Itinerary check for a 2 month trip from 3 February to the 7 April -from Hokkaido snow festival to Tokyo cherry blossoms

Hi r/JapanTravel!

So I’ve already went 3 times to Japan on the Golden Road during summer and after 3 years locked out of the country, I’m on my revenge vacation and a pretty huge one with a budget of 6k € (which I’ll most likely have to increase with my bank). As I’m trying a lot of things for the first time, I could really use some of your experience to be more prepared. So let’s detail the itinerary!

I’m planning to start the trip in Kushiro for 4 days I think (4-8 February). In the area, I want to go to the Tsurui Ito shrine to see the tancho cranes and Lake Akan for the marimo. Not much idea about what to see in the town itself aside from icebergs from what I’ve read.

I’ll take a flight then to Sapporo for 3 days to see the snow festival (8-11). I’m not a beer drinker so aside from the local parks, I don’t think there will be really something interesting for me there (as I already went to Tokyo/Kyoto).

I’ll then leave Sapporo for Akita starting the 11. I’m actually really interested in yokai culture so I plan to go to the Sedo snow festival in Oga to see the namahage celebrations. Except I don’t really know how to get there. From what I’ve read, there’s a navette you can take but you need to make a reservation and the site is only in japanese… So if anyone has some more intel on how to get to Oga, I’m interested. In Oga, I’m also interested by the aquarium and the onsen.

I’ll then wait to see the Yokote Kamakura snow festival on the 15 near Akita. No idea on what to do in Akita for the remaining days honestly.

From there, I plan to rent a car and go on a huge road trip… Which obviously I’ve never done before. I know I need to get my driving license translated but aside from that, I’ve done some research and got some absurd pricing (like 1500€ for 2 weeks). So here again, if you have some experience… I’m also not a huge fan of driving but it seems like the best option for the rest of my plans, so how is driving in Japan?

The planned roadtrip for the time being is:

\- Shibu Onsen to see the snow monkey from Jigokudani (huge step to begin with 7-8h on the road but I didn’t find something really interesting between Akita and there)

\- Kusatsu Onsen with 2 days spent there in a ryokan to enjoy the onsens

\- Wajima to see the Shiroyone Senmaida

\- Ine with an halt in Amanohashidate

\- Kinosaki Onsen for 2 days once again in a ryokan to enjoy the onsens and see the geological park

\- Tottori dunes

\- Naruto to see the whirpools (and maybe an halt in Himeji since its on the road but I already went there)

\- Matsuyama to visit its castle and historical onsen

Which makes a 28h road trip on 2 weeks approximately. I don’t have a detailed day to day planning on that part, I think it will just be a road to follow and I’ll add or remove days based on what to see

At this point March has begun and I’ll be near the Shimanami Kaido so I’ll do the famous road during 2 days. Due to this, my luggage at this point will be a back pack so that I can cycle with it from Onomichi to Imabari.

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And then… I don’t really have a plan sorted out to be honest. I’ll most likely spent 2-3 days in Hiroshima with maybe one in Miyajima to see the shrine when there’s no tourist. I’ll also buy an extra luggage at that point. Then I’ll move to Kyoto for 10 days approximately, with maybe an halt in Kobe to visit the town (I visited Arima Onsen and had to rush through the city last time I went). From there, I’ll see the Omizutori festival in Nara and the Higashiyama Hanatoro in Kyoto. I also plan to go to the Gion Corner and try to see a sumo match in Osaka (since I should be there in the right time period). And in the end, I’ll move to Tokyo to spend the end of the trip with maybe a day trip to Hakone, another to Kamakura and a last one to Oshino Hakkai, going back to France on the 7 April.

Thanks for your suggestions, corrections and overall help!