
We speak some basic Japanese (around B1 and A1 levels), so we are not that afraid of going off the beaten path.
Day 1 (Sun, 14.7.)
Fly in to FUK around noon, get IC cards, pocket wifi (or sim cards) etc. at the airport. Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Kumamoto, check in to the apartment. Eat, sleep, relax, wander around, acclimatize.
Days 2-5 (Mon, 15.7. – Thu, 18.7.)
Light work from home (up to 4h/day), try to recover from jet lag, explore the surroundings in half-day trips:
e.g. Dazaifu, Fukuoka, Shimabara/Unzen (via ferry), Kumamoto itself*, possibly Kagoshima*.
Day 6 (Fri, 19.7.)
~~Early morning shinkansen to Kagoshima. Maybe check the fish market. Rent a car, explore Sakurajima, then go north~~ ~~via Kirishima NP (possibly hike, if weather and time permits) and Takachiho gorge, to Aso for the night~~.
Rent a car in Kumamoto, drive to Tachioka natural park, then Hakkaku tunnel, along stone bridges, Goroga falls to Takachiho gorge. Hike, if weather permits. Then continue to Aso for the night.
Day 7 (Sat, 20.7.)
Aso NP, mostly hiking (some selection from Kishima-dake, Kusasenrigahama, Eboshi-dake, Taka-dake)
Day 8 (Sun, 21.7.)
Aso to Nagasaki – time permitting, do another hike in the area (maybe Makinoto pass to Mt. Tengugajo). Go to Ozuni for the Nabegataki falls and maybe Shibasaburo Kitazato Museum (will it be possible without advanced levels of Japanese?). Then go to Nagasaki – either use the ferry to Shimabara and return the car at Nagasaki, or return the car at Kumamoto or somewhere along the route and continue by public transit. Depending on route taken, see the bus stops at Konagai area.
Day 9 (Mon, 22.7.)
Nagasaki and its surroundings. Gunkanjima, Dejima, Mt. Inasayama, Atomic bomb museum, History & culture museum. (If a museum is closed, either try previous or next day, or just skip it)
Day 10 (Tue, 23.7.)
Nagasaki to Fukuoka. If the detour is viable, hike the Eboshi-dake loop at Sasebo. ~~Maybe~~ stop at Arita for the Kyushu Ceramic Museum.
Day 11 (Wed, 24.7.)
Fukuoka to Osaka. Stop along the route at Hiroshima (Peace park and museums, Shukkeien garden, maybe castle). If it seems viable, also stop at Miyajima.
Days 12-13 (Thu, 25.7. – Fri 26.7.)
Osaka, and day trips (Himeji, Nara, Kobe, Kumano kodo hikes). Tenjin matsuri finale at Osaka on 25th. Maybe USJ.
Kobe mainly for the food, might skip it altogether.
Nara for Yamato folklore park, Mt. Kasuga primeval forest (and the deer), Heijou palace historic site.
Days 14-16 (Sat 27.7. – Mon 29.7.)
Kyoto. Maybe some half-day trips around (Biwako, Nara if not already seen).
Usual touristy stuff, Fushimi Inari (early in the morning), Kiyomizudera, Kinkaku-ji, Nijou castle, Nishiki market. Arashiyama, or maybe the alternative bamboo forest near the Fushimi Inari.
Less usual touristy stuff, Okazaki shrine, Manga museum, Omi jingu. Mt. Atago hike, Ohara historic walk, Kurama – Kibune hike. I don’t expect we can see all of this in such a short time.
Day 17 (Tue, 30.7.)
Kyoto to Nagoya to Matsumoto (Nagano)
Possibly some remaining Kyoto sites in the morning, lunch at Nagoya (so far only the Shirotori gardens have piqued our interest there), arrive at Matsumoto in the afternoon. Check in at the accomodation, if time permits, take a train to lake Kizaki.
Day 18 (Wed, 31.7.)
Rent a car ~~in the morning~~, hike all day. Kamikouchi *(by bus)*, Mikuriga-ike, Tsugaike nature garden, lake Kizaki loop if not already done.
Day 19 (Thu, 1.8.)
Nagano to Fuji. Possibly some of the Nagano hikes in the morning, drive to Fuji five lakes region around noon, possibly do some hikes in the five lakes area. In the afternoon check in to a ryokan, rent a private onsen, enjoy kaiseki dinner. After dinner drive to lake Yamanaka for hanabi scheduled that evening.
Day 20 (Fri, 2.8.)
Hiking in the five lakes area. Drive to Fuji city, check lake Tanuki and Shiraito falls on the way. Return the rental car at Fuji.
Days 21-22 (Sat, 3.8. – Sun, 4.8.)
Tokyo. Saturday early morning get the shinkansen to Tokyo. Too many sights, not enough time. If possible, see the Imperial palace, Shinjuku Gyoen, Akihabara, Asakusa, National museum of nature and science, Open-air folk museum at Kawasaki~~, harinezumi cafe in Yokohama~~, … Definitely won’t even scratch the surface, but next time.
Day 23 (Mon, 5.8.)
Tokyo to Sendai. Early morning leave Tokyo for Nikko Toshogu and surroundings. Get to Sendai in the evening, for the Tanabata Hanabi.
Day 24 (Tue, 6.8.)
Sendai to Aomori to Hakodate. Go to Tashirojima, if schedule allows. San’nai-maruyama historical site in Aomori, maybe drop in to Hirosaki to see the castle (if the castle itch was not already scratched many times prior). In the evening, Aomori Nebuta matsuri. Catch the last train to Hakodate (or preferably some earlier one).
Day 25 (Wed, 7.8.)
Hakodate to Sapporo. Early morning go to mt. Hakodate. Then get on the train to Noboribetsu. Catch the bus to Noboribetsu onsen, hike around Jigokudani. Maybe take the ropeway to the bear park for the Ainu museum and the views. Return by bus to Noboribetsu, continue on the train to Shiraoi for the Ainu Upupoy and Kotan traditional Ainu village. Continue by train to Sapporo.
Day 26 (Thu, 8.8.)
Sapporo and Otaru. Day trip to Otaru for Music box museum, Asahi observation deck (SaiKano), Chipmunk park, maybe Aquarium and Fugoppe cave. Use whatever time remains for Sapporo attractions, like Maruyama park and primeval forest, Historical village of Hokkaido, Nopporo Forest park, etc.
Day 27 (Fri, 9.8.)
Early morning fly from Okadama to Memanbetsu. Rent a car, drive to Shiretoko NP for some hiking and bird watching. In the evening, drive to Kawayu onsen. Depending on the time, maybe go see the lake Kussharo, or hike the Tsutsujigahara nature trail.
Day 28 (Sat, 10.8.)
Lake Kussharo (if not seen previous evening). Hike mt. Mashu. Drive to lake Akan. If time permits, hike mt. Hakuto.
Day 29 (Sun, 11.8.)
Hike mt. Meakan, lake Onneto. Drive back to Memanbetsu, return the rental car, fly back to Okadama.
Day 30 (Mon, 12.8.)
Last remaining Sapporo POIs, then train to Chitose. Take a bus to The Birdwatching Cafe. From there straight to CTS and the flight home.
At the moment, 2 out of 3 car rentals are one way.
I don’t think I can change the Nagano to Fuji one, as the trains from Matsumoto to Fuji are slow (4+h vs. 2+h driving) and we’d still have to rent another car at Fuji to get to five lakes.
But do you think it would be better to rent a car in Kumamoto instead of taking the Shinkansen to Kagoshima? That way we can return it back in Kumamoto, but it takes longer to drive (2.5h vs. 1h) and we lose the option to return the car in Nagasaki instead. Although we can still take the ferry from Kumamoto to Shimabara and continue with public transit to Nagasaki.
Edited with *italics* and ~~strikethrough~~
by habdl
