Hello everyone,
We are considering are travelling plans for 2024 and are considering a 3,5 week trip in Japan during the month of May as one of the options.
First things first:
We’ve been to Japan previously and did a relatively standard trip on Honshu (Tokio -> Kanazawa -> Hiroshima -> Kyoto -> Kinosaki Onsen -> Osaka -> Kiso Valley -> Tokyo) and we definitely enjoyed it a lot.
My original thought was travelling to Kyushi, spending around 10 days travelling around the island. Taking a flight to Hokkai, rent a car and spend 10 days there (this is of course very high level, I would need to plan it out, but you get the concept). My wife is challenging this because she is hoping for some kind of “tropical beach” experience. Main issue is that I know her very well, and that after around 24-48 hours on this tropical beach destination she will start to ask “what else can we do here” so I’m trying to look for a middle ground.
I see roughly 2 options:
1. We scratch the idea of combining Kyushu and Hokkaido and we switch it to “southern” Japan (for example 2 weeks Kyushu, with perhaps some small branching out in Chugoku/Shikoku, and a week in Okinawa.)
Notes:
* I think it would be a nice trip. Main downside is I was hoping to head to Hokkaido for the national parks. We could do this during a third trip together, but I doubt we’ll head back to Japan in de next 10-15 years/
* Perhaps a week in Okinawa is a bit much?
1. I need to find some alterative option for the tropical vibe. Are there any good beach areas in Kyushu where we can get a similar vibe to Okinawa (clear/blue water, sandy beaches, …)
Notes:
* Perhaps it isn’t really anything similar to the experience you would get in Okinawa?
* Weather in May might be just a tad cool for a few days near the beach?
We are relatively in the early stages and are just brainstorming right now, but was thinking that if anybody can give some usefull input, it would be you guys here! Any feedback/help is appreciated!