Japan in April – places of interest and itinerary suggestion

Hey all,

My partner and I have bought our tickets to Japan flying in/ out of Tokyo Haneda from 1st to 16th April 2023.

We’ve been to Japan a couple of times before with duration spanning between 2.5 – 3.5 weeks each time so have covered quite a few grounds. Our experiences and travels thus far:
* Tokyo (pretty much done all the touristy things)
* Hakone (stayed 1 night went to hot springs, temple, scenic drive and art gallery)
* Takayama day trip
* Shirakawa-go (stayed 1 night in a minshuku / ryokan)
* Kanazawa (stayed 2 nights did the kenrokuen garden etc)
* Osaka (stayed a few nights)
* Kyoto (stayed a few nights)
* Nara day trip (deer park)
* Koya-san (stayed 1 night in temple)
* Hiroshima day trip
* Miyajima day trip
* Hokkaido 5 nights (Sapporo, noboribetsu, stayed one night at Toyako, Hakodate)

This time we’re looking to experience something different and make the most of the Sakura season. Some of the things we would like to do include:
* Matsuris or festivals
* Stay in a beautiful onsen town
* Stay in ryokan at Kiso Valley / Ainokura
* Farm / home stay (1-2 nights) doing some farm work and learning about agriculture, home life, cooking, Mochi making, etc
* Theme parks
* Hiking / Shimanami Kaido cycling route
* Mushroom foraging (not sure if it’s possible this time of the year)
* Sake tasting at brewery
* Soba / udon making
* Pottery making

We like the countryside as much as the city, so ideally bit of both.

Based on the above, I think the following would bode well:
* Fuji five lakes (not sure how many nights to stay)
* Matsuris (Kamanara Matsuri in Tokyo and Inuyama Matusuri in Aichi both are on same day which is the day after we arrive, Takayama matsuri 14/15th April)
* Stay at Kiso Valley / Ainokura
* Mount Yoshino
* Universal Studios Osaka
* A few days in Osaka / Kyoto to enjoy the city in Sakura season (philosophers path, maruyama park, arashiyama districts)
* Shimanami Kaido cycling route near Hiroshima
* Iwami Ginzan near Hiroshima
* Tokyo (3/ 4 nights minimum)

Those are what we’re thinking of doing, but not sure if it’s best to do all of them in Spring.

We are also not sure where to go for farm / home stay or which onsen town to go to as well around the areas we look to visit.

We are also looking to get JR rail pass though not sure if we need it for 1 or 2 weeks and combine this with driving.

Any suggestion is greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much!

P/S: I can speak conversational Japanese though bit rusty (not able to read Kanji anymore)