We have travelled 6 times to Japan and have visited the following places
**Hokkaido** : Sapporo, Otaru, Shakotan Peninsula, Noboribetsu, Lake Toya, Lake Shikotsu, Hakodate, Asahikawa, Lake Akan, Shiretoko Peninsula
**Tohoku** : Aomori city, Lake Towada, Oirase Stream, Hachinohe, Sanriku coast, Kakunodate, Nyuto Onsen, Morioka, Aizuwakamatsu, Higashiyama Onsen
**Kanto** : Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura
**Chubu** : Izu Peninsula, Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kamikochi
**Kansai** : Osaka, Kyoto, Himeji, Kinosaki Onsen, Ine, Amanohashidate
**Chugoku** : Okayama, Kurashiki, Onomichi, Tottori, some inland sea islands such as Shodoshima
**Kyushu** : Fukuoka, Karatsu, Kumamoto, Unzen Onsen, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Amamioshima, Miyazaki, Kurokawa Onsen, Miyazaki, Yakushima
**Okinawa** : Ishigakijima and Miyakojima
This year we’re flying to Osaka/from Fukuoka (26.10-20.11) and want to spend most of the time in Shikoku plus some time in Oita (the only prefecture in Kyushu we haven’t visit) and end in Fukuoka to watch Sumo (did once before and loved it).
We usually like to have a mix of big and small cities, beautiful nature, mountains, onsens, coastline etc.
We’d like to not change hotel constantly but are happy for 1 or 2 nighters when it makes sense.
We love onsens but would ideally spread Ryokan stays over the trip if possible as kaiseki meals can be too much on multiple days.
Rough itinerary is as follows, could change day allocation no problem: (Don’t want a crazy schedule so trying not to fill every day, will flexibly drop things when necessary).
Day 1 – Travel, arrive in Takamatsu
Days 2-4 – **Takamatsu** (Ritsurin Park/Naoshima/Teshima, Marugame, city stuff)
Days 5-7 – **Iya Valley** (Train/onsen/drive/walk/Mt Tsurigi or Miune Hike)
Days 8-11 – **Kochi** (City/Shimanto River/Kiyodo/Knives/Castle/City Stuff)
Days 12-16 – **Ehime** (Matsuyama/Mount Ichizuki/Yusuhara/Uchiko/Ozu/Ferry to Beppu)
Days 13-17 – **Oita** (Beppu/Yufuin/Kunisaki Peninsula/Kiji Mountains)
Days 18-22 – **Fukuoka** (Food/Shopping/Parks/Food etc.)
We could spend the first 1.5 days in Osaka or Kobe before Takamatsu depending on how the rest of the itinerary fills out but I’m more and more tempted to get the travelling done straight away.
So, the first 7 days are straightforward, only unsure of the following:
**Iya Valley**
* 3 days or 4 days?
* Where to stay? I was thinking 2 nights onsen(kazurabashi), 1 night Kouya Guesthouse
Afterwards, things are trickier:
**Kochi**
* As it’s so wide, being based completely in Kochi city doesn’t seem to make sense, where on the West to be a base to explore Shimanto River and other areas plus any nearby areas in Ehime?
**Ehime**
* Matsuyama seems a good base with enough for a couple of days in the city itself plus hiking and trips to the likes of Uchiko, wecould sleep last night in Uzo or Yawatahama for the ferry to Kyushu next day. What would make most sense?
**Oita**
* Quite unsure about where to stay, Yufuin seems gimmicky and touristy, Beppu a bit run-down and only has the hells of interest. We’d love to do some hiking in the Kuju mountains, last time in Kyushu, we thought Aso was amazing (despite crater not reachable) and Kurokawa Onsen was picture perfect.
We’d like to hire a car in places where it really makes sense such as Iya valley (have driven lots in Japan) but otherwise trains, seems that we could take a few special trains in Shikoku.
We will try to use some or all of the special trains:
* Tosa Toki no Yoake no Monogatari (Kochi -> Kubokawa
* Mannaka Sennen Monogatari (Magame -> Oboke)
* Iyonada Monogatari (Matsuyama -> Ozu)
Any advice on itinerary improvements, tips on places to add/skip, hotel recommendations etc. would be greatly appreciated.
by GingerPrince72