My two best friends and I are going all in for our first trip to Japan: 28 whole days backpacking in the country in July 2022, with the majority of those spent outside of Tokyo with the help of a 21-day JR Pass.
We’re currently having a disagreement about where to go during our tour across Japan. We’re definitely staying at Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Kagoshima, but additional locations are still up for discussion.
Two of us are really curious about Sapporo, and with that much time, I figured that spending a week going to Sendai, Hakodate and Sapporo at the tail-end of our trip would be a good idea. We could spend two days in each city before using a seventh day for the long trip back to Tokyo.
Our other friend strongly opposed that idea, though – saying that an entire day spent on travel just for those three cities isn’t worth it, when we could just as well spend more time in the cities we agreed upon, or doing shorter trips to more adjacent areas like Hakone, Kamokochi, Kobe or Nikko.
I vouched for the scenery and variety up north, but he argued that we could get plenty of both elsewhere, which is very true. Our third friend decided to stay neutral about it.
I’m inclined to follow his lead, but first I really want to make sure that we’re not skipping anything unmissable by sticking to the southwest.
So, in your opinion, is there anything in northern Japan that’s essential for the Japanese experience? Or is the detour not worth it that much when there’s still plenty to see elsewhere?
Thank you so much for your time!
\[Edit\] Added dates.
50 comments
I haven’t been to the northern part of Japan so I can’t speak to that. I do however think that people get overly stuck on the idea of having to do everything together when traveling together. I do think you have the option of going off on your own so you get to see what you want to see and if your friend doesn’t want to then they don’t have to. Solo traveling can be a little scary, but it’s very freeing so if you wanted to do this and the others didn’t I would recommend going for a few days on your own!
I’d say Sapporo is worth it. You’re going for essentially a month, I can’t imagine a couple flights to Sapporo is going to be a huge hinderance lol. It’s very unique compared to the rest of central Japan.
That’s a very good question, thanks for asking it. My wife and I are planning on visiting Japan in a couple years or so, and we had planned on visiting the north, but it does mean a lot of time spent traveling instead of visiting other places. As Canadians, I’m not sure that northern Japan would be all that special to us.
Yes, there are plenty of other places that also have spectacular scenery. That will be the case no matter what you decide.
I adore Hokkaido and frankly you don’t lose a day – Tokyo to Hakodate is a tick over 5 hours if you time it right.
An important factor is when are you planning on going? What time of year?
Do you have to all stay together? Is there a way that you can branch off for a while and meet back up? At the end of the day, it’s your holiday too and if you have an interest even vaguely in somewhere, you might as well try to see it since Japan is a long way away (I say this from a brits point of view and don’t know where you originate.)
>We could spend two days in each city before using a seventh day for the long trip back to Tokyo.
2 Days isn’t *really* enough time to see a city, IMO.
Really, neither choice is bad.
What time of year? If winter: I would do Hokkaido for sure. I’d also look at holidays when you are going. Foods in season, festivals and events that the city is know for is a big reason to move around.
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If summer, I might also stick around Kansai for the extra couple of days, because there is just so much to do. Or maybe hop over to Ehime for some of the 88/ Matsuyama Castle.
Your experience in Hokkaido is really going to depend on what season you go in (and you haven’t mentioned when you were going). I personally spent 3 weeks in Hokkaido during December and loved it – hit Sapporo, Asahikawa, Otaru, Noboribetsu, Hakodate and more places, and I was there to enjoy the skiing, food, scenery, onsen and took my time with it. But again whether or not they’re must do depends on what you’re looking for, and what Hokkaido offers in summer/spring is vastly different to winter (and no personal experience here on the warmer seasons).
Would I recommend Hokkaido? Definitely. But I’ve also found the joy of Japan is taking your time at places, and considering you have a fair bit planned already you might be better parking Hokkaido for another trip and getting more out of what you already have planned. Your friend is not wrong on the travel time to travel north, and you’re already going south west which is still a fair bit of travel on it’s own (I’ve done Osaka to Sendai via shinkansen, and that was plenty for a day 🤣)
I think it really depend on what you are interested in. If solely for scenery, then yes there might be some different things, but a the same time there is plenty of great scenery that you can see all around Japan.
Yes. there is interesting things there, but there is interesting things everywhere.
I did that kind of trip before and I would say that what I regret the most about doing a 21 days JR Pass all around Japan is that I could only spend a brief amount of time in each city and region and at the end, would only have a brief overview. Now that I returned to Japan several times, I end up returning to the same regions I’ve previously passed by to go a bit deeper.
Start to check how you would spend the 21 days without thinking about north of Japan to see if you even have time to go without rushing the rest.
Do you have to stay with your friends for the whole trip? Since it’s a long 28-day trip, why not break up for a week at the end to go off and do your own thing? Domestic flights in Japan are cheap and quick so the trip back to Tokyo doesn’t have to be long.
It’s certainly not necessary for your first trip to Japan, but having been to Japan several times before visiting Sapporo (in the Spring), the things that stood out as unique:
1. Hokkaido dairy is amazing. Some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had was in Sapporo. They literally sell milk in souvenir shops at the airport.
2. The city is known for miso ramen and Ramen Shingen was a turning point in my understanding of ramen (previously I was a firm believer that it was tonkotsu or bust).
3. The all-you-can-eat/drink grilled lamb experience at the Sapporo brewery was phenomenal. In general, grilled lamb (aka “Genghis Khan” lamb) is a specialty in the city.
4. They have a later sakura season (actually the reason we went there at the time that we did) so if it happens to be late April/early May and you want a chance of seeing sakura then they’re a good place to be.
5. Kinotoya Bake in Sapporo Station is the only time food has actually given me goosebumps just from biting into it.
Overall, the places you’re already planning to visit will offer so many amazing things to see (and eat) that you can definitely skip Hokkaido, but it does have lots to offer so you won’t be disappointed if you go!
Hokkaido is nice, but I’d side with your other buddy.
Actually, I think there’s plenty to see and do between Hiroshima and Tokyo alone to fill 28 days. Now you’ve already added Kagoshima and Fukuoka as well. So I’d consider adding Nikko, Nagasaki and Nara. Maybe Okayama and Kobe.
I wouldn’t skip Hokkaido!
You should definitely see Hakodate, Niseko, Otaru, and Sapporo for sure.
Im gonna be straight up and tell you not to spend too much time in Tokyo or Osaka unless you really like gigantic metropolises. I think people usually allocate too many days to see those cities in their itineraries- so that would be a good place to maybe make some room to see the North!
I am not a big fan of “cram as much you can into one trip” mentalities. I like to go with the expectation that I will be back again. Hokkaido is worthy of its own trip IMO
I’ve traveled to both routes (on two separate trips), and I would think it depends on what your current itinerary looks like, and how you plan to go to sapporo (train vs flying there).
I love Hokkaido, but I’m someone who wants to maximize my time outside the train. If you’d fly there, I think it would be doable, but taking the train? Nah, definitely not worth it, unless you have a departure flights out of Hokkaido.
This is a trip for you to enjoy and explore culture and cities. Not a trip to sit on a train or speedrun cities (unless this is your actual intention). Take your time and i’d spend more than 2 days in some cities to be able to enjoy everything. (You’re also going in the summer, where it is humid and you’ll probably need to take more breaks.) Keep in mind, you need to factor in time of getting lost, time queuing, time just wandering off and seeing things unexpected in the itinerary.
As mentioned, you have some great options with Nikko, Hakone, Kobe, (Never been to Kamokochi). Sendai is fine as well. If you want some recommendations in that area, Yamadera was fairly nice when i went. Definitely want to go back in the Summer/Fall. I also enjoyed going to Matsushima bay. I took the cruise and I thought it was very enjoyable and relaxing.
I wanted to add something that someone has not mentioned, the weather. Seeing that you’re aiming to go in July, it’s going to be hot as heck in all of the places you mentioned. I did a trip similar to yours 3 years ago.
I started in Tokyo and traveled south staying in a few cities, eventually flying into Okinawa. From Okinawa, I flew to Seoul, Korea for 3 days, then rounded back to Sapporo for a few days. Every single day of that trip was hot as balls except when I got into Sapporo. The weather was much more accommodating and it was a nice change.
If you are going to Hokkaido, I’d say make sure you can rent a car, there are cool places to go but the infrastructure there as a whole is not as good as in the rest of Japan, so travelling to the interesting places without a car is challenging and would add a lot of downtime.
28 days is really not that much if you do all Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Kagoshima, and Tokyo. I would be more inclined to spending more time in the cities you are already visiting instead of going Hokkaido.
In July, I feel like you would appreciate the gentler climate of the north
Hokkaido looks incredible and it’s high on my list of places to visit in Japan, but I think I have to side with your friend here. Seems like you’re spreading yourself way too thin and would be better served to spend more time in the places you’ve already chosen as opposed to adding more locations to visit. This gives you an excuse to return for another trip some time in the future to head North
I think save that trip for the future. Venture into the north. I really appreciated taking time in Tokyo, Sendai, Akita, Aomori, Hakodate, Sapporo, Otaru etc.
You can spend 21 days on that trip with the JR Pass and be fulfilled.
The north is a full trip on its own, I wouldn’t include it.
Instead I would spend more time on the western side, and even go a bit south to Matsuyama. I did Onomichi to Imabari on the Shimanami Kaido bike trail and it was jaw dropping amazing, absolutely worth it. This got me to the Shikoku island where Matsuyama and other cities are, definitely worth checking out.
You can take JR trains the whole way or even a shinkansen. The cute local trains in the south and west of Japan are so cool. Get out of the mega cities and check out some smaller places! The pace and lifestyle are really different, you’ll feel it, and the people just love to show you a great time.
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I’d spend less time in Kyoto than other places. See the historical significance and move on.
Osaka is like Tokyo but with a “chill vibe”. I can’t explain it other than that. It’s a mega city but with less of the hustle you feel in Tokyo.
Having lived in northern Japan, I’d say it’s definitely worth travelling to. You can see some amazing sights that are absolute gems in Japan.
But with a time constraint, I’d focus on either central-to-south or central-to-north sides. Like either south of Tokyo, or north of Tokyo within 3-4 week periods. Or more like, you’ve seen the south already, aim north the next trip.
The thing too about Tohoku and Hokkaido is that’s the areas are a bit particular. Winter festivals, winter sports, and the sights alike can be amazing. So very seasonal in an aspect. Add on, too, that I think having a car (renting) is essential to see some of the best sites around without being hindered by trains and buses.
Add on too, I think having a less cramped travel schedule works out well. The Tokyo/Kansai route can already chew up two weeks of furious travel; add on other stuff, three or four weeks is still kind of short given a few days of rest and relaxation. If you add on extended travel up north, you’ll be spending a lot of time travelling and scattershotting everywhere that can add on a lot of stress.
If you’re backpacking for 3 weeks straight, I get that it’s not high elevation camping in the woods shit, but you’ll still be tired here and there.
The long travel days – you should view them as scenic break time to get off your feet. Spending half a day on the shinkansen can be amazing and one of my favorite things to do…get a nice eki-ben (train station bento), load up on some beverages, and chill out on the train. It’s incredibly smooth if you want to take a nap, just listen to music and enjoy the view, or get some work done. Riding along the northern coast between the ocean and snowcapped mountain peaks last winter right before covid hit was one of the great memories that got me through the quarantine.
Anyways the train is a great way to break up the go-go-go mentality of cramming all your sightseeing into a compact schedule.
Hakodate, Otaru, Sapporo etc have crazy good seafood and Hokkaido agriculture is fookin amazing. I’ll die if I drink straight American milk but I can drink Hokkaido dairy…plus anything made with Hokkaido Butter, i.e. cookies, ugh I’m getting fat just thinking about them.
Downside is you’re spending time on a train. So if that’s not your thing, I get it.
> Our other friend strongly opposed that idea, though – saying that an entire day spent on travel just for those three cities isn’t worth it
1. Considering that if you are not within 4-5 hours by train from either of those cities (meaning you are farther than Kansai for Sendai, farther than Tokyo for Hakodate and farther than Aomori/Hakodate for Sapporo) – it would be recommended to fly in – that’s simply not true. Yes, you would have pay extra, but stay within reasonable fares with JAL/ANA deals or LCC.
2. The idea that you travel for just those three cities is false – you could probably plan a week worth’s of activities with hub in Sendai (Yamadera, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Geibikei Gorge/Hiraizumi, Matsushima Bay are all within a day’s trip – heck, even Kakunodate, Hachinohe, or Hirosaki are within a reasonable travel distance) or Sapporo (Otaru, Asahikawa, Biei/Furano via a tour); and at least 3-4 days in Hakodate (Matsumae, Onuma-koen)
3. Note that while Kobe can be perfectly done as a day trip from Kyoto/Osaka, and while Hakone, Nikko and Kamikochi are relatively easy trips from the respective hubs (Tokyo for Hakone/Nikko, either Takayama or Matsumoto for Kamikochi) – the actual time it takes to get from Tokyo to Sendai is lesser than the time it takes to get to Nikko or Gora (never mind getting to Lake Chuzenji or Lake Ashi).
Those 3 cities are all worth spending time at. Sapporo deserves some time, but sendai and hakodate are worth half day trips maybe. Sapporo is the Tokyo/Osaka/Fukuoka of Hokkaido so it’s worth a day or two for that.
Nikko is a day trip at most. Easily the most overrated out of all of these.
Hakone is more of a place to spend the night to me.
Kobe can be paired with Osaka/Kyoto as a day trip/half day.
I’ve never been to kamikochi, but that seems more interesting that the other places you listed.
I’m inclined to agree with your friend.
Im always a fan of staying longer in fewer cities.
My wife and I did 10 days just in Tokyo (and around Tokyo) and I felt like we could have easily done 10 more days. We also did 3 days in Kyoto and I don’t think we even scratched the surface.
There’s no right and wrong here both you and your friend are right just thinking differently. Japan is an amazing place no matter where you go. There is alot to see in the north and not just the usual places like Sapporo and Sendai.
Akita, Kakunodate, Hirosaki, Goshogawara, etc. It almost endless.
If you guys are picking one area to explore you can pick a homebase city or town and the jump from there to make daytrips around that. It would save you time going back and forth and you can fit more in.
You idea of going north is fine as a long train ride can be good downtime and break you guys need to recharge before jumping right back in.
You’re back packing in July? Jesus Christ. I would go just to avoid some of the oppressive humidity. I thought Virginia got humid, but Japan has us beat for summer time sweats
I have spent 75% of my trips to Japan in and around Tokyo and still feel like I’ve not explored it enough. I got to spend a day and a half in Sapporo in the Autumn and it was amazing. I got to catch a metal show, go to the Autumn Food festival in downtown Sapporo, and then spend some time walking around. One of my goals when I can start going back is to hopefully find some time to explore Hokkaido as a whole and just spend more time outside of Tokyo.
So to answer your question yes I think there is definitely plenty to do up there. Taking a train and exploring up around that area would be lots of fun!
Hokkaido generally, and Sapporo specifically are quite different from the rest of Japan. Development there didn’t begin until much later and consequently, Sapporo, for example has a more Western feel to it. If you are interested in “nihon-teki” sites, those are much more prevalent further South. But, Hokkaido is beautiful! Daisetsuzan national park is huge and offers opportunities for hiking you likely won’t find anywhere else. There are also great hot springs/onsens scattered about that are fun to visit.
Perhaps the best reason I can think to travel there during the time of year you’ll be visiting is the temperature. You will likely find things down South rather “mushi atsui” (hot and humid!). Hokkaido is to Japan as Alaska is to the US. It’s remote, the culture is a bit different, but during the summer months is a beautiful and pleasant place to spend time.
You really can’t go wrong wherever your travels lead you, but I suggest continuing to at least consider a trip to the North. I loved it there.
What about Okinawa in the south? I heard the culture there is really different from the rest of the country and there are beaches and islands to explore.
It really depends on your interests.
Hakodate is where the last battle of the Civil War for the samurai took place, there are several things there of interest for that. Sapporo has the most incredible cookie factory I have ever heard of and has free tours. Plus a fantastic spot for Hanami, they have a park with cherry and plum trees that blook together if you are there at the right time.
Japan is a wonderful place with plenty to see and do, but without knowing what you enjoy seeing and doing it is really hard to give advice.
I actually liked Hokkaido despite going in December when it was freezing cold (we’re from down under so we’re not use to that kind of winter in Hokkaido). Went to Sapporo, Noboribetsu and Hakodate.
The winter cold makes your ramen all that extra delicious.
Isn’t hokkaido too hot in the summer and not having much difference to see from the rest of Japan? Spring they got flowers and winter they got snow but summer it’s just rural Japan? Both Nikko and Hakone have lot of historical stuff to see if you are into that kind of stuff. I haven’t been to Kobe or Kamokochu yet so I cannot comment.
Backpacking in July? I can’t imagine going anywhere else than Hokkaido.
Everywhere but Hokkaido will be far too hot for doing just about anything.
Besides that, Hokkaido has many beautiful scenic places.
I know you’ve got a JR pass, but you can always look at the low cost flight carriers like Jetstar Asia to get from Sappporo back to Tokyo without th long shinkansen trip.
Also, assuming you haven’t booked flights, typically an ‘Open Jaw return ticket can fly you into Tokyo, and out of Sapporo for the same price (Assuming availability is the same and some small differences in tax/airport fees added to tickets)
Hokkaido and Sapporo are really beautiful and worthwhile places to visit in Japan, which plenty of others have detailed for you, so I’ll just add that travelling on a Shinkansen in Japan isn’t uncomfortable, and you can pass some nice scenery.
My last trip I did the six hours from Sapporo to Sendai and the reality is, if you just wake up early and get on a train at like 6-7, you still have plenty of time that you don;t lose in the day. Japan is most open from 11-7pm in the cities anyway.
Also in a long holiday when your running around every day, 6 hours to sit and relax might not be the worst thing in the world.
I would buy a ticket that arrives in Sapporo first, then travel south through Tokyo then head west through whichever places you want to visit and fly out from Osaka so you only broadly travel in one direction.
TLDR For a month in Japan, Hokkaido is worth some time and I think you’re overestimating the impact of the travel to/from Sapporo and haven;t considered how your flights in and out can make it so you never need to back track..
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EDT: I read the rest of the replies and I’m surprised how many people were worried you were spreading yourself too thin. Based on the cities you mentioned, you are at like 4-5 days in each place. I certainly think theres some room in there as not every place needs 5 days.
Is flying back an option?
Hi,
There are 47 prefectures in Japan and each one has its own unique charm. And even within the same prefecture, different places have very different attractions(ex. Mie prefecture). So, in general, Hokkaido and the Tohoku region are very attractive, but I don’t know whether you find them attractive or not. My advice would be to rent a car in Hokkaido. I don’t think that just visiting Sapporo and Hakodate will give you enough of a taste of Hokkaido.
Me and my fiance did the same a few years back but we decided to skip the northen region. Our reasoning was that there was so much to do there and in all the places that we had decided on that it would be better to do the northen region as its own trip.
I do recommend going to Nara, really fun and many beautiful places to see.
Not worth the detour. Hakone and Kamikochi (the whole Gifu region, really) are just as beautiful.
in 2018 I flew my family from Fukuoka to to Sapporo for about 11k JPY per person with the JAL Explorer Pass, 2 hour flight. – It was Christmas time and I liked Sapporo a lot. was more interesting that Fukuoka in my opinion. Its a quick flight and if you are lucky you might even score a 1,000JPY “J” class upgrade (business class seats but nothing else special).
Sapporo Beer Garden (at the factory) was good, Suskino District was cool – size and scope of the underground mall was amazing. Watch some youtube vids to see if you think the place appeals to you.
With roughly a full month you certainly could go to Hokkaido, but I advise against it for a number of reasons:
Firstly, I think it is by far the least Japanese-feeling part of Japan. It was sparsely populated for most of its history, with the largest population influx taking place around the time of the Meiji restoration and later, at a time when outside ideas about urban design and architecture were supplanting traditional Japanese ones. Consequently, I tend to find cities and towns in Hokkaido much less characterful than ones on the other 3 main islands, and there’s a greater focus on industrialized agriculture (somewhat reminiscent of the American Midwest in some areas). Hakodate has its charms and the visible western influence on the city’s history is interesting, but other cities and smaller towns are very underwhelming compared alternatives elsewhere in the country when it comes to things like historical sights, activities, entertainment, museums, shopping districts, and general urban exploration. I personally find Sapporo to be one of the more boring cities in the country, and I certainly wouldn’t consider the city worth taking a significant detour to see.
What Hokkaido does have is some incredible natural sights, which brings me to my second reason–many of these things are not easy to fully appreciate by public transportation, and Hokkaido’s public transit network is not nearly as developed as elsewhere in the country. I also wouldn’t say that Hokkaido’s natural sights are necessarily more incredible than ones elsewhere in the country, so if you’re visiting Japan for the first time, I don’t feel like you need to take a detour all the way to Hokkaido just to get a taste of the country’s natural beauty. Now of course many natural sights elsewhere in the country are also easier to appreciate with a private vehicle, but for those that don’t want to rent a car, I feel like you’re a lot less restricted in Honshu or Kyushu.
The third reason is simply because it’s far–farther than you may be expecting. In fact it’s farther away from most of the rest of your destinations than Korea–so far that most people coming from central or southern Japan just fly. If you’re planning to go there with the JR Pass, be prepared to lose roughly 2 days just to get to Sapporo from Tokyo and back. And Sapporo is kind of just the gateway to Hokkaido (barring the Oshima Peninsula, which you would pass through to get there). If you wanted to go to say, Wakkanai or Abashiri, you’d be looking at another 5-6 hours or more train travel from there on trains that don’t leave very frequently.
For all of these reasons, I typically recommend against going to Hokkaido on a first trip and I kind of see Hokkaido as a trip of its own. It’s not a bad place by any means, but I tend to think of kind like Colorado or Wyoming or Montana–A place with great natural beauty, but also a place I wouldn’t want to see without a car and ample time to drive around and actually see those natural sights. Honestly at the time of year you’re going, the best reason I can think of to go to Hokkaido is just to escape the heat, though there are other reasons why you may not want to do that, which I’ll get into momentarily.
As to the question of whether you should go north in general–that’s a bit different. Touhoku is a large region and there’s quite a difference between taking the Shinkansen to Sendai and going way out into the middle of nowhere in Aomori or something. There are certainly things worth seeing seeing there, but depending on how far into Touhoku you’re talking, you spend a long time getting to them. If you only have a short time you it is definitely feasible just go to some of the less far-flung areas (like Sendai, as you mentioned) without having to take massive detour. There are some cool things around there like Yamadera and Matsushima (though neither is in Sendai itself) that you could potentially do over the course of a couple days. However my personal preference would be to spend more time in central and western Japan–there’s simply way too much to see and it’s by far my favorite part of the country. Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima are all great, but what about Nara? Himeji? Nagasaki? Onomichi? Kurashiki? Hikone? Takayama? Kanazawa? Kamakura? And that’s to say nothing of the countless more rural and natural offerings like Yakushima, Mt. Aso, Shirakawa-go, Kamikochi, or Kiso Valley.
You should also be aware that Mid-late July is a MASSIVE festival season in Kansai–Including the Gion Festival (all of July, with the biggest events from the 15th-17th, with other large events from the 22nd-24th), Tenjin Festival (24th-25th–especially the 25th) Motomiya Festival (21st-22nd), and Mitarashi Festival (last 10 or so days of July). I also highly recommend Kobo-san at Toji on the 21st and/or Tenjin-san at Kitanotenmangu on the 25th, though I wouldn’t sacrifice going to the Tenjin Festival just to go to Tenjin-san Market. These festivals are among the only good reasons I can think of to suffer through the heat of summer if going at another time of year is feasible. Ordinarily I recommend roughly a full week just for a quick run-through of the highlights of Kansai (Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe/Nara/Himeji area), but given the sweltering heat of the late summer and the extra time needed for festivals, I would give it more like 10 full days if you’re going around this time (again, just as a starting point). In that same vein, consider researching other festivals and events–there are a lot of them in July and August (not just in Kansai), and they can really add to a trip.
Finally I just wanted say that you already have a lot on your schedule. I generally recommend roughly 2 full weeks just for the highlights of Kanto and Kansai. Add a week in Kyushu, maybe a few days for festivals, and a few days for stops along the way (Hiroshima and maybe a few things along the Seto Inland Sea or central mountains) and you’re basically out of time. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that just because you have unlimited trips on JR that you need to go all over the country. Take your time–enjoy the places you’re visiting and don’t rush all over the place. Japan is a very dense country and everything will be new to you–even if you just stayed in one region for the entire trip, you would not run out of things to do.
Having done a number of 3 week-trips as well as trips all over the place, I’d say stick to a region and then make most of it.
While travel/moving around in itself can be nice and part of the fun in making a trip, it’s only nice if you don’t feel rushed or pressed by a timetable.
If you go to Hokkaido, you’d want a minimum one week there for a decent experience, otherwise I would not borher given the distance/cost/time. That would mean 2 weeks for the entire ofTokaido/Sanyo + Kyushu ….Which starts to feel a bit rushed, especially if you’re going to spend some time in Tokyo before you set off on your westward journey.
You could take a flight out of Kagoshima to Sapporo, and it’d kinda work, but then you’re still stuck with just 2 weeks for your entire trip in the south. I would forget JR – going Kagoshima to Sapporo that way is a massive waste of time, you’d spend a whole precious day and some just on a train doing nothing else.
What I would do: either skip Hokkaido and do your west Japan stint with a good, leisury non-rushed pace (you already have stuff listed to easily fill 3 weeks), or put some of your proposed west Japan locations on the chopping block so you don’t have to be so rushed, and end it all with a week in Hokkaido. Don’t use train. Fly, and then fly directly to Narita for your departure, thus saving you two full days you’d otherwise have to spend on just relocation.
I like Hokkaido, but given your other travel plans and the logistics it’d make much more sense to save it for another trip.
Watch “James May – Our Man In Japan” on Prime Video for a tour if this area… then decide.
Me and my wife had a similar disagreement on the north and opted to not go. Granted we went for half the time you are going. We were able to do include Nikko and Nara into our itinerary and those where 2 of my favorites. Also mount Takao outside of Tokyo is another nice day trip.
Nah
Each part of Japan is different from each other, and each part is special. What is more special about Hokkaido than other prefectures is that Sapporo is one of the largest cities in Japan. Other cities that are >= Sapporo are Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. If you want to have a max travel value, it is good to consider Sapporo after Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto.
Go visit Shikoku
Short answer yes, keep reading if you want to know why 🙂
I spent few weeks in the North, starting from Hakodate (great see food market, you can catch your own squids and eat them raw… so much fun!) and all you can eat sea food for $30. I stop at Onuma park on my way to lake Toya. Beautiful Onsen near the lake, delicious food. There are the ruins of the volcano that erupted in 2000, really impressive. If you are backpacking that’s really the kind of place I would go. I traveled 2 months in Japan with only one backpack with < 15kg. On the way to Sapporo there is Noboribetsu, a very large onsen town with various different water sources and their respective benefits, great food too (but that’s the norm in Japan). The scenery in the hell’s valley at the end of the village is worth a detour as well as resting your feet in the naturally hot water stream. The big 4-star hotel opens its huge onsen for visitors during the day, so depending on your budget you might want to find a more modest place or stay at the Dai-Ichi for a kaiseki dinner. Sapporo itself it a great city, very unique with plenty of things to do (I was there during October fest it was gorgeous). I absolutely loved Moerenuma park, in Sapporo there is also an outdoor museum that recreates Japan as it was years ago, Sapporo museum (beer) and delicious local specialties like the soup curry (must try). Asahikawa zoo a bit further in the North is really cool if you have time. And as for hiking, in July you should be able to visit the Daisetsuzan park. I planned to cross from Mt. Asahi-Dake to Sounkyo. But could only climb Mt. Asahi-Dake and gave up on the crossing due to bad weather. I was there end of September with the first snow, so in July it should be totally fine.
Personally, I enjoy Hokkaido and Tohoku more than the southwest, by a long shot.
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To be honest, it’s not hard to get to Sapporo by plane from any major airport in Japan. I would highly recommend looking into JAL’s Japan Explorer Pass, where they offer discounted domestic flights to foreigners looking to see more of Japan. You can snag a flight up to Sapporo for anywhere between $50 and $105. Now your friend doesn’t have anything to complain about when it comes to the commute to Hokkaido.
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If you do visit Hakodate, I strongly urge you to visit Daimon Yokocho Hakodate Hikari no Yatai; a yatai village near the JR station and a lot of the hotels in the area. It’s a fantastic way to meet a lot of locals, share stories, drink, and have a great experience.
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Butadon Porco is also a really cool place with a retro feel to it. It’s a restaurant during the day and a bar at night. Ran by a husband and wife duo who absolutely love to see foreigners come in and practice their English. Awesomely decorated with toys and other stuff from 1980s and 1990s USA.
Sapporo was amazing when I went in the winter. Great jazz bars like Slow Boat, amazing food variety, more chill than Tokyo… went up to Otaru and went to a great ryokan too. Not sure what it’d be like in July though