Thanks in advance for your time and help!
My husband and I will be in Japan for about 9 days (9 nights) this coming October. This will be our fourth trip to Japan and we've done the Toyko/Kyoto/Osaka thing and we have spent time in Kyushu and Okinawa. We're hoping for some pretty scenery and nature, a relatively laid-back trip, and good food.
So far, here is our plan:
Arrival day: arrive in Narita about 4pm. Rent car. Drive to Aizu-Wakamatsu, arrive at Marumine Kanko hotel to stay. We may be arriving a bit late (past normal check in hours) and are trying to negotiate that with the hotel- any advice?
Day 1: Aizu-Wakamatsu area: Tsuruga Castle, Ouchi Post Town, Sazae Temple.
Day 2: Day in Fukushima prefecture: Not sure yet exactly what we will do here but it's likely that nature will be the focus. Shingu Kumano Shrine seems a bit out of the way of some of the popular things to do? Bandai-Azuma Skyline drive and park? Lake Sohara for a bit of hiking? Or Lake Inawashiro? Arrive at Tendo Hotel in Yamagata in the evening.
Day 3: Rissyakuji Temple in Yamadera, Minenoura Tarumizu Iseki, maybe relax at the onsen at our hotel.
Day 4: Travel to Dewasanzan and explore. How long should we expect to spend there? Travel to Hirosaki and check in to Zen Hotel there by the end of the day. We might have time to do something along the way there? If so, what to do? Stop in Tsuruoka or Sakata? Drive along the coast, maybe all the way to the Oga peninsula?
Day 5: Towada-Hachimantai National Park. See Nakano-Momijiyama?
Day 6: Takayama Inari Shrine, Tsuru no Maihashi Bridge, Aomori float museum, San-nai Maruyama iseki historic site.
Day 7: whatever we didn't get to on days 6/7. Some time at the Towada-Hachimantai park again, maybe, maybe spend a bit of time in Hirosaki checking out the park and the castle. Drive down to Morioka and check in to Richmond hotel.
Day 8: Spend a bit of time in Morioka, go to Kakunodate. Drive to Sendai. Check in to the Westin.
Day 9: check out a bit of Sendai before driving to Narita Airport. Is Matsushima overrated/kitschy in a good way or a bad way? Temples that are must-see? Places to hang out and soak up atmosphere one last time?
That's what we're thinking so far.
by Unusual-Solution8961
