Huge 3 month trip preliminary itinerary

This is going to be long. Apologies in advance. You can just skip to the problematic days in bold and italics.

After reading about practically every possible attraction in Japan for the last few weeks, I’ve reached a point where I know what I want to do – now the question is when, and if it’s worth it.

I land at Narita on February 9th at 10 AM. I’ll book the shinkansen to Sapporo as soon as I can order a JR Pass. So I’ll probably arrive at night.

* Feb 10-11: Sapporo snow festival. Might check out Otaru light path, which starts on the 11th. Then night bus to Shiretoko.
* Feb 12: I’ve booked a drift ice walk + Furepe waterfall tour. Sleep at hotel in Utoro.
* Feb 13-14: undecided. Probably Akan Mashu. If not, maybe Daisetsuzan / Sounkyou festival / Ryounkaku / Abashiri drift ice boat, although the latter might be redundant since I’ve got that drift ice walk.
* Feb 15-16: the 16th is my birthday. I’ll be staying at a rustic cabin near Asahikawa, surrounded by snow and quiet. It’s super close to a ski resort, which is tempting but also a bit alarming for my wallet.
* Feb 17: leave in the morning to arrive at Noboribetsu Jigokudani by 13:00. Hopefully afternoons are as good as mornings for a visit. Got plenty of time till the last train for Hakodate leaves at 18:00. Sleep in Hakodate.
* Feb 18: Check out Goryokaku fort in the morning before I leave for Tohoku. Or maybe Sannai Maruyama in Aomori. The reason I am moving south is to arrive at Lamp no Yado, a ryokan near Hirosaki. Again, being surrounded by snow and quiet… no electricity, no signal…
* Feb 20: leave Lamp no Yado, check out Hirosaki castle on the way. **Now comes problem #1**.

*My next stop is Tokyo. But I’d love to visit Shirakawago while it’s still snowy and got that winter magic. It’s quite the detour to go from Tohoku to Chubu just to spend 1 day at a village though. It is feasible – there’s a night bus to Tokyo – but is it worth it? Everything I want to do in Chubu is set for mid-April, e.g. Takayama festival, Alpine Route. I suppose I could check out Kanazawa’s Kenrokuen after Shirakawago, but wouldn’t it be better to visit it in April?*

* Feb 22/23 – March 4: Tokyo. Yeah, I know, 10 days might be insanely long for some people, but there’s so much to do…

1. Places: Akihabara, Ginza, Asakusa, Yanaka, Ikebukoro, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku.
2. Gardens: Koishikawa Korakuen, Rikugien, Ueno park, Shinjuku Gyoen.
3. Buildings: imperial palace, probably a few temples and shrines. *(re: palace, my current plan is to arrive at Tokyo in time for the emperor’s birthday on the 23rd, to enter the palace. Is it worth it? Should I axe this and spend a couple of days in Chubu instead?)*
4. Museums: national museum, western art, teamlab, Ghibli.
5. Observation decks: bunkyo, skytree, government building.
6. If I have time: Kabuki show, Saitama for bonsai, Fukuroda falls.

* March 5: Nikko. Could be nice for Toshogu, but I guess the natural spots in Okunikko will be too cold. For this reason, Nikko might be axed.
* March 6-12: Osaka. Again, 7 days might sound crazy, but hear me out. Minami, national museum, Universal studios, Nara + Omizutori festival, Himeji castle, sumo tournament, Bunraku / Kabuki, maybe even Iga Ueno if I’ve got time… obviously it’s not a full week, this includes travel. Could be reduced to 6 days I guess.

**March 13-28 are problem #2**. *What the hell do I do here? I figured Hokkaido + Honshu + Shikoku would easily fill 90 days, so I didn’t include Kyushu. Yet almost all of the next things on my list are best in April onwards. Someone said here that mid-to-late March is good for exploring Kyushu, but from what I understand it’s basically impossible to do so without a car. Are places like mount Unzen dangerous to hike & drive alone this time of the year? Keep in mind that I’m used to driving on the opposite side.*

* March 29 – April 3: Kumano Kodo (Nakahechi trail, 2 days) -> Koya temple stay (2 days) -> Yoshino (1 day). This might move a few days forward, to visit Yoshino during peak blossoms. From what I understand, there aren’t exact forecasts at the moment. *(What blooms first, Yoshino or Kyoto?)*
* April 4-9: Kyoto. I’m actually worried 6 days are not gonna be enough lol. Nishiki market, imperial palace, Fushimi Inari, Kinkakuji, Ryoanji, Kokedera; Pontocho, Gion, Higashiyama, Arashiyama; national musem + modern art; Philosopher’s path, botanical garden; and a side trip to Uji.
* April 10-13: Fuji Five Lakes. Kawaguchiko, Saiko, the pagoda, Fuji 5th station, maybe Ochudo trail, all depends on the weather.
* April 14-15: Takayama festival.
* April 16: Alpine route.
* April 17: Kanazawa.

**Now comes problem #3, the biggest one**. *Too many things on my list, not enough time! (I fly home on May 9th)*

* *Kamikochi- it opens on the 17th, I can go there on the 18th, but I feel like the residues of snow & lack of plants will make it underwhelming.*
* *Kiso valley- it looks nice, but I’m not sure a 3h stroll along traditional towns is better than some of the other things on my list.*
* *Some things near Nagoya- Ghibli Park, Inuyama, Kakegawa, Ise Shima- doubt I’ll be able to fit in.*
* *Hakone- will def go there, but is 1 day enough? I feel like I might need 2.*

From Hakone to Tokyo. I wanna return for the pride parade on April 22-23. It’s quite the detour, I know, if only the parade were in late Feb 🙁

*Now for the rest of my trip (April 24 – May 8), I really need some advice.*

* *Shikoku and Chugoku are a must for me. Hiroshima + Miyajima; Akiyoshido cave looks super cool; Matsue (and maybe Izumo if I have time); Onomichi + Shimanami Kaido bike route; Iya Valley (including spending the night); Naoshima; Okayama. That’s 9 super crammed days at the very LEAST. Some of the things here can me moved to March 13-28, but this will turn my trip into a lot of traveling back and forth. (lol @ me telling myself “I’ll keep costs to a minimum” before I began to plan this…)*
* *I also want to return to Tohoku for places that aren’t good in winter. Fukushima, hiking Mount Zao, Tamagawa Onsen, Nyuto Onsen + hiking Mount Akita. These can be crammed into 4 days I guess… probably too tight though.*
* *Mounts Takao, Mitake, Tanzawa, Mizugaki – I wanted to hike 1-2 of those during Golden Week before my flight from Narita. But Iya Valley is more important to me, and it can’t be fully done before Golden Week, AND it comes with all the other Shikoku + Chugoku stuff… so these mountains are not likely to work out. I feel like Shikoku and Tohoku are more special. If I end up visiting Kyushu in March, maybe that will fill my hiking needs.*

That’s pretty much it. There’s a few things I wanted to do that I already cut-

* Tohoku: Kitakami, Hiraizumi, Kakunodate
* Shikoku: Takamatsu, Kankakei gorge, Kotohira
* Chugoku: Kurashiki, Mount Daisen, Tottori
* Chubu: Matsumoto
* Kansai: Hikone castle, Asuka

If anyone has some insight into what things are worth doing over others & at what time of the year, that would be super helpful. Thanks!